Nothing sketchy about it

Robertson Quay is certainly one of my favourite weekday lunch haunts, for despite the large number of great restaurants (and pubs) that call this place home, the lunch-time crowd is almost non-existant, save for a few tables here and there in the more popular restaurants made up of office workers or expatriate housewives, who are mostly Japanese. Despite being slightly out of the way (the nearest MRT station, Clarke Quay, is a good 10-15 minute walk away), I always find that the trip to this little hideout stocked full of great eateries is well worth it.

My companion and I decided to give Sketchers a try one afternoon. The restaurant was deserted, save for one table that was about to leave just as we entered the restaurant. The interior of the restaurant is bright and inviting, although the pop music that was being blasted through the speakers was a tad too loud - possibly because the place was empty.

There was the option of booth seats or normal table seating, and we selected the former. A waiter promptly came to give us menus, while at the same time introducing the option of having either the "Create Your Own" pizza or pasta for a main course. How the "Create Your Own" pasta dish works is you fill in a form - made of cute illustrations of the different types of pasta you can choose from, the sauce or style you wish for it to be served, as well as additional toppings (for the pasta dish); for the "Create Your Own" pizza dish you are entitled to your choice of toppings, sauce as well as option to have a "folded pizza" - like a large pasty, or the traditional flat pizza.

My companion and I decided to order an appetizer and a "Create Your Own" pasta dish as our main course to share, for we both had had a late breakfast and we intended to have dessert elsewhere later. Our appetizer was named Balls of Fire - a dish with miniature chicken balls coated with spices and herbs and deep-fried to form tasty chicken morsels. Despite the name being slightly cringe-worthy, the chicken was surprisingly soft and juicy, and went extremely well with the dip that came with the dish, which was slightly sweet and left an aftertaste of cheese which was not too tart.

There were two sizes to choose from for the pasta dish - "Hungry Size" or "Starving Size". We chose the "Hungry Size", which was priced at $10.50. We decided to have a mix of linguini and fettuccine, cooked <i>alio oglio</i> style topped with ham, chorizo (Spanish pork sausage), chicken and garlic (we only chose four toppings despite the limit being five). We then chose to have the dish topped with parmesan cheese and pine nuts. The waitress who served us for the rest of our meal was efficient and friendly, informing us of offers they had - such as a free flow of your choice of drink if a jug of it was purchased - and even recommending us starters to go along with our pasta.

Our pasta soon arrived, and I must say I was impressed with what I saw - there was a substantial amount of pasta for the price it was, and I could see the pine nuts (which I do fancy) liberally sprinkled over the dish. The pasta was tasty and delicious - and what stood out in particular was the chorizo, which was extremely flavourful and went well with the pasta. The chicken balanced out the chorizo very well, although I was slightly disappointed with the ham that had been used - it seemed to be like picnic ham, and had a rather "artificial" taste about it. Overall, I thought the dish was well-put together despite the fact that the ham could have been better, and that the dish was certainly value for money - had I been eating the dish of pasta alone, I hardly think I would be able to finish it.

I do believe I will come back to try the "Create Your Own" pizza just to see how their folded pizza tastes like - maybe another weekday afternoon perhaps, for I know that I am guaranteed the absence of crowds and will not have to worry about shabby service while at the same time getting food that's of great value.