When we think German food, we think pork knuckles, sausages, and beer. But Frieda Restaurant, which we rejected their tasting, preferring to pay on our own to provide honest, anonymous, and truthful reviews, at Capitol surprises us with its refined deliciousness.

I think blogs that post photos of complimentary bread are very boliao… but this one deserves a highlight. It’s rye sourdough (I think), fluffy inside, crunchy crust—just how I like my bread. Oh, and it’s warm.

Their a la carte menu: starters start from $14, mains from $22, and desserts from $12. They do have sausages and pork knuckles ($49) on their menu but, to me, those are the least interesting. Their lunch menu, 2-course ($21++) or 3-course ($26++), is a steal and we were there for lunch.

Potato soul with leek oil

For starters, the potato leek soup is deliciously cheesy especially when you wipe off the last smidgeon with the warm rye sour dough. It has a leek oil, giving it a certain pungent depth. I don’t think potato soup can get better than this.

I had baked camembert a few weeks ago as dessert at The Masses. Frieda serves it as an appetiser. Works too.

The other starter is also simple but delicious. It’s baked camembert covered in bread crumbs to give it a crispy exterior while the inside oozes at a mere cut. Even if you don’t like smelly cheese, like my partner, you may like it (like my partner). Because the smell is undercut by the cranberry sauce and salad in a citrus dressing. The pairing is great, something heavy, something sourish, something crispy.

The Yin Yang dish, or the ÷ dish: lentil stew, homemade noodles, and smoked pork sausage

For mains, the lentil stew, homemade noodles, and smoked pork sausage is interesting. Although the sausage is plebeian, the other two steal the show. The lentil stew is not really a stew; It’s dry in a lemony sauce. The noodles are little short worms (about a cm) fried in butter. The lentil and noodles are DMZ-ed, and you can eat them individually first, but it gets better when you mix them together. Something zingy, something buttery.

Oxtail stew

As usual, I always order the oxtail stew when I see it on the menu. But here, it is again not really a stew. It’s more like a thickened sauce that sits on top of a gorgeously, buttery mashed potato. When you have eaten hundreds of beef stew, it is difficult to be impressed by it. But this version stands out, there is something umami about it. Even my partner had high praises for it.

Dark chocolate cream (front) and mint jelly (back)

Germans aren’t known for their desserts. But Frieda is smart by keeping their desserts simple. One is the mint jelly and plum compote with half-whipped cream, the other is dark chocolate cream with plum compote and white chocolate crumble. Both are good except that the dark chocolate cream may get monotonous and boring towards the end. My only gripe is that they shouldn’t repeat the plum compote in both dessert options although the compote is probably made in-house and rather wickedly sourish and delicious.

This is a sterling meal and when you sit in the inner sanctum of the wallpapered restaurant, with sun softly falling through the skylight, the feeling is magical, another country. The service is a little grumpy and perfunctory—no smiles, no extraneous communication—but efficient and attentive. Our water was always filled.

We paid slightly more than $60 for two persons for weekday lunch.

Food: 7.25/10
Service: 6.25/10
Decor: 7/10
Price: 6.75/10

You may be interested in…
–The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Review: One of the Best Staycations ever
–5 Senses Bistro, Funan Mall: Much Better Than the Average Cafe
–Godmama, Funan: Modern Peranakan Food for the Youths
–Burger and Lobster, Raffles Hotel: We Wanted Something Luxurious After CB

We pay for our meals on anonymous visits. Written by Dr. A. Nathanael Ho.