The Mad Poet Gastrobar

A friend of mine came to Singapore for a visit and we had arranged to meet. It was another friend of ours who made the arrangement actually, and as per her recommendations, we went to Cross Street for a laid-back dinner.

I've been in the vicinity of Cross Street before, when I was doing my Beer Trail. But at that time, I was only at 25 Cross street, which is a cluster of restaurants and bars. The place in general was quite good for drinks and dinner because the target market for that place was mainly the office workers. Now, we visited the other side of that area which is literally just across the road - 20 Cross Street.

The place has the same ambiance, but with a much more romantic feel to it. What adds that kind of atmosphere was the led lights that decorated the ceiling of Nankin Row which made it look like stars. It was very pretty that my friends and I can't get enough of taking photos there.

We visited was The Mad Poet Gastrobar, which my friend and her colleagues frequents. Honestly, I had a hard time finding the place because the signage for its name was so small and pretty much hidden. After a few rounds in Nankin Row, and careful inspection of the every restaurant's signage, I managed to find it.

Food. My friend was confident about the food menu of the establishment, mainly because she had already tried everything in it. Trusting her sense of flavors, we just ordered what we wanted. We had a chicken chili con carne, chicken cordon bleu, and crispy potato skins, the last two were my requests.

I'm not a big fan of Mexican food, mainly because I can't handle spicy dishes well, but ever since I tried Baja Fresh, I started to like it. The chili con carne at Mad Poet tasted really good, maybe I just have not tried other chili con carne's, but it was tasty. It was spicy, but the cheese gives it a milder taste. It was also served with nachos and ciabata, and the bread was so good.

The cordon bleu was not the typical deep-fried style, but more like an oven-baked chicken meat-wrapped bacon-wrapped cheese. It is served with asparagus and cherry tomatoes, and hollandaise sauce. So far, it was the best cordon bleu I have tried.

The crispy potato skins were delicious but I find them more typical. One plate comes with four potato skins, so that makes it two potatoes used. It wasn't literally potato skins per se, but the skin with a thin layer of potato, served with bacon bits, cheese, sour cream, and spring onions, and salsa on the side.

The servings were good for sharing, and the prices were reasonable. I got to enjoy good food, in a nice place, and I only had to pay twenty dollars for it. That twenty dollars even includes a glass of red wine that my friend ordered for herself. So I would say that with the quality of the food, the prices are very reasonable.

Great food. Great service. Great ambiance. The Mad Poet Gastrobar is a place that I would definitely visit again.

Whereabouts:
The Mad Poet Gastrobar
20 Cross Street, #01-23/24

Operating Hours:
Mon - Thurs: 1100hrs-2300hrs
Fri: 1100hrs - midnight
Sat: 1100hrs - 2300hrs
Sun: Closed