Artichoke

T R E A T
Available Wednesdays to Sundays, @artichoke_sg has a Deli Dinner for takeaway. As the set menu for 2 pax ($80) changes every week, you can’t sit around on your asses if you want to get your paws on it.
I had the privilege of a sneak eat last Sunday of this week’s Vietnamese-inspired version when the bossman himself dropped off a very generous meal at my home - thanks so much again for that @bjornshen.
Although the main act of the Deli Dinner is the monster of a modified Banh Mi (it’s apportioned into 2 x 300gms heavyweights for the Set), I found the rest of the items real attention-grabbers too.
Take the Chicken Broth for instance, the only thing that needed heating up. It was extremely tasty, especially with the beansprouts, onions, herbs and enoki mushrooms (by the way, these should only be chucked in moments before you commence slurping).
The Potato Salad was a side so bold from fish sauce caramel, fresh basil and a squeeze of fresh lime juice, it threatened to steal the thunder from everything else. It’s easily one of the more exciting potato salads I’ve ever had.
With shredded cabbage, carrots, pickles, firm tofu and peanuts tumbled together, the Vietnamese Coleslaw was vibrant in colour but that wasn’t why it made an impression. Leave it to a sliced chilli-filled “nuoc cham” to create the splash (quite literally).
Be prepared to unhinge your jaw for Bjorn’s larger-than-life cold-pressed Vietnamese sandwich. But remember, DO NOT REMOVE the plastic wrap around it. I made that mistake and it was like trying to get toothpaste back in the tube 😂 The wrap is to keep all the stuff packed in there, IN THERE. And there’s a lot of stuff. We’re talking lemongrass-grilled pork, bologna, housemade pickles, fresh herbs, vegetables and more. Except for coriander. Coriander gets its own ride.
One of the sweets I received was a box of pretty, gold-dusted Donuts topped with pineapple and jackfruit. It was nice but the Chocolate Pudding was the dessert that made me sit up and go wow. I‘ve never been into chocolate-and-banana combos but Pastry Chef Nancy had me happily eating my words (and her coconut cream-covered intensely chocolate-y dessert with bananas and peanuts).
The drink included in the Set was a pleasant and not overpowering Lychee and Lemongrass Cooler.

To order, go to:
www.bjornshen.com

You may want to also take note a new Deli Dinner menu drops every Monday at noon.

You might be thinking why a Middle Eastern restaurant might be serving crab toast. But Artichoke isn’t a place where you feast on conventional Middle Eastern food.

I was amazed by the crab toast with chicken crackling and trout roe ($16++). So this may look like an elevated version of a crab mayonnaise toast but it isn’t.

The base features fluffy brioche buns that are baked in-house. A generous serving and sweet blue swimmer crab is mixed with tzatziki. What a pleasure it is to devour this small yet satisfying snack. The popping bursts of umami from the trout roe played its part in boosting the flavour profile of this toast.

And not forgetting about the chicken crackling which is basically fried chicken skin. What hit my soft spot was that the skin was really crispy and not oily at all, and certainly added a crunch to the dish. You can never go wrong with fried chicken skin.

This was part of the tasting menu and this picture may not accurately reflect the portion of the ala carte version.

So glad to finally try this place and it does live up to expectations. Loved the mezze and main dishes! Will definitely be back again
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📷 (1) Hummus with Spiced Mushrooms, (2) Crab Toast, (3) Halloumi Salad, (4) Claypot Lamb Shoulder and (5) Malabi 📍Artichoke
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#sgeats #sgfood #burpple #middleeasternfood #fusionfood

I mean we’ve got this piping hot pie of creamed kale, halloumi cheese and lots of meaty mushrooms, resting beneath this gloriously crispy, golden, noodle-like pastry. Textural contrast: ✔️ Super creamy and cheesy filling: ✔️ They’ve got the makings of the perfect pie really. Except...3 bites in it all got waaaay too salty. Perhaps it was just an off day for them (our thicc hashbrown also had seasoning issues that night), but what started off as a great dish turned out so salty we barely finished half of it. Which was a real bummer cause otherwise it was epic.

Peeled Russet potatoes are steamed, grated, and seasoned with corn flour and salt, then covered with foil and baked at 150 degrees for an hour. then cut into squares and fried it, topped with sour cream and fresh za'atar (wild thyme in Middle East). The texture of crispy hash brown at outside and Soft inside, mixed with chilled sour cream combine together in mouth, it’s really good 😋 💰$14.
📍Artichoke Sg.
161 Middle Road.

After nine years of operation and #stillnotdead, Artichoke has refreshed their weekend brunch menu, offering hearty and honest fare, none of the hipster waffles and pancakes. It’s always a joy to dine at Artichoke as you can be rest assured that you are in good hands to fill your bellies with good food. In addition to the must-orders of Turkish bread and hummus, we shared the Brunch Snack Pack ($22), a constructed plate of sharwarma spiced chicken, fried egg, fries and pickled onions among the medley of ingredients, and the Cauliflower Kushari ($24) which I have shared my review on it previously. We left the restaurant filled and satisfied.
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📍Artichoke
161 Middle Road, Singapore 188978