B1 -08/11 Palais Renaissance, 390 Orchard Road,Tel: 6734 2700
Operating Hours:11.30am – 9.30pm (Mon – Fri) 10am – 9.30pm (Sat)Brunch: 10am – 4.30pm (Sun)

One of the things I love about eating in a bistro is that I can sit for hours, alone, reading a book or newspaper or some despicable rival’s restaurant reviews, with a glass of wine or a coffee and an imagined café crème, feeling like the debonair flâneur which I like to imagine myself to be. There is no silent, burning stares of disapproval from the waiting staff, nor any worries about the queues at the hostess desk. That’s how The Marmalade Pantry was until recently, since when it has become almost impossible to wedge yourself into the place. You have to book (just the word itself makes me shiver). Doesn’t that just defeat the whole point of a bistro? It does in my eyes. I do, however, have to hand it to them, I would love to tell you that standards have slipped, but they haven’t: the food is excellent. After surgically inserting myself in there the other day and collaring a waitress, I ordered my old favourite: the ribeye steak sandwich with grilled onions, avocado and wasabi mayonnaise, which was disappointingly delicious as always – chewy bread, juicy steak, soft, creamy avocado and delicious peppery wasabi mayo. The crab, tomato, chilli and pine nut linguini was another sickening, resounding success, while the miso-marinated baked tofu with vegetable tempura and ginger-infused soy sauce was the best of the lot – there’s just something about the crispy soft texture of tempura vegetables that makes my heart race. For dessert, my sticky toffee pudding with a scoop of vanilla ice cream was the classic bistro dish to have on a miserable, rainy day: moist, warm and sweet. I hate them so much.