Parsley & Thyme, An Affordable Hunt In Town

Think Parsley & Thyme the next time if you’re searching for reasonably-priced European food in town. The friendly restaurant is a 30-seater cosy restaurant featuring a mix of European and Mediterranean cuisine, nestled away along a row of shop houses along Kampong Bahru Road.

Under the guidance of previous Dutch Chef–Owner Dennis Kool, Chef Daryl has worked in a couple of leading European restaurants before taking over #Parsley&Thyme…….

………… and here’s Ricky, father of Chef Darryl, serving us wines.

For the dinner tasting, two appetizers & wines were served for a start:

A favourite with unanimous votes went to the restaurant’s Grilled Calamari @ SGD 12. It’s easy to ruin squids on a grill, but the garlic-seasoned calamari was grilled supremely well with a smokey taste using an open-flame griller. Although served with a side of salad & tartare sauce, the #calamari was good on its own. Trust me, you don’t need any dressing. ★★★★★

Pairing with the seafood was the Allan Scott Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2011 from New Zealand. The #SauvignonBlanc has hints of pineapples & passionfruit. The entry onto the palate is smooth & fruit driven, which accelerates through to a mid-palate burst of energy from the firm lively acidity.

Slices of smoked duck breast plated with hues of colourful vegetables is the Smoked Duck Salad @ SGD 12, a Chef’s Recommendation. The salad has an interesting mixed of citrus fruits like grapefuits & mixed greens tossed in a star anise dressing with fennel seeds. ★★★★☆

The Ochagavia Raices Nobles Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 was served with our meat dishes. Made from old-growth vines in Alto Maipo, this #CabernetSauvignon is intense in its ruby red colour. The #RaicesNobles displays characters of cherries, chocolate & vanilla.

Parsley & Theme’s French Onion Soup @ SGD 9 has recently been picked as one of the best soups in Singapore by I-S Magazine & came highly recommended. Unfortunately, I do not like the pungent taste of onion in a soup. Regrettably, I opted for their Lobster Bisque @ SGD 9 which was a let-down. The bisque lacked hint of lobster & was served lukewarm. I also like my bisque to have bits of seafood, but I found none inside mine. Perhaps I should've been more adventurous & went for their recommended French Onion instead. ★★★☆☆

Diners that evening felt that the Prawn Aglio Olio @ SGD 22 didn’t taste like any #AglioOlio we’ve eaten elsewhere. Perhaps it was the lack of garlic. The tiger prawns with linguine pasta, sautéed in a light garlic prawn oil, was just doable. I would've given it a 4-star rating if the name of the dish is something like 'Prawn Linguine', but it gets only ★★★☆☆ as an Aglio Olio.

The restaurant’s Pork Ragu @ SGD 18 took the center stage in this pasta dish. The slow-braised shredded pork with #penne, with its full-bodied red wine cream sauce was everything it should be. Each bite returned with an irresistible tangy flavour that whetted our appetite. Could’ve been better if the penne weren’t so hard, although I do like my pasta Al Dente. A classic comfort food that deserves my full rating! ★★★★★

Another Chef’s Recommendation is the Seafood Stew @ SGD 27. I’m a fan of seafood stew, but this dish was also unlike any I’d tried. Another diner also thought the main course was a tat too sweet. I reckoned it was due to the selection of tomatoes? A sourish tinge would've been great. To me, the saffron-infused tomato stew resembled more of a Japanese curry as the broth was just too thick. But I do appreciate the effort made to add on a healthy side dish of grilled vegetables. ★★★☆☆

Desserts @ SGD 9 each - Strawberry Bavarois, Caramel Panna Cotta & Nutella Chocolate Mousse.

The Caramel Panna Cotta makes the spotlight in this threesome affair. You would’ve thought the Caramel dessert would be the sweetest, but it turned out to be the favourite among us. Send your spoon into the #PannaCotta custard, & bite into the light & crunchy cinnamon crumble toppings with a layer of apple compote in between. The creation is out of the world; a huge contrast compared to the other two which were overly sweet. ★★★★★

Overall rating: ★★★★☆
Dramatic red hues & warm lightings set a cozy ambience in this restaurant. Although not everything succeeded, few of the dishes were a real knock-out. Coupled with the affordable pricing & intimate service, Parsley & Thyme sets to create a pleasant dining experience for any occasion.


Parsley & Thyme
61 Kampong Bahru Road
Singapore 169368
Tel: +65 6226 2801