I chanced upon Chalk via the foodies bible @ hungrygowhere.com when searching for a place not too exclusive, but quiet and casual enough for me to sit crossed legged with legs tucked comfortably under my bums, enjoying a leisurely Sat evening without having us to worry too much about social protocol nor having to bear with dirty glances from the next table should i let out one chuckle too loud.
The reviews at the site were mostly positive and it didn't take too long for one to realise that the house specials were its Duck Confit & Sticky Date Pudding. I did a quick mental archive and we were on our way.
The joint wasn't too hard to locate, especially if you've got your bearings to Old School right. Otherwise it might be helpful to refer to the GPS or have your directions mapped out before you set off unless you deem circling around a district of homogeneous apartments with barely a soul in sight, fun.
So there we were. Reservations were made for 2 at 7pm earlier, thinking it was the weekend and we didn't want to have to wait around aimlessly. However to our utter surprise, there was hardly a soul, not to mention a crowd at the restaurant, when we arrived ahead of our time at 630pm. In we went, thinking it might be a little too early for the dinner crowd to form and we were certain the place would come alive in due's time.
We were led to our seats at the al fresco corner just as we've requested for and the menus, sheets of paper mounted on a wooden clipboard, were promptly handed to us
As said, we didn't need too much time in deliberating what to order as i retrieved the mental archives. Just as we were about to signal for the server that we were ready for orders, this dude came walking to our table, lugging a life-size easel stand with a chalkboard affixed and began presenting what were, the daily specials.
We decided to let him go thru with the introduction despite having our minds already made up just so he can complete the whole ritual, which was done in all but a matter of a min.
We went on to place our orders which were made up of:
- A glass of Almond Martini (which incidentally, happen to come from the daily specials off the chalkboard)
- Cream of Mushroom served with bread
- 1/2 dozen of baked escargots
- Duck Confit
- Rib-eyed steak
- Sticky Date Pudding
First up:
The Almond Martini was interesting with a notch of almond syrup but nothing spectacular nor mind blowing. I'm not a liquor fan to begin with so this review might be a little underrated but for the affordable price of $10.00, there's no harm giving it a try.
2. Cream of Mushroom
*gushes* This, is by far, the BEST mushroom soup i've ever had and you're hearing this from a very dedicated fan of the concoction. The soup boosts a velvety texture that exudes the richness of the cream which has been skillfully battered in and obvious through the little froth which sits atop the bowl of goodness when it's first warmly brought to you. This is further complemented by a flavorful stock that has been stewed to the brim of goodness. Put the 2 together and topped generously with fresh shitake mushroom chunks, you'd get the perfect rhapsody.
Every spoonful was a sheer delight and 1 bowl to share amongst 2 is absolute prudence. Just the mushroom soup alone would make a reason good enough for me to warrant a return to Chalk anytime.
3. Fresh Bread
The olive bread, like the martini, wasnt anything to shout about but since it came as a complimentary entree to the soup, we weren't complaining. Afterall, there's always vinaigrette to save the day.
4. Baked Escargots
I've always loved my slugs so this was an absolute must to try. The snails came freshly baked outta the oven as evidenced by the sizzling butter which was nestled under the slugs. I was a little disappointed by the lack of garlic mince which is another core factor to the way i like my slugs. Nonetheless, i took my first slug, drenched in warm melted butter sans Tabasco as i wanted to savour it in its original goodness before drenching it in spice.
The first bite didnt prove too bad. It had a bouncy texture and the melted butter gave it a subtle flavour. However the lack of garlic made this dish rather mediocre and i remember thinking it wouldnt have mattered if they substituted the slugs with clams because i wouldnt have noticed. The rest of which were finished with a generous shower of Tabasco and the goodness of too much butter became too much to bear after the 2nd slug.
3. Duck Confit
You know as a Chinese, i've not been exposed to having my Duck done anyway other than the traditional modus operandi of roasted or braised so i was really looking forward to this. The duck, served in all its thigh glory, was roasted to a crisp which sits atop a pleasant mix of thinly shredded garden vegetables with a serving of mashed sweet potato teasingly dripped around the plate.
Excited over it's visual glory, I took my first bite of the duck and was almost instantly beamed back to earth. Beneath its crispy roasted skin, was a slab of meat that was so fibrously dry, that i could see the threads of meat splitting, as i attempted to butcher it. The taste was alright, though at certain points i thought i was gulping down my water excessively with the duck's over savoury tinge. However on hindsight, i presume the subtle sweetness of the mashed sweet potato was exactly created to combat that and it was my bad for not pairing the two together. Still, there's nothing more i like than having my meat succulent, tender and bursting with juicy goodness hence this was a sad mistake for me. By the time i was 1/4 way done, i was eying precariously on my partner's steak which looked to be exactly what i've just described.
4. Ribeye Steak
Without further delay, i plunged my fork into that piece of steak and helped myself with it since the duck really wasnt bringing me anywhere. Boy was i right. The steak, was a reasonable cut that has been grilled to perfection; charred on the outside, tender and bursting with the flavourful infused goodness from its earlier marination of cajun on the inside. Every bite was a pleasure to chew.
5. Sticky Date Pudding
By now both our stomachs were already threatening to meet with its full capacity but i couldn't leave the place without having a go at its sticky date pudding - another highly recommended item, furthermore a sweet ending is seldom met with strong objections. So we did! The partner loved it and i kinda like it but again, nothing to shout about. Still, it was a good way to wash all the savoury madness from the earlier rounds.
On the whole, i will still return to Chalk for subsequent visits only because i couldnt get the darn mushroom soup outta my head and i really enjoy the quaint atmosphere which the district brings. Unlike Dempsey, prices here are a lot more affordable and the crowd,less uppity so it might be worth trying it out, only if you promise not to go for the Duck.
