WADO (Gardens by the Bay)

Satay by the Bay has been one of those places that had been long regarded as a tourist trap for quite a while — there was a point of time that the food centre looked rather run-down and under-maintained. That being said, the food centre has been refurbished some time back in October / November 2023 and now sports a newer, cleaner look that definitely helped to improve the dining experience for patrons overall. With the sprucing up of the entire space, it also seems that they were able to bring in a couple of new tenants into the food centre here to replace a couple of stalls that had seemed to closed down due to the declining footfall in the area by COVID-19 — recent tenants that have moved into Satay by the Bay includes a dessert stall named Ice On You which had first started operations in Ghim Moh Food Centre (their Ghim Moh Food Centre outlet still exists, though they are closed temporarily in order to allow for the operations at Gardens by the Bay to stabilise). Another new tenant that has received lesser attention but have made a move to Satay by the Bay is WADO. If the name rings a bell; these are the same folks behind WADO Dining that had first started out at The Promenade @ Pelikat near Kovan, before its move to Hotel Clover at North Bridge Road taking over the former premises vacated by Brine. This is likely to be WADO’s very first time operating out of a food centre; their stall does look rather barren considering how they lack of menu boards — the empty light box is definitely a strange sight against that of their neighbours. One can find the menu on the counter just right in front of the cashier; the menu seemingly being the same one used when they were still operating at Hotel Clover @ North Bridge Road. That being said, the staff did explain to us that they were only serving the Build Your Own Rosti section of the menu; we did notice that they also do have gelato stocked up in their display chiller, though we did not enquire on whether the Build Your Own Gelato section of the menu was being served.

We had actually been to WADO once; that was during the period of time when they had just moved and opened for business at their Hotel Clover location along North Bridge Road. We also did actually order their Rosti; the Rosti dishes also being served in the same “Build Your Own Rosti” format as it is currently at the Satay by the Bay location. Patrons would first make their choice between the three Rosti types then they serve up as a “base” to the Build Your Own Rosti item — this would include the Signature Rosti, Spicy Rosti, and the Cheesy Rosti. Thereafter, patrons would then select their choice of protein / meat / seafood to go along with the Rosti — this includes options like Grilled Chicken Sausage, Smoked Salmon and Duck Confit; just to name a few. Both the types of Rosti and the choices of meat that one can opt for comes in two different sizes — one being the Standard size, while the other being the Large; our order was for the Cheesy Rosti with Grilled Chicken Chop, with both the Rosti and our choice of meat being at the Standard size. All Rosti orders required an estimated waiting of around 15 minutes to be served, and the Build Your Own Rosti dishes comes accompanied with a dollop of sour cream and coleslaw that is served on the side. Collecting our order at the counter after 15mins later, we excitedly dug in to the Cheesy Rosti — this was pretty much what we recalled it to be when WADO was still operating at Hotel Clover at North Bridge Road. Their Rosti comes with shredded potatoes that are shredded to a texture that is finer than what we typically see outside; this also meant that their Rosti was certainly more crisp on the exterior with a bit of bite and it also does not seem to have absorbed any oiliness nor felt greasy on the underside.

Specks of black pepper can be found speckled throughout the entire Rosti — perhaps their way of adding a spicy note to the Rosti and the back of the tongue that adds on to the savoury notes of the Rosti; also works well one has the Rosti together with the sour cream. The cheese seems to be added to the centre of the Rosti; does allow for just a bit of that cheese pull and bound that part of the Rosti together — provides another dimension of texture and savouriness for the Rosti as well. Where the grilled chicken chop was involved, we felt that this wasn’t quite their forte — there really wasn’t much to remember about the chicken chop; it was good to have, but did not have any notable characteristics such as a crisp skin or a smoky char that came with it. Even the sauce they came with it felt a little out of the usual when compared against the brown sauce typically used at coffeeshop / hawker centre stalls serving up Western fare — this one being a little heavy on the saltishness and felt a little too rich yet flat. The coleslaw did fare better though; served chilled, the sauce in the coleslaw mix was not too milky and certainly gave the refreshing crunch that we were looking for — a great respite from the starches and the meat that is on the plate. There are some combinations of the Build Your Own Rosti where things can get really pricey quickly — the price of the meat options are considered add-ons to the listed price of the respective Rosti; going for meat options like the Duck Confit and Beef Steak that costs $17 as add-on would mean that the Build Your Own Rosti dish would essentially cost more than $20 a plate. That being said, the least priciest meat options are listed at $4 to $7; effectively bringing the Build Your Own Rosti dish to a price slightly below $15. If that is the case, WADO does provide for a great option for those unwilling to pay “tourist” prices for local fare that may turn out pretty mediocre especially given the nature of Satay by the Bay being a tourist hotspot; an option seriously worth considering when at Satay by the Bay!