Borshch Steakhouse (Chomp Chomp)

This steakhouse is one of the most underrated gems of Serangoon Gardens. It's been there for as long as I remember, since I first moved into the area when I was about 11.

In truth, I haven't been to Borshch in years. With so much good food along Serangoon Gardens, this little Steakhouse with almost opaque black windows tends to get overlooked.

Once you step in, you'd find that it looks like a typical old school Hong Kong cafe. Decor and ambience isn't much to talk about, but it's the food I'm here for.

So how does a $13.80 Set Dinner sound? Pretty affordable? Well here's what they served:

Caviar with Egg Nothing much to rave about. A little blob of caviar on a nicely carved egg, served with salad.

Borsch Soup My very first memory of this place is its borsch soup - it's hard to describe, hard to explain. Definitely not fresh out of a can, try it for yourself to know what I mean.

Sirloin Steak Served with fries and long beans on a hot plate, the slice of steak is small (hey, remember you're not paying much) but potent. Sizzling with a slab of butter of top, it's a cheap little slice of heaven. The mixture of butter and steak melts so well in your mouth.

Fancy Pancake A small crepe-like sweet pancake topped with whipped cream, a little slice of cherry and peach, with a banana wedged in between. Perfect sweet dessert to a savoury meal!

Hot Tea Tastes like Lipton tea. I don't know about you, but there's something very satisfying about sipping hot tea after a nice full meal.

I suppose with its Executive, Supreme and normal set dinners, it really is quite value for money to dine at Borshch. You should try it out for yourself - just manage your expectations and don't expect too much just because it's a restaurant. Think of it as a air-conditioned coffee shop and you'll realise that the food there is really a steal.

If you're curious about its exact location, it sits along the same row as the Guardian pharmacy and Sushi Tei, if I'm not wrong. It's at the car park opposite the bus stop, actually. It's pretty nondescript so you've got to keep an eye out.

Had dinner with my parents at Borshch Steakhouse, a Russian restaurant run by a Hainanese (How weird) and just a mere 10 minute walk from our house. Not much is known about Borshch (I tried googling!) except for the fact that its been around since god knows when. I probably wasn't even in existence then!

Going to Borshch for a meal is akin to stepping into an air conditioned grilling area as you walk out of it reeking strongly of cooking fumes. It certainly doesn't help that the place is rather small and crampish which only serves to contain the fumes.

Whats a meal without soup? The cream of mushroom soup was thick and starchy and tasted exactly like the can of Campbell soup I have sitting in my kitchen cabinet. In the same vein, the garlic bread was unremarkable and was merely slices of unevenly toasted but crispy baguettes spread with a thin layer of butter atop.

Shrimp Cocktail - I honestly don't know what to make of this appetiser as the shrimps were really tiny! Not that they tasted fresh either, masked by the overwhelming and over generous salad dressing.

Grilled Pork Chop - For a Hainanese run eatery, I would have expected a reasonably good dish of pork chop and Borshch didn't disappoint. The grilled pork chop was evenly grilled with a nice slightly chewy texture to boot. I did find the slab of meat to be a little too fatty though

Sirloin Steak - I was rather skeptical about ordering a steak in such a place, especially when Astons was just next door. However, skepticism soon turned to mild appreciation as I subjected the steak to the taste test. First of all, the steak was done as per my request, medium rare. Second, the meat was fibrous and a tad tasty even without the accompanying gravy. Portions were also quite respectable for the price. I also personally like this dish for the fact that a small mold of butter was allowed to sizzle in the hotplate to give the meat an added boost in terms of taste and smell.

Fancy Pancake and Peach Melba - The desserts were lousy. I couldn't see or taste what was so fancy about the pancake save for a tiny slice of banana wrapped up in the middle. The ice cream in the Peach Melba had ice chips in it and tasted familiarly like Wall's tub ice cream. Four words. I can do better.

Baked Alaska - No visit to a Russian eatery is complete without an order of the famous Baked Alaska, which is essentially ice cream and sponge cake encased within a thick layer of meringue which is then briefly placed in an extremely hot oven to firm the meringue. Borshch's rendition was a slight variation of the original concept, opting to pour a small quantity of rum onto the meringue and flambéing it till it turned a shade of burnt. I personally found it quite good, with the meringue frothy and blending well with the sponge cake and ice cream. Then again, not many places in Singapore do up this dish so its hard to form any basis for comparison. Please note that this dessert is meant to be shared.

A decently satisfying dinner for 3 cost almost $60, which isn't too expensive to pay considering that the mains were decent and so was the Baked Alaska. Service is practically nonexistent though so please do not expect any. Now, they really should do something about the ventilation.

See all my pictures here