It was a massive outing today at Dallas Restaurant and Bar. More than 40 foodies braved the sweltering heat at Boat Quay for Ladyironchef's food event. He's celebrating his blog's second anniversary (congrats, Brad)! My first time going for such a huge food outing. It was fabulous meeting Fen and Yuan, Jaime La Nourriture and her friend, Arlyna, Mike, Aromacookery, Keropokman and Momo.
Brad of Ladyironchef arranged a special menu for us at S$23++. It offered tasting portions of many dishes, including the signature baby back pork ribs.
Actually, almost all the items would be popular with kids! I should have brought Nadine. But never mind, she will guest-star in this episode, bringing you fun Tex-Mex words a la Dora the Explorer!
Chicken and Cheese Quesadillas. Very savoury filling wrapped in thin tortilla skins, and grilled until nearly crispy. Not unlike a grilled cheese sandwich.
Nadine: Say it with me!
QUESADILLA : keh-sah-DEE-Yah!
TORTILLA : tor-TEE-Yah!
Shredded Pork Tacos. The Australian owner tells us the pork has been braised with herbs and spices for three hours. I seem to detect some Asian or Chinese elements in the flavour, which I felt clashed with the Mexican condiments.
TACO : TAH-ko
The much awaited baby back ribs came. There was some confusion with the three flavours, as we could not make out which was which, even with the help of the staff. Well, the one we think that's "Alabama" had strong garlic notes, with pineapple for sweetness; and the "Berry" was slightly tart. I liked the "Fiery" best. But overall, I still prefer ribs that are a bit more fleshy and moist.
Tempura Barramundi with Thai Herbs & Naan Jim. We had trouble getting this dish to be photogenic. But it turned out to be more tasty than it looked. The fish was very tender. The sauce is extremely unusual. It looks like your Thai-style chili sauce, but has coconut, coriander and other Thai-based spices in it. We had trouble looking up what "Naan Jim" means, but I think it could refer to the Nam Jim Thai salad dressing. See another recipe here.
Dallas Wings, with hot sauce and ranch dip. Thoroughly deep-fried and crispy - some may find these a bit dry. As we ate this, our table burst into an impassioned discussion about CP Foods, especially their Mexican Wings.
Nadine: I love chicken wings!
Corn & Crab Fritters with Chili Glaze. These are really breaded potato cakes with mashed bits of crab and corn in them. The "chili glaze" is oddly a curry mayo dip. Personally I think these went better with the Thai-style chili dip.
Beef fajitas, with guacamole, salsa and sour cream. I cannot remember if the beef is from 120-day grain-fed beef, but there sure were some fatty globules in there. Interestingly, the treatment tasted a little like rendang. Laced with sweet onion and jalapeno slices.
FAJITA : fah-HEE-tah!
By now you probably think you're seeing double. Breaded mushrooms with Cheese and Garlic Mayonnaise, another round fried item similar to the crab fritters. But these were quite juicy and tasty. They signalled the end of the nine-course meal which left us all very full. We had a quick look at the posh bar and al fresco balcony upstairs before leaving. Thanks for organising this, Brad.
Today's post has been brought to you by Ladyironchef and the letter "N" (Nadine!)
DALLAS
31 Boat Quay
Tel: 6532-2131
wow catherine, you updated so fast!! haha thanks :p
ReplyDeletethe nadine part is so cute. heh. And all your photos look very good. I was too busy running about, didnt take very good photos today, a lot was overexpose. haha. lets meet up for our outing soon :)
Wanted to go, but exams were coming. Nice update on the trip. Nadine looks cute. Love the Nadine says section. Rather cute. ^_^v
ReplyDeleteThe foods look quite good.
ReplyDeleteMight drop by one day to try it.
Wow you are so fast and I like the way you include Nadine's mini shout out, that is a nice way to inform parents that the food suits the kids' liking... For a moment, I thought I have missed out Nadine...
ReplyDeleteThough a short hi, nice meeting you yesterday and hopefully there will more chances where we will meet and get to talk more...
As usual, I like your photos... particularly the Quesadillas...
Hi Brad, yes, you were so busy flitting between tables to make sure everybody was well-attended to. Really like a bridegroom, unable to enjoy own wedding banquet. Actually, our table struggled with the photos too. Quite hard to take good shots that day.
ReplyDeleteEdyim: haha, thanks! Your ^_^v is very cute too! Hope we get to meet you on a future outing, after your exams.
MissyG: A lot of the deep-fried stuff is probably good to take with beer and drinks.
Fen: Hey, nice meeting you too! I am adding people bit by bit in the first para - met so many I cannot remember all the names! Hopefully we can go for a smaller outing, then we can chat, yeah?
hahahahah i was telling my friend, next time my wedding i will have no problem handling all the guests. lol! yeah i'm craving for afternoon tea after looking at the special c&w did for their march edition :p
ReplyDeleteI love the little Nadine "Say it with me!" snippets... so cute!
ReplyDeleteSounds like a fry-and-dry experience... I wonder where Camemberu will turn up next? :)
It's really nice to see little snippets of Nadine's Say It With Me. The food here seems very suitable for kids. I know where to bring my nieces to the next time!
ReplyDeleteSure, hopefully we will get to sit on the same table... Nice of Brad to introduce me to you, Keropokman and FatPig... Have been reading the blogs but wonder who is behind the screen...
ReplyDeleteAs quick as usual! Food seems a little fusion?
ReplyDeleteI wish I could have been there.
LIC: You sure got lots of practice! More to come perhaps - I think your outings will only grow in size! Better warn the restaurants next time! Just say 50-100 pax! :D
ReplyDeleteLFB: Kenny, fry-and-dry! yes, lots of beer snacks here. =)
Fen: lol - our secret is no more!
HungryCow: Fusion? Yes, I did think so too. It's an American restaurant /bar owned by a very Aussie-sounding guy, offering Tex-Mex with hints of Asia. Wish you were there too!
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P.S. I'm glad you all like Nadine's little cameo here!
Tex Mex food isn't fusion.
ReplyDeleteTex Mex is not fusion, but what Dallas served had Asian elements in it. Like the Thai herbs and Nan jim in chili sauce.
ReplyDeletewow, that's a really good turnout! wish i was there too! ;(
ReplyDeleteyr shots are very good! i especially liked the horizontal shots! and nadine's parts are very cute. and creative as well! ;D
nice pics cat! i saw u there (wearing white right), didn't get to say hi to u tho'. hope to see u again someday :D
ReplyDeletenice pics cat! i saw u there (wearing white right), didn't get to say hi to u tho'. hope to see u again someday :D
ReplyDeleteNadine playing teacher on Tex-Mx grub. So cute!
ReplyDeletethis is real cool! wow every penny paid! :)
ReplyDeleteyou sure worked some magic there with the pictures. it was a pleasure to share the same table as you! oh and your blog is addictive!
ReplyDeleteNic: you can join us for the next outing!
ReplyDeleteEvan: yeah, I was! Hey, see you soon too!
Audrey: lol, thanks! ;-)
BBO: indeed!
Arlyna: hiya there! was a pleasure having you at our table too. well, you had a first hand view on how we struggle with the photography! and sorry you had to wait for us before you could eat!
Your photos of Food look so good I am really hungry now!
ReplyDeletehello! hopped by via LIC's. I was there during the event too sitting at his table opp fen..
ReplyDeleteNice photos and review! ^^
Sounds exciting. I will definitely join the next event! Ladyironchef, we are all waiting :)
ReplyDeleteRecently i ate at Dallas, would say that their staff could have been more certain when was their offer for half-price baby ribs valid. Anyway, i only liked the breaded mushrooms, juicy.
ReplyDeleteNice photography.
Peachy: thanks!
ReplyDeleteEtel: hi there! Hope to meet you again next time!
Amiscell: Yes, do join us!
Mirela: Thank you! I'm always happy to hear from readers.
Ricky: I have to agree the staff can be a bit clueless at times. We had some difficulty getting basic requests fulfilled. Then again, they could have been overwhelmed by our number.
Wasn't the reason for me though...i went after lunch hours, there were only 2 tables of customers (including us)...Was quite upset as the waitress initially said it was half price only to come back with a full price when we asked for the bill. Worst thing was, she wasn't even apolegetic about it nor offer to make any form of restitution. I paid up without kicking up a fuss but decided they've just lost a customer forever.
ReplyDeleteRicky: Oh, that's terribly slipshod service. Even if it was a sincere error, they should have at least apologised!
ReplyDeletePersonally I still prefer ribs from elsewhere, so I'm not likely to come back myself.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteJust wonder, will you still go back for others instead of the ribs?
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ReplyDelete"I have to share this with you - the lamb rack at YATS Restaurant is out of this world. Aside from the fact the lamb is cooked to perfection, the sidings are even more exciting. This is real fine-dining stuff, best I have seen in this country, and second to none that I have seen in other cities including Singapore and Tokyo."
Hello
ReplyDeleteNice blog you have here :)
Re: Nam Jim - basically it means "dipping sauce" (literal translation, nam = water, fluid, liquid and jim = dip). The Thai-style chilli sauce you are referring to is known as Nam Jim Gai Thod (Dipping Sauce for Fried Chicken).