The Good Batch hit the town in the last quarter of 2013. When the signboard's up and queue started to built as soon as the operation started, I thought, probably, finally a good place which serves good food. Unfortunately I was let down not once, but twice.
I don't have pictures of my first visit but I remembered what I ordered. I had a Portobello Road while my friend had The Ang-Moh. We arrived before 11am and we're already in the line for a table. However it didn't take us too long as we were at the front of the line so to avoid longer waiting time, we were seated on the communal table with bar chairs. When I flicked through the menu, the titles of the dishes immediately reminded me of another great brunch place overseas (it was one of my favourite places for brunch but to be fair, I would not mention the name here). So I thought, was it pure coincidence or does The Good Batch lack of originality? Hmm. I don't know.
I first ordered the pancakes (at 11am), but the staff came to me at 11.30am to tell me that it's sold out. I was a little disappointed, because you don't need a whole 30 minutes to find out that it's sold out (my friend's The Ang-Moh had been served.) To add upon what made me really grumpy was the staff's unfriendly tone and manner. She looked really impatient. And she didn't even apologize whatsoever. All she said was, "Hey the pancakes are sold out. Can you choose another item?" (I get it, one will feel tired in the service industry, I KNOW because I've had experience in the same industry.) But babe, it's still in the morning and operation just started couple of hours ago... *skips my rants* So I changed my order to Portobello Road.
Back to the food. When The Ang-Moh was served, my friend and I stared at each other - because what they served look like what we could prepare at home. Not even proper presentation. The whole plate made the kitchen looked like they were just rushing things to be served soonest possible. Taste wise...nothing special and certain items lacking in flavours. My Portobello Road had proper presentation though, it's nicely prepared and the taste were quite okay besides the toasted English muffin was dry.
Moving on to my second visit. In early March, this year.
This time I went in a small group of 3. The queue was not as bad but once we were seated, we could see the line was building up. Looking at the crowd, I've decided to give it another try. Thinking that perhaps on my first visit they're still new to the business.
This time I ordered The Norwegian. They have perfectly poached eggs and Hollandaise sauce seemed and tasted fine as well but the bread were still dry as ever. I ended up having one of it only. I understand that salmon was served raw thus it's not supposed to be heated but...given that the poached eggs was not even warm, sorry. And I thought the bread was supposed to be toasted? It's no where near warm either. Is The Norwegian not supposed to be served warm? Appreciate if anyone here in reading could share your knowledge with me.
My friend's Portobello Road. She liked this pretty much. I've had this on my first visit. The taste and presentation were consistent.
The Ang-Moh. I wouldn't pay the price to have this. It's the second time I'm seeing this but I'm still very much unimpressed. I don't know if it's just me who thinks that this plate is simply......it just looks like it's simply prepared. You know they say how you can feel love in food? I don't feel that at all in this serving. Not only love, I don't even feel effort.
Moving on to my second visit. In early March, this year.
This time I went in a small group of 3. The queue was not as bad but once we were seated, we could see the line was building up. Looking at the crowd, I've decided to give it another try. Thinking that perhaps on my first visit they're still new to the business.
The coffee. It's too milky for my liking. And my friend actually waited for a grand 45 minutes for her latte to be served. First they came with a wrong order of a flat white, then they took another 20 minutes or more to make her latte.
It's hits and misses at The Good Batch. To me it's either... you like it or not. I have a couple of friends who love their brunch menu while I don't enjoy it at all. I won't be returning unless I have friends who would like to try out. Or maybe it's just my luck, to have two disappointed dining experience.
By the way, The Good Batch serves alcohol. So I guess it's a good place for alcohol lovers instead.
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