Seah Street Deli-ght

Having dined at three American styled diners in just as many weeks, I honestly wasn't too game when my friends wanted to eat here. But it was a birthday and I wasn't the birthday boy so I had little say in the decision making. 

Not that I regretted it. From my first step into the establishment, I was treated to good setting, good food and good music, all topped with excellent service. 

Uncle Sam meets the Union Jack here at Seah Street Deli;  an authentic American delicatessen housed in the colonial Raffles Hotel. Old records line the walls and neon lights trace the colonial windows. Giant ketchup and tobasco sauce bottles sit proudly on display. Some might feel the interior design a bit gaudy, but it aptly captures the American diner feel. And to add to the verisimilitude, the chirpy waiters here are decked in bright red vests and suspenders as uniforms. The only difference with the real deal? There's none of the grease and dirt of a 'real' diner here.

There's a lot of variety on the menu and the prices weren't too hefty so we ordered quite a range.

For starters we ordered some cheese fries and  old Chicago - a spinach salad. The cheese came in a separate saucer as did the vinaigrette and bacon bits. That's a plus for health nuts wanting to control their calorie intake. The thick fries wrapped with cheese are not too soggy -which is good- but otherwise unspectacular.

The freshly picked spinach leaves came with portebello mushrooms and a full hard boiled egg, shelled and sliced. I like the natural taste of spinach complemented with a sprinkle of bacon bits, which weren't the frozen sort you can grab at the supermarket. For those who might find the salad bland and boring, don't forget to douse it with some of the homemade vinaigrette for a zesty, tangy oomph. A healthy and delectable start to the more sinful mains. 

For mains, we ordered the Seah Street Burger, Beef Pot Roast, Lamb Shank Pot Roast, Fried Chicken with fries, and Macaroni with Cheese. In general, the servings were sufficient for the Singaporean tummy - not too small you barely tasted whatever you're eating, and at the same time not too huge that the guys experience what it feels like to be two months pregnant.

You know your burger is huge when it sits as two separate pieces on your plate, not one. On one side you have the top bun with an assortment of greens and on the other you have the gargantuan beef patty, cheese and the bottom bun. After adding one and one together and literally stuffing the sum into your mouth, you experience an explosion of flavours. The natural sweetness of the vegetables underscore the savoury (grilled) taste of the beef patty. The beef patty isn't over cooked, but with all the bread and tomatoes and cucumber and lettuce and what not all in your mouth, it does gets a bit tiring to chew after the third bite.  

The other dish, fried chicken and fries, was also equally huge as a serving, but not as exciting gastronomically. The chicken was tender and the skin was deep fried to a golden brown. The batter made the skin crunchy and flavourful, a nice contrast to the softness of the meat inside. The juiciness of the chicken prevented the dish from being too dry, but other than that it tasted pretty normal to me. 

The beef and lamb shank pot roast were both roasted in a similar gravy, with some subtle variations. Lamb, possessing a stronger taste was cooked in a lighter version of the herb-infused broth so as to bring out the natural flavour of the meat rather than to mask it. The beef on the other hand has a thicker and richer gravy to add impact to the dish. The meats were cooked to near perfection and were generally extremely tender and succulent, but the beef wasn't as evenly roasted and some bits were dryer than others. But despite that, both were, in my opinion, extremely tasty and undoubtedly the main course with my vote. 

 Macaroni and cheese is common fare in the States, but I've never seen it in Singapore so I ordered this. I was disappointed by my choice. Okay, so it says it's macaroni and cheese, but I secretly expected something more. It was literally just macaroni and cheese. And pork sausage, which I had the option of adding. That was it, nothing more. I guess I'm supposed to be looking at the beauty in its simplicity, and to its benefit, it was quite nicely prepared with the melted cheese blanketing the macaroni. But I got quite tired of the boring taste less than a quarter way through the dish. 

If you remember the days when you could pick a song or two to be played on the jukebox in a restaurant, the jukebox here will certainly stir up a sense of nostalgia. Updated with the latest music, and being free of charge, there's no reason not to choose a song to accompany your meal. 

The best way of ending your meal here at Seah Street Deli is to repair to the Raffles Creamery for some tepanyaki ice-cream. That intriguing term just means that  you can blend different flavours of your ice-cream together with the toppings of your choice. The perfect way to chill out after a hearty, delightful meal.