Old School Delights – Recess Time at The Esplanade

Old School Delights Esplanade will bring back memories of school tuckshops and the simple local food enjoyed during recess time. The retro school canteen themed cafe serves familiar local food like Mee Siam, Curry Chicken and Hainanese Chicken Cutlet as well as a good range of desserts and beverages.

When we visited Old School Delights @ Upper Thomson, we felt all nostalgic about meals in the school canteen. We could almost hear the recess bell going off in our heads when we saw Old School Delights Esplanade. Without hesitation, we headed to Old School Delights (OSD) for our recess.

Menu of Old School Delights Esplanade

The food found in tuckshops or canteens when we were going to school lacked variety and was of questionable quality and nutritional value. Old School Delights Esplanade is dressed up to remind you of old school canteens but luckily the variety and quality of food at OSD are far superior to that of the canteens of our old schools.

The menu of Old School Delights Esplanade is not extensive but offers sufficient variety whether you want a full meal or just some snacks. Home-cooked style food from kueh pie tee and chicken wings to macaroni soup and fish & chips are available. Below are pictures of the OSD Esplanade menu.

We ordered Laksa D’Lite ($7.40), Nasi Lemak Besar ($7.80) and coffee ($2.20). Service charge would be added to the bill but there was no GST.

The laksa came in a big traditional rooster bowl. It had the usual ingredients including egg, tau pok, fish cakes and prawns. It was a nice bowl of curry laksa. The level of spiciness could be controlled by how much of the chilli to stir into the broth.

The Nasi Lemak Besar was really quite big and came with otak otak on the side as well. The other items that came on the plate of rice included peanuts, ikan bilis, omelet and chicken wing. The nasi lemak of OSD Esplanade really brought back memories of the delicious banana leaf wrapped nasi lemak we used to buy from the Mak Chik in primary school. In those days the nasi lemak was really cheap but it meant there was hardly any ingredient – essentially only rice, cucumber, sambal and either ikan bilis or a small fish. That meant that the rice and sambal were the key components. At Old School Delights, they got both the rice and sambal right. The fluffy rice cooked in coconut milk was fragrant and not oily. The sweet and mildly spicy sambal was very good and it left a pleasant aftertaste on the palate. All the other ingredients were good but we would have the Nasi Lemak Besar again just to enjoy the rice and sambal.

Old School Delights Esplanade would be a good place for visitors to tourist attractions like Merlion or the Esplanade itself to sample some local food items in a comfortable setting.  It is also great for those who want to reminisce about the good old school days or who want to tell their young children “in those days” stories. Old School Delights Esplanade is an interesting themed cafe with the bonus of good food at reasonable prices.

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 4
Value: 3
Atmosphere : 3
Overall Rating : 3 TOPs 

 
Old School Delights Esplanade
8 Raffles Ave,#02-25, Esplanade Mall,
Singapore 038902

Tel: +65 6909 3507/ 9108 8746

Opening Hours: 12 pm to 10 pm (last order at 930pm)

Nearby MRT Stations: Esplanade, City Hall

OSD has a new outlet at City Square

OSD@City Square Mall
180 Kitchener Road, #02-23/24, City Square Mall,
Singapore 208539
Tel: 6458 4518/ 9108 8746

Operating hours:
Monday to Sunday – 11am to 10pm (last order at 930pm)

Facebook Page

The Ordinary Patrons | Real Dining Experience of Ordinary People
an independent Singapore food blog