As I mentioned earlier they have a new menu, so the waiters were still familiarising themselves with the dishes on offer as well - the waiter had to run and ask the chef the details of what was in a couple of the dishes I asked about.

The waiter was quite attentive, although we did initially send him away a couple of times as we were still trying to make up our minds on what to have.

The turnaround time from ordering to being served our meals was pretty quick, and i’ve often wondered how restaurants do so much in such small kitchen spaces.

The tables are spaced far enough apart so you don’t feel like you’re encroaching on another party’s conversation, and the background music (mostly Mandarin songs) isn’t so loud that you need to yell.

Depending on which way the wind was blowing outside, we’d occasionally get a whiff of cigarette smoke - one of the waiters had the door propped open.

And now for the food..

The Meat Spring Rolls were quite yummy (I know I know, we ate two before I took the pic!), and were home made - they didn’t have that normal mush filling you get from buy-in-bulk spring rolls. They were hot and crispy, and not too oily, (oil was the right frying temp). Dipping sauce was standard, but a bit on the small side (hard to dip in a shallow dish).

Red Silks’ Hainanese Chicken Rice was nothing like the authentic version from Singapore, but it was quite tasty all the same. If you’re not big on having to pry meat from the bones (like me) then you might want to order something else, but I persevered. The rice was just normal steamed rice, whereas normally it’s cooked with the chicken stock and spices. If you get a bit of chicken, rice, and the sauces on each mouthful it tastes good, albeit a bit salty - not sure if the chef normally pops this much salt into the dishes, but you’ll want to ask for a glass of water or two.

Again, the XO Seafood Fried Rice had its own unique flavour, boosted party by the level of salt. A moderate amount of seafood was distributed through the rice along with lots of other ingredients, making for a fairly enjoyable meal. The rice wasn’t dry, which was good, but perhaps after eating a whole plateful you might be feeling it’s a little on the oily side.

Red Silks have lots of dishes to choose from, so it’s definitely worth exploring by yourself, or in a large group. We’ll be back to sample a few of the other dishes I had my eye on.. and maybe a cocktail or two!

Meat Spring Rolls - I don’t approve of entrees - i think they are a waste of money that could go into the main courses instead. Spring rolls are especially a waste, yet Damien always insists on ordering them. These meat spring rolls however, justified the price. For one thing, they were filled with meat instead of vegetables. Secondly, they were actually tasty! Nicely done, now if i could only find out where they buy these things in bulk!

XO Seafood Fried Rice - This was quite nice at first bite, but i discovered the major shortcoming after a few more: the fried rice was too greasy. While the portions were generous, you tend to feel sick of it after a while. However, this dish is undoubtedly popular, being one of Red Silk’s “signature dishes” - we could see a few others ordering it. A good choice if you prefer your fried rice done spicy, but we recommend sharing one with a friend so you aren’t stuck with it if it gets too oily for your liking.

Hainanese Chicken Rice - The thick, sweet sauce they used as a base for the chicken was a little strange, but the chicken was otherwise very tender and succulent. The rice was not exactly done in the authentic way (with sesame oil), but from a business point of view (unpredictable demand), i cannot fault them. What about the chilli - the condiment that differentiates between good chicken rice and the truly masterful? Rather non-descript, so don’t expect the Singapore experience here.

Ambience:
Food:
Service:
Value:
Verdict:	An extensive menu from different cuisines, at very affordable prices. Might not be perfect cooking, but for the casual diner, you can’t get better value than this.