After experiencing the popular culture of pub food overseas, I was surprised to find that Singapore actually has quite a number of pubs open in the day too! Missing the flavour of British pubs after coming back, I agreed almost immediately when my friend got me to visit for pub lunch near her work place. 

It certainly wasn't as crowded as it would have been overseas, where it's usually about 70% occupied and you see people drinking beer early at like 10am. Visiting at about 12.30pm, we almost had the entire place to ourselves and had the full attention of their service staff.  

Quiet afternoons, with warm cosy lights and it was still the Olympics season.

Potted Prawns ($16)

A generous serving of prawns with flavourful cream soup! I liked the soup alot as it had a distinctive flavour to it, a result of mixing many condiments together. It had a strong seafood taste to it, rich and just slightly creamy such that it wasn't too overwhelming (or 'jelat'). It went very well with the sourdough bread slices, just like how fried buns and chilli crabs usually go together. Soaking the bread into the soup and allowing the rich flavours to slowly coat your tongue, it was a simple yet contented feeling. One thing  I didn't like though, was the type of prawns used. It had an extra crunch to it like most processed prawns, or some call it 玻璃虾. It lacked the natural sweetness of prawns, which would have been the perfect complement of the dish. 

Nom Factor: 8.0/10  

Muddy's Beef Pasty ($18)

My favourite part of this dish wasn't the pasty, but the mashed potato instead! Well-beaten and having a very smooth texture to it, it had a slight twist to it. Mashed with parmesan, it had a slight flavour of its own and was good to eat even without the gravy. As for the pasty, I thought the crust of the pastry was abit too thick and you could taste very little of the beef fillings inside. The outer layer of the crust made up for it slightly, with its golden oven toasted skin that gave an extra crunch to it. Having tried the slightly more authentic cornish pasty, I thought this didn't live up to standards and it felt more like an ordinary chicken pie (switched to beef fillings) that you can buy off Polar stores. 

Nom Factor: 6.5/10  

Pepper Steak with Fries ($26)

I didn't try this, but they said that it was quite good with the pepper sauce. Not worth $26 for sure though, but it's a different story if you get it at half price :p 

I felt that all these were very much overpriced and the taste of the food wasn't worth that much either. However, we had a one-for-one offer for all of these and it made the experience slightly more justified. For those who would like to try, don't miss the Citibank one-for-one promotion on all lunch mains, from Monday to Friday! You can also check out this site for updates on their promotions: http://www.gaelicinns.com.sg/inetmail/whats_on.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 

Overall Nom Factor: 7.0/10

442 Orchard Road #B1-01/06

Singapore 238870

Inside Orchard Hotel Shopping Arcade