[ Café Food Review — Aesthetic =/= Quality ] It’s rare for me to order in food at home — not a fan of the unnecessary waste generated + no to lukewarm food — but unfortunately, it really is the only viable option on some days.

If I do order, it’s normally via Deliveroo. The delivery costs are cheaper, their discounts tend to be better (but for a small group of brands), and it means I don’t have to support Grab, yay!

And that is how I ended up with the order of Buttercake N Cream’s All Day Magical Set (25% off) ft. Chef’s Roasted Half (Spring) Chicken + Caesar Salad side + Peach Sparkler for $14.18, and a side of Chicken Nuggets for $7 because yours truly can’t say no to nuggets.

Here’s the only summary you need: If I’d been at the café, I’d have sent almost everything back. Which was an unpleasant discovery for me because apparently BnC has been voted as a great spot for food (then again, said vote is from a local forum), and takes pride in not just fostering a conducive ambience, but its gastronomical creations too. Apparently.

The frustrating thing is the food didn’t have to be horrible! I could taste the effort in balancing the flavours. For e.g., the spring chicken was honestly not bad — it was seasoned decently, with variations in herbs and condiments. So what’s the problem then?

Everything was d r e n c h e d in oil. And if it didn’t need oil, sauce.

No matter how good whatever I picked up was, it was absolutely ruined by the viscous sheen of oil that seeped and clung to every damn thing. The fragrance of the potato? Stifled by the oil. The crisp of the nuggets? Sodden by the oil.

The salad then? Inundated by dressing.

Now remember how I have horrible oil sensitivity? Add two and two together, and bam, guess who was rendered virtually incapacitated for the better part of my lunch. The silver lining? At least I’m home with access to all my meds.

Oh, and the drink wasn’t bad I guess. Not too sweet but lacking in body; but hey, it did wonders in washing the deluge of oil from my mouth.

Worst item of the day? The nuggets. Bland, limp, and drowning in enough oil to risk a USA invasion.

Best? The taro pie from Burger King my dad (thankfully) got for me.