Thank you to the kind folks at Citrus By The Pool for having me again. Great atmosphere, awesome food as always. Truly a gem in the hood. ??
Yep, peeps, I was back at Citrus By The Pool some time ago to try out the new dishes they had launched. And here’s my long-awaited review, finally.
If you’ve missed out my previous post on this place, do click on the link above to check it out so you can have an idea on the kind of dishes that Citrus By The Pool is serving up.
And for those of you who still haven’t been here, well, Citrus By The Pool is a halal-certified cafe restaurant that offers casual dining in a very relaxed atmosphere. And the best thing about this place is that everything is priced really affordably. Restaurant-standard meal that doesn’t break the bank – now that’s a rare find.
This is their updated menu (click on image to enlarge) with mainly Western selections and a couple of Asian ones. Do note all prices are subject to 7% GST. There’s no service charge.
Doesn’t this look like an egg? ?
We started off our meal with a Homemade Pumpkin Soup ($5.50).
Thick, creamy and flavoursome. Very nicely seasoned too. Pumpkin soup has always been one of my favourite soup choices and the one here was really comforting and delicious. Could really taste that real pumpkin puree as its natural sweetness stood out perfectly without being weighed down with too much cream or other elements. And a touch of dried herbs just lifted the flavour even more.
I had Chilli Beef Fries before but it was my first time eating a chicken version of it. These Chilli Chicken Fries ($6.50) came with a generous dollop of meaty chilli chicken on top.
I liked these thicker cut of fries that were crispy on the outside and soft, fluffy on the inside. The chilli chicken was a tad spicy and it also left a bitter aftertaste in the mouth after a while. Common problem with tomato-based sauces I guess.
Loved these Sweet Potato Fries ($7.50). Lovely contrast of textures – light and crispy, soft and sweet. Served with your choice of two dips. You can pick from four options – Salted Egg, Wasabi Mayo, Spicy Mayo and Curry Mayo.
The Salted Egg sauce was very thick and had a very pronounced flavour of salted egg yolk. Spicy Mayo was a bit tangy. It probably had tabasco or sriracha in it. Wasabi Mayo was well balanced as the taste of wasabi wasn’t overpowering at all. I liked Curry Mayo best as they went so well with the fries and was really aromatic.
Next up, Da Burger Bomb ($11.90) with french fries. Ok, I must say, they executed their fries really well here. I don’t normally eat my food straightaway because I need to take pictures and sometimes I do take a long while. These fries didn’t even turn soggy when left aside. Didn’t ooze oil and didn’t taste greasy too. Good!
The burger consisted of a piece of Teriyaki chicken, one sunny side up, lettuce leaves, sliced tomatoes and cheese. That chicken was solid meat like a boneless leg or thigh, not a ground patty. It was glistening with a Teriyaki sauce glaze and was really moist and juicy too. Quite heavily peppered which gave an intense black pepper flavour. Burger bun was quite dry though – what a pity.
The runny yolk of the sunny side up added a layer of richness and creaminess to the burger.
I suggest that you just lift the whole burger up and eat it with your hands. Don’t use fork and knife because it gets really sloppy and you won’t get to enjoy the experience.
What impressed me most during this meal was this Seafood Risotto ($16.90) that came with a generous portion of prawns, scallops, squids and mussels.
While the risotto rice was overcooked hence it didn’t have that al dente bite, I loved the fresh seafood and that really superb sauce that was so full of flavour. Sinfully rich and creamy but so moreish.
This was the Fried Chicken and Waffle ($10.90) with butter and maple syrup. Looked quite scorched on the top.
And true enough, the waffle was indeed overdone and hence had a rather unpleasant bitter taste. If not for that, this would have been a fantastic waffle because it was really crispy on the outside and airy on the inside. Exactly the way I like my waffle to be except I don’t appreciate a burnt one.
On the other hand, the fried chicken pieces were amazing. They reminded me of honey butter fried chicken. Surprisingly good.
And finally, dessert time. Citrus By The Pool’s signature Molten Chocolate Lava Cake ($10.90) never disappoints.
Just look at this molten mess? How to resist? So chocolatey and comforting.
All in all, we enjoyed most of the new dishes and we will not hesitate to recommend Citrus By The Pool to all of you who are looking for inexpensive places to dine at in the heartlands. It may be a bit of a walk from the Woodlands MRT Station to get here but hey, it’s always good to get your steps in before indulging yourself in a good meal. ?
Go check out this place and let me know what you think. ?
9.00am to 11.00pm (Sat-Sun)
* This is an invited tasting session. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own.