Restaurant Review: Fansida Wine & Dine
Fansida Wine & Dine is located along Geylang Lor 23, at the junction of Aljunied Road. It first caught my attention when I drove pass couple of weeks back and wondered out loud to my husband what is this European restaurant doing amidst industrial buildings and in the middle of Geylang? Thereafter, it went to the back of my mind, like many things.
Then last Friday night, as I was desperately looking for deals on Eatigo that I can enjoy at 50% off for a 9.30pm with the mister after he gets home from work, I came across Fansida again. The name, as foreign and odd sounding as it is, is not easy to remember, but will strike a familiarity if you see it again. (I wrote a review earlier on my ipad while watching Olympics on Saturday night, and right after I finish, for some reason, my safari crashed and yeah, you guessed it… All gone. Even re-writing this I had to check again to make sure I got the name right…Ok, maybe I am getting old.) Althought I chose the restaurant because I did not have much choices left, this was a blessing in disguise, as the food was unexpectedly good.
First, let me explain what Eatigo is. I was struggling for a while if I should introduce this app to more people… because all the popular restaurants gets fully booked way ahead as it is already! I don’t need more people fighting with me for the limited discount time slots! But kiasu-ness aside, I also realise that for the app to thrive and get more good eateries in, they need a bigger base. So…. here it goes…
Eatigo is a time slot specific discount app for restaurants. Meaning, you can go into the app and choose a restaurant, look at the discounts they have for certain time slots and confirm your reservations. When you arrive, just give them the confirmation code and you can enjoy the discount! Discounts range from 10-50%. No online purchase or transactions. So the benefits of this is that you make a reservation and enjoy discounts all with a tap. It is pretty cool, especially if you eat during off-peak times, as this is when the discounts are generally highest. The mister and his friend first had lunch at Suki-ya at I12 at 50% off and since then they were hooked. They even have a jingle for Eatigo which annoys me no end ” Have eatigo, we go. No eatigo, we no go…” BTW, we are in no way affiliated to the app and we do not stand to gain anything by promoting this app.
Anyway, back to Fansida. We arrived at the restaurant at 9.25pm and when we walked in, Ed turned around to look at me and asked,”You sure they are open?” Well, this is because the whole place was empty. Before I could reply, a waiter popped out and welcomed us. After telling him we made a reservation via Eatigo, he smiled, nodded in acknowledgement and brought us to our seats. It does feel a bit odd to have the whole place to ourselves especially when the restaurant does look a little dated and reminds me of those old school Hainanese run European Restaurants.
Nevertheless, we asked for recommendations and placed our orders. Bearing in mind that we will be enjoying 50% off all food items, we went for soup, main and shared a dessert. I chose the Mushroom Soup (Usual: $9) and Baby Snapper (Usual: $18) while Ed had a Lobster Bisque (Usual: $10) and a Ribeye (Usual: $28) and for dessert, I chose Apple Strudel (Usual: $9). I have attached the menu below.
The Soups
Initially, I found the mushroom soup a little too bland and asked for salt and pepper. However, I only added pepper and the taste did build up and it was enjoyable. I liked the creamy but not too rich consistency and there was a generous serving of mushroom pieces in the soup. I I pay full price, I may expect something a more premium touch like a splash of truffle oil or a stronger flavour. The soup was served with some garlic toast which were warm and crunchy.
Ed enjoyed his lobster bisque but did not enjoy the pieces of limp prawns in the bisque. I do agree that small pieces of lobster or plumper prawns may be a better idea especially at $10.
All in all, a pretty pleasant start to the meal.
The Mains
The Baby Snapper was perfectly seared to a slightly crispy exterior with very moist and flavourful flesh within. Paired with the creamy mushroom sauce that was more flavourful than the soup, it was a very pleasant balance. It was definitely well worth the $18 at full price and a total steal at $9!!! =)
The Beef Ribeye looks about 200g or so and again perfectly cooked to medium doneness, leaving the meat flavourful and juicy. Ed thoroughly enjoyed this Ribeye and agreed that it was well worth the $28 full price.
The servings are more European sized and not the typical American size of 250g steaks and above, nor does it come with carbs which we were fine with as it is filling without being too stuffed. Especially good for late night dinners and actually just better for our health on the whole as many people tend to overeat especially for dinner.
The Dessert
We chose the Apple Strudel expecting a layered strudel because this is something I have not made at home. The waiter actually recommended Tiramisu or Creme Brulee but as I make very good tiramisu and creme brulee, I decided to give this a miss. I must say it was a mistake as you can see the Strudel looked more like an Apple Pie which I think I can do way better…. Very disappointing actually. Too much dough and not very good dough. So of the entire meal, only the dessert was disappointing but I believe their Creme Brulee or Tiramisu will fare better.
Conclusion
This is a place I will definitely be visiting again to try other mains and maybe the other desserts. I am also curious at the quality of the foie gras. I have seen other good reviews of this place on eatigo and google. From the attentive and impeccable service, to the delicious food, this is a truly hidden gem in Geylang. I also notice they have set lunches and lunch time will probably see better crowd thanks to the offices nearby.
