Suntec City has gone through a major revamp of sorts in recent years. Each new trip to the mall would uncover new gems, one of which is the recently opened Olivia & Co.
Embracing the vibrancy of cuisines, Olivia & Co serves a wide variety of mains, ranging from Mediterranean dishes to Oriental delights. At first sight, this cafe’s menu appears to be overly ambitious. After all, I had my fair share of visiting restaurants and cafes that offer countless items on their menus, only to disappoint with the standard of food. Would this be also the case for Olivia & Co, I wondered.
My companion and I started our feast with the Kicka Seoul Wings (S$9 for six pieces). The wings were deep fried to perfect crispiness and heavily marinated with kimchi flavour. And I kid you not – at the bottom of the basket lay a portion of spicy kimchi. If you’re game enough for the spice, you can devour the rest of the kimchi. Else, that spicy winglet would be more than enough for you, just as it did for me.
Kicka Seoul Wings
Having warmed up our palate, we were ready for the Olivia Sliders Board (S$18). We got 3 brioche sliders generously stuffed with Bahn Meanie, beef and vegetarian patty (not on menu) respectively. I have been to restaurants which charge the same for sliders, but their sliders were nowhere comparable to what I had at Olivia & Co., portion-wise or taste-wise.
For one, the brioches are all house-made and freshly baked so as to tailor-made each brioche to the taste of the fillings. For a person who avoids pulled pork, it was a rare occasion for me to devour this particular slider. Seasoned with some kind of Asian slaw, the pork in Bahn Meanie slider is slightly sweet, yet savoury. This tasted better than the traditional Vietnamese Bahn Mi. The vegetarian patty was a beautiful mash of mashed zucchini and corn patty and it turned out to be one of my favourite dishes for the night.
Olivia Sliders Board
A shoutout to the vegetarians (and non-vegeterians) — while the bite-sized vegetarian patty was prepared bite-size for us, you should seriously give this Green Burger a try by ordering from their “Burgers and Sandwiches” section.
Next up, we had The Cheeses (S$23) – Olivia & Co’s signature sandwich, served on a wooden plate with knife plunged right into the middle. Unlike the common sandwiches you get elsewhere, this was packed to the brim with a juicy beef patty, fresh pickles, lettuce, grilled onions and stripy jack. There’s no other way you can’t be full after devouring this American-themed and U.S.A-sized sandwich.
The Cheeses
Even though we were almost filled to the brim, we just couldn’t give the Austin Melt (S$23) a miss. Highly recommended by the head chef (who received his culinary training at a Michelin Star restaurant), this sandwich consists of a flavourful clutter of eight-hour-braised melted short rib, caramelised onions and cheese. While the short rib exceeded my expectations, the fries that came with it paled in comparison. Just like the basket of fries in The Cheeses, these fries turned slightly soggy after some time.
Austin Melt
Nothing completes a feast better than a satisfying dessert or Olivia & Co’s Snorlax (S$12). Unlike most other waffles, this one comes with a twist, where you can taste both sweet and savoury. Its sweetness comes from well-mixed berry compote, sliced bananas and vanilla bean ice-cream. On the other hand, the seasoned bacon pieces and home made peanut butter sauce adds a savoury touch to it.
Snorlax
As it turned out, Olivia & Co. managed to still create good food despite the many items it offers on the menu. One word of warning though — you would most likely get food coma after a meal here.
Olivia & Co
3 Temasek Boulevard
Suntec City (between Towers 1 & 2)
#01-481 to #01-483A
Singapore 038983
