Most food courts have a “western food” stall that sells the traditional western food, namely, oily pork chops, grilled chicken and thin steaks with soggy fries. I was therefore quite surprised to see this Spanish & Western stall when I passed by the Foodfare food court at Clementi Mall the other day. It was obvious that the Spanish food, in particular seafood paella, was the main attraction. The huge pan was filled with delicious looking paella (see photo below). Of course I had to try some right?
The food court here at Clementi Mall is actually quite small, which makes the discovery of this stall quite surprising. As you can see the food really looked enticing, no different from those you see at restaurants. The important thing is whether it tastes just as good. There was only one way to find out, so I ordered a portion of the seafood paella for takeaway ($6.90).
With the controversies surrounding the use of styrofoam boxes for hot food, I was glad that they packed the food in a paper box. The portion was sufficient for a person with an average appetite. I had asked for no prawns ( as I was too lazy to negotiate the shells with the plastic cutlery) so the paella contained chunks of chicken, slices of bell peppers and a generous topping of squid.
How was the taste? First the positives – the flavour of the dish was good. The seafood taste was sufficiently infused into the rice making it very appetizing. You can go on just eating the rice on its own. Some sauce was provided but I did not use any of it. Being a pre-cooked dish and in such a large quantity, I must admit I had low expectations, especially the tendency for the ingredients to be overcooked. I was pleasantly surprised – the chicken and squid were only just slightly overdone but still very acceptable.
The only negative was the texture of the rice – it was a bit mushy (even with due regard to the fact that this was a takeaway and not consumed straightaway). Perhaps it was the type of rice used. The grains of rice were not distinct and there was no resistance to the bite. It was a pity as this food court paella would otherwise have been good enough to go up against those you find at some restaurants.
Ratings:
Food: 3
Service: NA
Value: 3
Atmosphere: 2
Overall Rating: 3 TOPs
Foodfare Food Court
4th Level Clementi Mall
Commonwealth Avenue West
Singapore 129588
Car Park Rates
All vehicles (except motorcycles)
(Daily including Public Holidays)
1st hour $1.50
Every subsequent 1/2 hr $0.80
Motorcycle
(Daily including Public Holidays)
Per entry $1.50
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After trying a few paellas around town, I have come to think that perhaps most shops serving paella prefer to play it safe to cater to local tastes (reference to the softer rice texture we get in Asian food) vs the typical “almost crunchy” paellas in Spain (I can imagine my grandmother exclaiming “it’s undercooked rice!” .. hahaha! )
You are quite observant! Cost might also be a factor.