Artichoke will be moving into a new home soon, and the last day of operations in the current Middle Road restaurant will be on 22 March. If you have a reservation from now till then, good on you! If not, shame on you but they will continue slaying with the New Bahru community from May. Till then, peace out and see you on the other side of Singapore!
And at the mention of their bread ($4.80/ Bag of Bread), the Green Harissa Prawns ($38) were wonderfully seasoned. That tantalising green harissa enriched sauce/oil with split cream and burnt onions packed a nice heated punch so you would really need that extra warm dough to wipe it all up~ The prawns are also plump and sweet.
As good as I remembered them to be, Artichoke’s hummus is a must so I got their Mezze Platter ($28) for lunch. Plated with miso hummus with pomegranate, beetroot hummus with sesame seeds, Greek chickpea salad, refreshing greens, tangy pickles and bread; the 3 mezzes of the day were great to share for two. Smooth and creamy, the savoury miso hummus was bomb diggity but the vibrant beetroot dip was an absolute delight - both perfectly moreish and bangin’ when paired with their pillowy-doughy bread.
The spiced Duck Kebab Skewer was a sweet-fat combo as it was served with blistered warm grapes that complemented the richness of the meat. The duck meat itself was butter-knife tender, juicy and flavoursome with a nice crispy skin.
Jewelled Hummus was both aesthetically beautiful and amazingly delicious. It had a myriad of rich flavours and textures with a hint of smokiness and spice, topped with pops of freshness from the pomegranate. Definitely the best I've ever had and relishing it all with the warm and fluffy slices of Turkish Bread ($4.50).
Top: fried cauliflower @ $22++
Bottom left: battered fish fillet @ $29++
Right: grilled octopus @ $31++
Good but expensive (especially the cauliflower!) But it's recommended by most and it does not disappoint. The octopus is nice and juicy too but we've had better elsewhere before.
The fish is honestly quite bland and a tad too expensive.
Ordered the hummus (classic must have), aubergine (my all time fav), stuffed pepper, Turkish bread, lamb kebab and fish harissa. Every dish is delicious on its own and combined. I do wish they could bring back prawn harissa, felt the fish was overcooked and dry.
Expected damage: ~$40/pax
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Two amazing main dishes that went well with our hummus appetisers and warm bread. Unforgettable dinner with family. Good place for family and friends! Indoor or outdoor seating available but I prefer outdoor dining in the evening.
The lamb kebab was so tasty and substantial and went so well with the hummus appetisers with warm bread.
Love the eggplant, hummus and red pepper appetisers with warm bread served from a brown bag. So heart warming and I am almost full already!
Can’t decide on the winner, both dishes are exquisite! The sea bream tasted Thai Asian green harissa. Fried cauliflower with pickled beetroot, mint, dukka walnut and banana (though can’t taste the banana).
Though it’s a stone throw’s from my place, have not been to this hidden cove along Middle Road for eons. The roasted cauliflower with aloumi was totally delish and addictive. The eggplant hummus with the bread bag complementing the complex layering of flavours of the chilli and sweet onions. The swordfish kebab was a tad on the dry side for our palate - would be better either more charred ends or Ahi-style. We had a bottle red but the cocktails looked interesting. Nice company, nice food~
$38 - this was OK and I think lacking some salt. Prawns also felt over cooked, which might be because the dish was served on a hot pan and prawns had some time to rest and keep cooking. Probably won’t order this again. I really liked the warm bag of bread app ($4.5) which was a lovely light bread!!
Each plate of mezze was pretty delicious, but I found myself reaching out for the babaganoush the most! It was smoky and flavourful. The hummus was tasty as well, and the crab tzatziki was refreshing as it was cold.
Okay we did not foresee ordering 4 bags of bread in total. But we couldn’t resist because the bread was warm, fluffy, with great texture. Good on its own, also good with the mezzes!
Crisp tater tots along with sour cream, coriander and garlic ghee - how can this not be delicious? This is like a slightly elevated version of tater tots because of the sauce. Great for sharing!
A pity they changed out the hashbrown cube, but this should suffice.
Cauliflower was tasty, and the rice was fluffy and flavourful too. I liked the addition of the pomegranates! Thought this was not bad, but I had expected much more.
Mixed feelings about this - whilst it wasn’t dry, I’ve had more tender pork jowl. But it was still decent, and a quick squeeze of the lime elevated the flavours. Some of my friends really liked this though, so to each their own!
Unlike the rest of Singapore I am not that big a fan of fried chicken because health :p But WOW this dish really impressed me with the crisp batter and tender chicken, coupled with the tasty garlic whip sauce. I was so amazed that even though the chicken was quite lean and didn’t have the fatty chicken bits that I usually peel out, the chicken was still super joosy. Possibly the best fried chicken I’ve had. Definitely a must-order!
