Oasis Taiwan Porridge - Superb shiok comfort food that leaves you wanting more!

It was a night when I felt like having porridge, where it also turned out that we were meeting L &  A for a dinner-turned-supper. And L, the suggestor of good food, recommended Oasis for its delicious sweet potato porridge. 

Me: "SWEET POTATO PORRIDGE?? ON."

Just check that beautiful piece of tuber out:

I love this kind of porridge, where the texture was soft and mashed yet still slightly grainy with a good amount of broth. A plus was the fact that the potato retained a tinge of sweetness, making it a perfect combination with the fermented beancurd ($1.50 per serving) available.

And did I mention the porridge only costs $1.50 for unlimited servings? Really eat until shiok.

Next up, one of the best Braised Pork Intestines I've had for only $8: 

Tender yet firm and very fragrant, with zilch "porky" aftertaste. You know how some intestines leave a bad taste in your mouth after you swallow it right? Be assured, this has none of that and oh dear lords, you just cannot popping them one after another. They were all gone halfway into the meal :'( haha and the pickled vegetables on the side also served as a nice palette cleanser after each bite.

But... the star of the day was definitely the Stewed Pork Belly ($10):

We've always been fans of fatty pork belly and it was truly an orgasmic moment to have this version in our mouths. The meat was wonderfully stewed, as the gelatinious fats complemented the soft pork. Every bite was delightful and we did not get gelat. 

Not even..... o.n.c.e.

Next dish up: Dou Miao ($12):

This was refreshing, crisp and a good change to our "sins" previously haha! But frankly, one does not need vegetables with Porridge though it was nicely done.

Chai poh egg ($8):

Fried to crisp perfection, with a juicy centre and fragrant chai poh. There are some things you just fall in Love with, and this dish was one of them. 

Cockles in sweet & sour sauce  ($9):

I was expecting a drier version with the shells still intact and did not really fancy this though the crustaceans were fresh and plump. I guess it probably goes better with rice!

And viola! 

Our five course supper of the night:

Oasis is definitely recommended and we've been back a 2nd time now! I bet you will enjoy stuffing your faces with the comfort food like we did.

Out, WLF.

Oasis Taiwan Porridge Restaurant:

Toa Payoh Town Park

303 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh

Opening hours:

Daily (yay!) 0700-1500, 1730-0600

Au Chocolat;

Was a quite a disappointment.

Maybe we ordered the wrong stuff, maybe it was too cold, maybe the chef was having PMS, maybe it was just way over-rated.

Le sigh.

Anyway, we had a girls' outing there and the interior was quaint, with a mini railway built into the ceiling and a train was choo-choo-ing along. Cute!

We settled in pleasantly into a cosy cushion seat, after we requested to changed from the metal chairs we were seated on cos our butts buay tahan.

The truffle fries came first, and it was well infused with the oil, chunky and crunchy with each bite. So we thought: "Wow, nice place with awesome fries! The food should be good too la." But some times in life, reality and expectations don't meat. I mean, meet.

Then the soups -onion and mushroom arrived, which were pretty decent but one can get sick of it after a while as they were done thick and heavy.

Mains ordered were:

1) Duck Confit: 

When the duck confit came, it was a tad too salty albeit served with good mash. But still palatable, just really salty. Go to Barnacles at Sentosa for a really good one!

2) Pacific Crabcakes:

It was a chef's recommendation, and I can see why, as it was packed with fresh, juicy chunky crab meat atop the same nice mash. Quite yummy...... la. 

Sorry, my bad, the most yummy dish of the day was gone before a picture could be snapped but it looked like this:

3) Pancakes from the all day Breakfast menu: 

This is not the usual fluffy texture you get at places like Strictly Pancakes or Spruce, where the texture reminded me more of man chian kueh or in English, chinese pancakes filled with peanut, coconut etc. I liked it, though it did not sit well with R who ordered. The rest of the sides were good, so this one pass.

4) Crispy Pork Belly: 

It should be taken off the chef's recommendations. 

Apparently the term crispy was taken to another level, where the skin was so hard that our jaws actually hurt from just one bite. Poor SJ who refused to take a second bite for fear of her braces breaking. (Mai siao siao ok, happened to me before. Culprit: a very strong chicken wing.) So, this dish was tossed aside, barely touched. This dish should be renamed CPF: Crispy Pork Fail. Then, at least we can all manage our expectations. :p

After the epic let-down, (fyi, all of us did not finish the food) we decided to just go for desserts, in an attempt to feel happy once again. But their sweets were reaaallly sweet. Even for a person with a sweet tooth like mademoiselle, it was too much.

We had the
1) Dark chocolate tart 2) Apple cheese cake crumble and the 3) Minty brownie bomb
Again, none was finished. Can cry already.

I am doing my best to salvage the place, and the only things I can think of are: nice decor, nice truffle fries, nice crabcakes/pancakes. The rest,  别提了。Some things are best left forgotten!
I'd say go if you want a nice place to chill and catch up with friends, but you can forget about blowing away your palette. Blow away your wallet yes, but any other tastebud-related stuff.... no.

But I must say, the cakes look good. And sometimes in life, looks can be deceiving! #@#%$#

p.s: I might go back again, just to see if the standards have improved and redo this post if it has.