Top Hat Restaurant

It was E's birthday, which to me was an opportunity to go somewhere nice for lunch. Actually the conversation was something like this: "Somewhere new or somewhere familiar?". The road less taken was chosen and I decided on the Top Hat Restaurant in Jalan Kia Peng if only because I heard a lot of good things about it. Nice food, nice ambience, you know, that kind of stuff.

Was it good? Well, yes and no. The food was actually very good. Anyone who goes should try the cheddar samosas, the lamb rack or the lobster thermidor. Man, the lamb was as good as any I've tasted in a restaurant.

The restaurant is in an old converted bungalow, so there's that homey feel to it. This includes no clear signage to the bathroom (hint: the ladies is up the stairs).

The bad bit? Service could be better. Quite a bit better, actually. There was some confusion with my Three Samosa Platter because it only came with two types of samosas. They were kind enough to bring me some more, but I could swear that those were just copies of ones I had eaten already. Best thing, just say you want one giant plate of cheddar samosas.

But I'm saving the worst for last. My peach and banana crumble had a six-legged critter in the crust. There was some debate whether it was a weevil or a baby cockroach, but it certainly put me off either way. Interestingly, it wasn't because it was an insect, because I certainly would have carried on if it was an ant, but I guess there is a psychological line drawn somewhere.

When I pointed out my protein additive to the staff, they promptly took it away and then served me a new batch of the same crumble. Now, I don't know if it's just me, but I wasn't really up to going through a second bowl of something I had just rejected.

It would have been nice if they had discounted the bill for this incident, but they didn't think so. Oh well.