THE ROLL - ESPRESSO DINING BAR — Restaurant in Albert-Eden

Edit: The following is a review of Chinoiserie - same location, different/ new restaurant now called The Roll.

Ate here last night and the food and service were excellent. The eatery has been on my radar for some time and I regret not going there sooner.

Our table went a bit porky and ordered sharing plates of ribs and sticky pork belly, as well as braised pork belly bao. We also had the OG noodles to share. All the food was excellent, but the ribs and the sticky pork belly were the stand-out items. I mean, the braised pork belly on the bao was also excellent, but I'm not personally enthused by bao. I mean, put an excellent filling in bao and I'll wolf it down, but I feel here that the bao distracted from the chunk of pork belly inside it.

I guess what I am trying to say is that Chinoiserie knows how to cook pork! All the pork items were the most tender pork I have ever eaten. And of these, the ribs were top. My god! The minute I was done, I wish I could rewind and start it all over again. That first bite was so heady...

The service was also excellent. I had confusedly thought that the joint was Korean-forward, and they had (flavoured) soju on the menu - so I enquired whether I could have somaek (beer and a shot of soju "cocktail"). Someone - I presume the owner or manager - came to explain that they sold the soju in 300-something ml bottles, so couldn't open one for a single shot, etc. They offered a solution, the table then got a bottle of soju, and I could mix my own somaek (Although, I'd recommend that plain soju is best for somaek).

Unfortunately, we were seated below a speaker and it was difficult to follow all the conversation at our table. I guess we could have asked if they could turn it down a bit, but we didn't.

Nevertheless, a good time was had by all, and thank you to our one companion who picked up the tab. An...

Gathering from all the reviews I was so worried that this was gonna be a dim dark and blue seating but was pleasantly surprised with the lightly lit interior, beautiful decor and funky music! Loved the dragon which wrapped around the kitchen. Waited to be seated but was served at once. Ordered the pork bun, ribs and coconut pudding. Pork bun For some reason I wasn't wowed by the display but was still impressed by the size of the pork. The bun itself was very soft and pleasant to the bite, pork was flavorful, more stringy than I would have liked but tasty. A little crisp and fatty which was the best part. Best paired with their available sauces; siracha and their special gong sauce which was delish! 7/10 Ribs First to be served and the aroma was enticing wow. BUT first bite and ugh dry and the least amount of sauce served ribs ever. Some parts were crispy around the bone and that wasn't too bad but overall not impressed. 6/10 Rice pudding Extremely creamy and the coconut toasted to the perfect amount of crispyness. Not extremely sweet, a hint of sweetness and was really yummy. Infused with coconut jelly bits within the rice, a lovely blend!! 8/10 Overall 3 stars since the mains just didn't quite live up to expectations. The dessert definitely saved the mood though, and thank goodness for...

This place is perfect for a first date, dinner with friends, or just fine meal by yourself.

The coconut crusted squid rings were amazing, and great value for the $12 price. They are light and crispy, but succulent when biting into them. The wasabi fries were nothing too special but were cooked well and tasted great. There is a lot of them so maybe order with 3 or more. The main gao bao were delicious. Every bite was slightly different and that too was good value for $8. The interior was designed very beautifully and the toilet area was clean. There is also a bar for drinks.

This place is always busy but the table queues are less than 10 minutes, and you can sit at the bar. I recommend ordering a gao bao each, and a few sides to share when with friends. Roughly $17-25 pp.

Will be going back anytime I pass through.

EDIT: Now happily married, to the girl I took here on our first date. See photo of her cross-stitch of that special date. Thanks to Chinoserie for making it a...