Located at the heart of Orchard Road, Crossroads cafe at Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel serves an international fare, offering diners local and western favourites such as chicken rice and fish & chips. It also features a selection of over 300 wines, a decent selection of cocktails and draft beers on tap.

The artisanal cocktails use award-winning Tanglin gin which is distilled locally at Dempsey. Of the three cocktails that we have ($18+ each), my favourite is Gin On Fire, Crossroads’s rendition of negroni. The sweet vermouth (Antica Formula) and herby-tasting gin balance the bitterness from the Aperol/bitters – not a taste to which everyone may be accustomed. But if you like your drinks strong, this one’s for you. For folks who prefer fruity cocktails, Crossroads Sling (gin, lime juice, orange curacao, grenadine syrup, pineapple juice) is a great choice as it is refreshing and sweet.

For mains, the slider flight ($21++) consists three different types of sliders – TruffleBello burger, honey chicken bao and Hawaiian pulled pork bun. The trufflebello burger, as the name suggests, comprises truffle aioli and grilled portobello mushroom. Decent. As for the honey chicken bao, the chicken pâté and the bao do not gel well; it would be better for the creamy and rich chicken pâté to be on a piece of crusty baguette. 

One of the recommended items on the menu is the jumbo prawn noodle in claypot ($36+). While the pork crackling is crispy and egg perfectly poached, the braised chinese rice noodles (or mee tai mak) are overcooked so the noodles break into pieces easily and become mushy when I try to mix everything together. It is also a little too oily.

For sides, the German style fries with bacon ($15++) is sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) with fries. The sour cabbage helps to undercut the greasiness of the fries and bacon. It is surprisingly addictive even when the french fries have gone cold.

To round off the meal on a sweet note, the crème brûlée ($16++) has a layer of caramelised sugar atop the rich custard but the texture is too firm. The final texture, in my opinion, should be soft, wobbly and creamy.

On the whole, the alfresco setting here makes it a lovely place to people-watch over some drinks and bites.

Crossroads
Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Hotel, 1st floor, 320 Orchard Road, Singapore, 238865
t: +65-6831-4605
11am – 10.30pm daily
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Food: 5.75/10
Decor/ambience: 6/10
Price/value: 5.75/10

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This is an invited tasting. Written by Vanessa Khong. Vanessa is someone who enjoys checking out the local food scene. She believes the way to her heart is through her stomach.