2016 Mother’s Day Lunch At Open Farm Community!

I have waited 27 years to celebrate this day with my first grandchild! That’s not too bad considering I have friends who are still waiting…😉

Cheeky TJ and I celebrating Mother’s Day at OFC last Sunday.
I have to be vigilant with his inquisitive mind and exploring hands as anything that comes within his reach means an episode of intense struggle!

My firstborn and my first grandchild = picture perfect!

This year officially marks Valerie’s first Mother’s Day celebration (TJ was still in her womb last year) and we were looking forward to brunch at Open Farm Community where its casual environment is suitable even for families with very young children.

“Open Farm Community (OFC) is Spa Esprit Group’s initiative in spearheading local farming, connecting the community to nature, and celebrating local spirit. Sitting on a 35,000sq ft of green-land, OFC unites local farmers, creative chefs and an innovative spirit in a first-of-its-kind dining concept in Singapore.

Our vision is to bring to life, the impact of urban farming in Singapore, and in doing so, strengthen our understanding and respect for food and its origins. Our children, in particular, have been too segregated from nature. OFC is an ideological and physical reaction to this.” – from the website of OFC

Reception area of OFC.

Owner Cynthia Chua puts it, ““We want to provide a platform where families can come together and explore the many facets of food together through art, tours of the vegetable and fruit orchards, talks, gardening workshops, and of course, eating. Their layered experiences will also strengthen inter-generational relationships through quality time spent together.”

“In the open-concept kitchen and restaurant, Chef Ryan focuses on locally sourced, seasonal and innovative dishes. Every month, curated farmer’s markets allow guests to deepen the pleasures of simple, freshly harvested ingredients that is both nourishing and a visual feast.” – from the website of OFC

Let’s get to the food! In order of appearance:

‘Hail Caesar’ house smoked chicken, 5J jamon, horseradish caesar dressing, fresh romaine lettuce.
The rustic croutons are huge! This dish makes a good light lunch.

Sautéed Local Clams with warm bread and lemon meunière sauce.
I loved the bread but I found the sauce a little too sour for my taste.

Vanessa’s main course of Fresh Clam Taglierini, garlic sauce, parsley shad and lemon butter.

Ryan’s main course of Mud Crab Pappardelle with Thai curry sauce, crunchy yellow squash, coconut and crispy shallot Thai basil.

My main course of Carnaroli Risotto, chorizo, cuttlefish, ebi, green peas, saffron threads and crispy serrano.

I had thought them to be jamón but the crispy serrano were just as delicious!
“The majority of serrano hams are made from the landrace breed of white pig and are not to be confused with the much more expensive jamón ibérico.” – Wikipedia

The 48 hour Barolo Braised Oxtail Strozzapreti, parmesan wafers and wild thyme is the only dish Valerie can have on the menu.
We had requested that the parmesan wafers be served on the side as Valerie cannot take dairy products since she is still giving TJ breastmilk. TJ is allergic to milk proteins especially cheese.

Valerie enjoying her main course.

Valerie had Oxtail Strozzapreti not because the pasta looked like umbilical cord nor because she wanted to choke any priest but because that’s the only dairy-free option. By the way, the pasta has a very interesting origin to its name:

“There are several legends to explain the name: One is that gluttonous priests were so enthralled by the savory pasta that they ate too quickly and choked themselves, sometimes to death. Another explanation involves the “azdora” (“housewife” in the Romagna’s dialect), who “chokes” the dough strips to make the strozzapreti: “… in that particular moment you would presume that the azdora would express such a rage (perhaps triggered by the misery and difficulties of her life) to be able to strangle a priest!” Another legend goes that wives would customarily make the pasta for churchmen as partial payment for land rents (In Romagna, the Catholic Church had extensive land properties rented to farmers), and their husbands would be angered enough by the venal priests eating their wives’ food to wish the priests would choke as they stuffed their mouth with it. The name surely reflects the diffuse anticlericalism of the people of Romagna and Tuscany. Another possible explanation is that the pasta resembles a clerical collar, commonly referred to as a “Priest Choker”.” – Wikipedia

Chicken Katsu Burger, carrot spaghetti, iceberg lettuce, chiffonade, shoestring fries, lime mayo – all in between a spring onion bun!

Valerie was afraid Ryan may not have enough to eat with just a plate of pasta so she ordered this mains as a “side” for him, lol…

Lemon Tart with basil ice cream.
This was really good!
I loved the short-biting biscuits. The chilled lemon custard had the right sour. There were so many textures and flavours all bursting symphonically in my mouth as I paired the tart with the basil ice cream.

And, of course, there must be coffee to end a good meal with my wonderful company! Not skinny Latte this time round

Time for TJ to have his meal.

Taste is subjective and at every meal there will be some good and bad dishes. By bad, I mean dishes that do not match up to my (or my family’s) personal taste preferences but others may like them. We didn’t like the chicken katsu burger. And although I did luxuriate in the floral, earthy, and nutty flavour of the Spanish ham in the “Hail Caesar” salad, overall it was still so so experience only. While my children enjoyed the fresh clams starter, I find the sauce too sour and heavy for my liking (and I do love clams a lot)!

All of us enjoyed our main courses. According to my children, the pasta was cooked to perfection with every al dente strands coated nicely, and not drowning in its respective sauces. The oxtail, I stole a bite from Valerie, was scrumptiously tender. Despite the fact that while I was very pleased with my risotto (not a single grain of rice was spared), the big oomph for me was OFC’s lemon tart! I nearly freaked out on it! Maybe I should eat dessert for mains, haha… Happy Mother’s Day in advance my dear friends!

Open Farm Community
Address: 130E Minden Road,
Singapore 248819.

Tel: +65 6471 0306.

Opening Hours:
Mon – Fri: 12pm – 10pm
Sat – Sun/PH: 11am – 10pm

Note: Brunch Menu is available from 11am – 4.30pm on Saturdays, Sundays and Public Holidays ONLY.

Take-away Shop:
Daily: 9am – 9pm

Happy eating and bonding!

Open Farm Community.
There’s outdoor seating (to the left of this photo) with 4 giant fan-coolers at each corner, and a take-away shop facing the restaurant.

See other Mother’s Day celebration I had:
NOT JAMES BOND BUT MATERNAL BOND!
MOTHER’S DAY BRUNCH @ NOSH RESTAURANT & BAR
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY CELEBRATION @ IMPERIAL TREASURE SUPER PEKING DUCK