cafe hacienda

[interior of cafe hacienda - nice ambiance there]

Cafe Hacienda, 13A dempsey road

went to cafe hacienda for dinner based on deborah’s cool photos on facebook and had a really pleasant time chillin’ in this cool, understated but nonetheless stylish environment with soft girl-pop music playing behind the scenes. methinks this is quite the girly hangout. -_- service was pretty decent, youngish but enthusiastic.

[chilli crabmeat fusilli, $22]

eh.. i didnt really find this that fantastic, maybe because Italy has really upped my expectations of pasta to be skyhigh. i couldnt really taste the crabmeat, truth be told, but on the whole the pasta was tasty, hearty (since it is tomato-based) and wholesome. just that, with that pricepoint, i expected a bit more of a nuanced taste.

[parpadelle pesto, $16]

good tasting pasta that has a good combination of basil, pine nuts, pesto sauce and mozarella and is a good vegetarian option. i liked the balanced flavors in this.

[stick date pudding with vanilla ice cream, walnuts and butterscotch sauce, $10]

good stuff. you would have expected the butterscotch to send the dessert into jelak, oversweet territory but this was surprisingly just right in terms of sweet levels and the mix of vanilla, butterscotch and pudding was really good. walnuts added the needed texture to complete this dessert.

i think overall this place works more because of its nice ambience, where one can while time away in the cosy confines, having some nice coffee or such, but doesnt really impress on the food front, at least for dinner. 6/10