morganfield’s, buona vista

decent american food in the huge rock that is the star vista mall. if you’re looking for a place this weekend to meet up with the large family and consume a large amount of food, this could very well be it. reasonably priced, large portions and decent cooking, this made for an enjoyable mother’s day dinner – I know, I know, it’s the end of the month now – and its way on our list of family-congregation-venues.

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it’s a large restaurant with outdoor seating and a surprisinly spacious interior – with glass windows that let in an incredible of light while it’s bright out. we started when the sunlight was still streaming in, and finished when it was dark of night, and it was very cosy – good for conversation but with enough visual distraction in case you’ve got one of those awkward families television likes to portray.

their specialties here are platters and ribs – both of which were adequately tasty to deserve that denotation. it’s a whole lot of photos – but with eleven people, we stuck with one ocean platter, and seven mains; which makes for quite a lot of food. let’s start!

the ocean platter was a very large serving, more than enough for four typical eaters. battered fish, a rack of ribs, grilled prawns, corn-on-the-cob and -in-the-cornbread-muffins, a couple of sausages and fries (with a token portion of greens), every component was tasty and went down easily. those cornbread muffins were a nice touch; a little crumblier and dryer than the kenny roger’s variant and with a less cakey density, they were addictive.

makes for a large plate of food, eh?

my granddad’s portion of fish and chips were rather fantastic – even better than the fillets on the platter. thick, firm white fish encased in a golden crust, and stacked over a basket of fries, they were delicious. the seafood basket I thought a little less impressive – still competent though – with beer-battered squid rings, fish and prawns. good fries across all the dishes, actually.

our tequila spiked chicken was very good too – and elicited the partner’s praise, which occurs very infrequently. he’s one for half-praises, so when he compliments unreservedly, I sit up and take notice (which somewhat implies, not inaccurately, that I don’t usually pay such attention). the portion of half chicken was tender and moist – especially the breast. this was very good; cooked just so, and with a well-seasoned skin that the partner was happy to finish.

we were told at the end – when we were stuffed beyond ourselves and had requested mercy in the form of a doggy bag – that our set came with a lava cake. and it was good.

piping hot – with no evil microwaving so oft inflicted on innocent, unknowing cakes – a molten centre (I suspect it’s not uncooked cake batter, but a sauce) paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it was so good we found previously-undiscovered anatomical capacity. last man standing: my young cousin who went at it with gusto. it may not have been the best – but it was deep, dark and not-too-sweet: a very-enjoyable finish.

and so perhaps this is the holy grail of family restaurants. a large menu to satisfy everybody, with competent cooking and food that came hot and fast – the food may not be awe-inspring, but it was more than good enough to keep everyone happy. and really, I think that’s the key – you don’t want food so impressive that it stops conversation – there’s a good balance here. the staff were friendly, our large order taken accurately, and a decent dessert; it’s going on a list of reliables.

p.s. I’ve just checked the menu online, and prices seem to have risen slightly since we were there – bringing it from reasonably-priced to just-within-what-you’d-be-willing-to-pay. still a good option for family dinners though!

Morganfield’s
Unit #02-23, The Star Vista
1 Vista Exchange Green
Singapore 138617
tel +65 6694 3635
$$: one platter + seven mains (for eleven people) = five-two-zero