Life as a Bon Vivant: SOHO No 8

Friday, August 7, 2009

SOHO No 8

Carrying my bad mood into the evening, the best thing was to go for a happy hour session on this Friday evening. Initially my friends and I wanted to head to Yorkhshire Pudding but it was pretty full so instead we headed to Soho No. 8 next door. To our surprise, tonight was the first day it opened, the opening night! However, they can't serve alcoholic beverages yet unfortunately. Anyhow, we were too lazy to continue our search so we decided to give this place a try anyhow. The place is located right beside the mid level escalator and its logo is pretty catchy to attract attention to those passing by. Being its first opening night, I can still smell the renovation scent flowing in the air.

I could not really point out what kind of cuisine this place is serving, be it English, American or Italian because it serves different varieties. Let's call it international cuisine I guess. We sat on the first floor and we were informed that there is actually another dinning area on the second floor. (I wonder how it looked.) We also discovered that this restaurant belongs to the same group as the Yorkshire Pudding.

(1) Gunner
Since no alcoholic beverages were allowed, I ordered this drink called Gunner (from Yorkshire Pudding's drinks menu). I had no idea what was in there so I asked. Apparently it was a mixture of Ginger Ale + Ginger Beer + Bitters. Bitters is actually a highly concentrated food and beverages flavouring made from herbs and spices. Angostura Bitters was the brand they used. It reminds me of Unicum. I liked it but I think I will try a variation of Bitters drinks next time because I wanted a more concentrated Bitters flavors.

(2) Kaffir Lime Leaf Chicken Satay's
The presentation was nice but it was too salty for some reasons. In addition to the leaf taste, the flavor was more like Thai style herbs and spices. As you can see, it serves Asian delights as well so very international indeed. This dish would be nice to go with some cold beer ! Maybe next time.

(3) Baby Spinach Salad with Seasonal Pears, Feta and Toasted Spicy Walnuts
Since we were only having happy hour, we opted for some light salads while waiting for one of our friends who were still working very hard at the office. The combination of Seasonal Pears and Walnuts were very refreshing, just like what I had for lunch today, the Apple Brie Cheese Walnuts on Rye. A good dish to have on a hot and humid evening. The dish name mentioned about spicy walnut, nut I wonder what it means by spicy because they tasted like normal walnuts too be. O yes, a nice touch to serve the dressing on the side because I like minimal dressing on my salads and I can now pour the right amount to my liking.

(4) Romaine Hearts Salad with Quails Eggs, Crispy Parma Ham and Green Goddess Dressing
(With Grilled Prawns) Yummy quails eggs! The combination of ingredients was again very good. The romaines were crisp and fresh, quails eggs were tasty and the crispy parma hams were salty enough the balance the flavor of the dressing which was slightly sour. I still have no idea what a Goddess dressing is but an interesting name indeed. With the addition of the grilled prawns, this can serve as a main dish in my opinion. (o yes, the prawns were a bit salty as well)

Service wise, it was alright, very attentive but it reminded my of my Habibi experience. The staff came by the clean out our plates and drinks very frequently and ask if we wanted another beverages when my drink is still HALF FULL (maybe to them it was HALF EMPTY). As soon as I had my last sip of my first Gunner (I ordered two Gunners all together), someone came by immediately and picked it up and ask me if I wanted another one. Chill people, chill! There was no need to be that attentive or were they trying to rush us out on their first opening night on a Friday when they don't even allow to serve alcohol. Hmmm ... Anyhow, will go back to try their main dishes when they can serve alcohol !

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