Aria is a
bistro dedicated to Food, Music and Arts. Located in SUTD campus, the
main objective of this bistro is to feed the hungry stomach of the
students here and also allow their brains the freedom of expression
through music and arts.
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| Arts & Dining at Aria |
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| Dining Area & Bar |
While the
bistro is set up with the current trend of industrial style, the
walls and floor area are decorated by arts (spray paint or paintings)
and even 3D visual effect from paintings and peep holes. There is
also a place for artist to show of their works and changed monthly.
On Mondays, Wednesday and Fridays, you can enjoy the performance of
musicians to serenade you through your meal or chillax time here.
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| Live Stage and Art display at the back |
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| Wednesday Night Live by Shak |
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| Peep Hole - See the view below |
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| 3D Drawing Effect of Earth Quake when the ground separated |
True to
the theme of the bistro, there are no boundaries for the type of the
food served here. For soup, we have Mixed Mushroom Soup ($4), Beef
Gumbo ($5.90), Chicken Soto ($5.90) and Tom Yum with Glass Noodle
($7.90). The mushroom soup here uses shitake, button and oyster
mushroom. It seems to be like a good combination of mushrooms, but I
feel the mushrooms and the cream of soup did not bind well. The same
can be said for the Beef Gumbo, tasted like watery tomato soup with
mince beef.
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| Mixed Mushroom Soup |
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| Beef Gumbo |
The
Chicken Soto and Tom Yum soup provide the upward turning point. The
chicken soto is robust, packs with chicken flavour. The noodle and
perkedel made it a value meal for any students. The tom yum are tangy
and bold, but not too spicy. I said this because I can accept the
spiciness and had a good few bites from this dish.
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| Chicken Soto |
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| Tom Yum with Glass Noodle |
Chilli
Con Carne with Corn Chips ($6.90) and Truffle Fries ($5.90) with
Chilli Mayonnaise were the appetizer. The Chilli Con Carne are thick,
tasty and flavourful. The green chillies provide a subtle kick and it
was just a perfect companion with the corn chips. The truffle fries
is definitely a crowd pleaser that goes well in any occasion. The
fries is crispy on the outer but soft on the inside. The truffle oil
provide a nice aroma to it, but not overly pungent well combined with
mild chilli mayo.
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| Chilli Con Carne with Corn Chips |
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| Truffle Fries with Chilli Mayonnaise |
For
something healthy, Balsamic Mushroom Salad ($8.90) is a good choice.
Tasted clean, light and healthy. I personally like the combination of
feta cheese, sautéed mushrooms and balsamic cream.
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| Balsamic Mushroom Salad |
Moving to
main meals, we tried Bandung Style Grilled Beef Ribs ($13.90) and
Mediterranean Lamb Shank ($13.90). Both proteins definitely been put
through long hours of cooking to create the tenderness and melting in
your mouth flavours. The beef ribs was grilled before serving coated
with kecap manis (Indonesian sweet dark soy sauce) with a dash of
chilli. Although missing a little bit of bbq charred flavours like
the one that I normally ate in Jakarta, I have to admit it tasted
quite good. While the lamb shank was cooked with absent of red wine,
the gamy flavour did not out stand. Tender with thick solid robust
gravy from the stew is definitely a perfect comfort food.
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| Bandung Style Grilled Beef Ribs |
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| Mediterranean Lamb Shank |
If you
feel like fusion food, Chicken Rendang Pasta ($8.90) and Spicy Crab
Pasta ($9.90) can be considered. Chicken rendang pasta is a
combination of macaroni and chicken strips with rendang. You can feel
tasty herbs, slightly sweet and mild spicy flavour in the rendang
gravy binding the chicken, macaroni, mini tomatoes together. Topped
with perkedel and fried shallots this dish is just so Asian. A good
description of spicy crab pasta is chilli crab tossed with linguine
pasta. Spicy, thick, creamy and a solid de shell crabs and prawns.
Both dishes are great creations and feels very Singaporean.
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| Chicken Rendang Pasta |
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| Spicy Crab Pasta |
Well, the
dinner won't be complete with some desserts. We end the night with
Strawberry Pavlova ($5.90), Nutella Brownie ($5.90), Matilda Cake
($5.90) and Banana Date Pudding ($5.90) with ice cream and
butterscotch sauce. The Pavlova was light, crispy and not overly
sweet. The cream and strawberry provide a good balance to the
pavlova. Nutella Brownie is not overly dense but packs with flavour.
Accompany by vanilla ice cream, it shows why it has always been the
traditional favourites.
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| Strawberry Pavlova |
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| Nutella Brownie |
Matilda
Cake is a definite must try for chocolate cake lovers, dense, moist
and packs of chocolate flavour. Those who like their dessert light,
Matilda cake is nor for you. Banana date pudding has a light spongy
texture in the tart shape. The ice cream and butterscotch sauce was a
delight. Two thumbs up for the desserts.
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| Matilda Cake |
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| Banana Date Pudding with ice cream and butterscotch sauce |
For
drinks, I tried their smooth Thai Iced Milk Tea ($5) and Cappuccino
($3.50) which was pretty decent and one of the lowest price for cuppa
ever.
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| Cappuccino |
Overall,
dining at Aria really brings back lots of memory from my uni days.
Good food, good portion and good value. Although it is located inside
the campus, it is open to general public. Do drop by in weekday
evening and Saturday for their Food Music & Arts. Cheers!!
Thank you
very much to Hungry Go Where and Aria for the tasting invitation.
Food
& Drink: 7.5/10
Value:
9/10
Service:
N/A
Ambiance:
8.5/10
Budget
per Person: $11 - $25
Aria
Food. Music. Arts
8 Somapah Road
#01-204 SUTD Building 2
Singapore 487372
T: +65 6384 0854
IG: @ariasutd
OH:
Mon – Thu: 10.00 – 22.00
Fri: 10.00 – 01.00
Sat: 12.00 – 01.00
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