Mention PS Cafe and not many people would associate it with quality food especially when the chain is owned and operated by Project Shop Blood Brothers, an Australian fashion label. After all, what has food got to do with fashion? Interestingly though, PS Cafe has made a name for itself with its repertoire of seemingly quality desserts.

PS cafe @ Dempsey is set amidst the hip enclave of Dempsey where thousands throng the multitude of restaurants and bars in the evenings and weekends. The interior boasts full length glass windows that offers a view of the lush greenery that surrounds it complete with wooden flooring and a nice al fresco area for days when the heat and mosquitoes take a vacation. The only downside to this pretty little place is the lack of a good noise dispersion system. When I was there for dinner, the place was packed withthe decibel level ridiculously high from all the chatter, very much like your typical hawker centre.

Chicken Rossa Penne - The penne tasted like it came straight out of the pasta packet you can find at any supermarket. But to their credit, it was done al dente. The chicken pieces were rather generous while the sauce was just bottled tomato sauce at the very best. All in all a flat and uninspiring pasta dish.

Miso Cod - The fish was a joke. It was definitely the worst dish of the evening. For starters, it wasn't fresh and had a gross fishy aftertaste. There was no taste of miso whatsoever. It didn't help that portions were tiny for the rather hefty price tag ($35) as well.

Banana Mango Crumble - Desserts were highly recommended at PS Cafe and the banana mango crumble is apparently one of the best. I wasn't too wowed by it though. Sure, the crumble was nice with the scoop of vanilla bean ice cream but I just thought that the flavours of the mango and banana could have been more pronounced. Everything tasted like a soft mashed up mixture with no distinct taste.

Flourless Orange Cake - I didn't have the stomach to try much of the orange cake but it tasted quite decent with its mild orangey and nutty taste. I'm sure the sauce had a part to play as well.

Blowing almost close to $98 for 2 disappointing mains and 2 average desserts hardly qualifies as reasonable. On the contrary, I thought that my money was well spent during a desserts only visit to the Palais outlet (See my pictures below). Service at Dempsey was spotty as the place seemed rather short handed due to the large crowd, but definitely better then its Palais counterpart. Bottomline is, go to the Palais branch and stick to desserts.

See all my pictures here.

located near dempsey, PS cafe indeed provide a very different experience from other restaurants in town. it has nice ambience, near to nature and actually quite hard to find the place on my first trip.

special menu, i was asked if id like to try kangeroo thigh when i first sit down. sounds like fear factor when my friend heard that.

we chose not to be that adventurous and ordered mushroom pasta with truffle oil. bad move for someone who havent tried truffle before, coz i really think the pasta taste like some puke. no offence. but i cant accept the taste.

chilled out at the outdoor area with nice tea lights illuminating the place making it a really beautiful and relaxing place.

however, base on my first trip there, i really hated it. it was a whimsical decision that me and my friend wanted to have a dinner there and we dropped by. it was pretty early like 6pm and there werent much people. BUT, we had to stand there for quite a while when a staff finally decided to attend to us. and when we asked for a table for two, the waitress, quite in black face, asked if we have made any reservations. no, we said and she gave us a 'tsk'

she then look around the area, (which was obviously very empty) and gave us the impression its really difficult to give us a table without reservation. it was a tuesday evening and its still quite early, how difficult can it be? urgh.

it was till later i realise the crowd that followed are mostly expats or some tai tais. but they didnt fill up all the tables too.

so its a high class place and not being tai tai or expat means we cant have a table is it? well at least thats the impression given.

alright, complains aside, conclusion: really nice environment. okay food, rooms for improvement on its services.

I was really rooting for the dessert to save the day, or shall i say, the night. The "Double Dark Chocolate Cake" ($16) was indeed a lifesaver. Whatever disappointment we had in the main courses were all cast aside after that first bite of the cake. It was moist and UBER delicious. The dark chocolate was rich and divine. MMM mmmm. The sweetness was just right, enough for you to finish the cake and ask for more :P In short, it was better than ***. Ok ok, almost. haha!

For my full review pls read
http://the-f-word-blog.blogspot.com/

Being tucked in the secluded top of Dempsey Road, I finally found my way to PS Café for a dinner. A café it might be, it is housed in a standalone pretty colonial bungalow away from the main thoroughfare.

PS, which stands for Project Shop - a local mid-market casual clothing chain, attracts a surprisingly upmarket crowd. It is perhaps the glass façade and high ceiling that adds a touch of grandeur to the already nice ambience you get whilst sitting inside the restaurant. The staffs were also friendly and approachable.

However, the food did not seek to impress me that very night. The starter of salad was merely greens and some roasted eggplants that were zealously drizzled in olive oil – straightforward, nothing fanciful, nothing captivating.

The Thick Fries were surprisingly the best dish for the night. Crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, it went well with the 2 dips that came with it – a BBQ flavour and the other, I perceived to be Sour Cream based.

The Tubular Pasta though was the letdown of the night. It seriously lacked flavour and was under-cooked – a couple more minutes would have achieved the Al-dente texture. However I would admit that I am beginning to like the idea of having snow peas in my pasta dish.

The dessert was also tortuously too rich for me. Profiteroles, or Small Cream Puffs filled with Ice Cream; served with Thick, Dark, Chocolate Syrup, is just not my kind of dessert after a heavy dinner.

Overall, a nice place to go for a first date, but skipped the pasta if you have to and go for the seafood and their famous brownie for dessert instead.

You can view the photos and other reviews @ His Food Blog.