Beth

Had been scrolling through social media and got to know of the opening of Beth — these folks are situated along Casuarina Road, located in the same stretch of shophouses where one can also find other establishments such as Casuarina Curry and Tamako Meal; Beth has taken over the former premises of the now-defunct 車老板 Chair Lao Ban there. For those whom are unaware, Beth is opened by Masterchef Singapore Season 4 contestant Amanda Chia; she has also made her appearance of MediaCorp Channel 8’s 三把刀 San Ba Dao and also formerly run the online-based sandwich shop named PÁAN Kitchen as well — Beth will be the very first brick-and-mortar dining establishment that they are running. The entrance of the store faces Casuarina Road; Beth is pretty easy to identify due to its extensive use of wood accents in its facade. Beth does have both indoor and outdoor dining areas; the space inside the store is decked in a similar theme per the facade — cosy with the extensive use of wooden elements with white walls and red brick flooring that exudes of a European vibe that is chic, modern and yet easy to the eyes. Right in front of the counter would be the communal table, while proper dining tables can be found leading toward the back door that is configured to accommodate groups of two to four (4) guests; there are also a few high table seats located on the other side that would best suit those dining individually or in pairs as well. The menu at Beth on weekends consist of dishes spread across sections such as that of Brunch Things (available from 7am to 5pm), All-day Favourites (available from 10am to closing) and Bakes & Treats; beverages offered are split across categories such as Coffee, Beyond Coffee, Tea, Iced Specials, Wines, NON, and Sparkling.

One of the dishes that had caught our attention early on whilst skimming through the menu at Beth will be the Sour Cream Fried Chicken, Tomato — this is an item that is being listed in the All-day Favourites section of the menu that is offered on weekends; the menu describes the item to come with elements such as golden fried chicken, sour cream seasoning and tomato sauce. Despite being a fried chicken dish at its core, this was one that was surprisingly homely and not too heavy to share around the table. Coming in a form where the fried chicken is stacked above a pool of tomato sauce, we liked how the batter of the fried chicken still remain crisp even though some part of it has soaked up a little bit of the tomato sauce that sits beneath it; all that without turning soggy or being particularly greasy. The sour cream seasoning that was dusted above the golden brown crust of the fried chicken wasn’t particularly heavy tasting, though we did feel that it provided a bridge between the fried chicken to the tomato sauce which was a tomato puree that not only carried a tang, but a herb-y note that provided a contrast of flavours that one would typically expect from a tomato-based pasta sauce as well. The tomato sauce does help to cut through the heaviness of the fried chicken; keeps things refreshing for the tastebuds — all that whilst the chicken comes with tender and juicy flesh as well.

Another dish that we managed to try during our visit to Beth will be the Pistachio & Mortadella Sandwich that is listed on the All-day Favourites section of the menu. Beth describes the Pistachio & Mortadella Sandwich to come with elements such as pistachio spread, mortadella, arugula, apple chutney, stracciatella, focaccia. Whilst some focaccia tend to come a little dense and spongey, the focaccia at Beth does feel lighter being less thick and at the same time pretty airy; takes off the usual carb-iness from the typical focaccia sandwich. There is a good ratio with all of the other elements with the focaccia; with the meaty bite and the slightly saltish notes typical of cured meat from the mortadella all the way to slight bitterness that is inherent of the arugula — the addition of stracciatella providing a bridge across all of the elements in the sandwich. What really was pretty intriguing about this was the addition of pistachio spread that adds a saltish and nutty note that contributes an umami note that further adds on to the Pistachio & Mortadella Sandwich, while the inclusion of apple chutney added on a sweetness that provides yet another flavour profile to the sandwich. A pretty thoughtful sandwich that is created to hit the tastebuds in more ways than one.

We ended our meal at Beth with the Mulberry Bay Leaf Sorbet. The Sorbet was quite a wise choice as a dessert considering how it does carry a refreshing tangy and zingy flavour that sour-ish berries are known to carry; also came with a floral note that was pretty intriguing for us to say the least — great to go for especially after a heavy meal here. Wanting to go for a cuppa to pair everything up with, we found ourselves going for the Dirty Orange — this can described as a concoction of the usual Long Black with orange juice added to it. Whilst the namesake of the beverage is called the Dirty Orange, the “Dirty” might be more to describe the fusion of another element into coffee considering how there isn’t any steeping of an espresso shot in chilled milk here — mixing up the two does provide a layered mix of flavours where one can first taste the fruity notes of the coffee that ends of with the citrusy zing of the orange juice that came along with it.

Beth is an establishment that we had pretty much got high hopes for considering the roots of the establishment and the background of the people whom
have conceptualised the brand — the food no doubt still managed to have met our expectations; some dishes featuring more conventional use of ingredients to better suit those whom aren’t too adventurous but still with an ability to impress, while some dishes comprises of more complex flavours that is still undoubtedly hearty, yet provides a new and refreshing perspective that creates an impact. That being said, Beth’s operations is not necessarily smooth — these folks were likely still navigating the waters of their operations while we made our visit on the very first weekend that they are open for business; wait times for food can be a little long, while the mix-up of food orders due to the ordering from QR codes from the use of QR codes of other tables apart from the ones that the patrons were seated at due to contingency measures made when QR codes wasn’t loading up exacerbate things even further. They probably also needed more experience in gauging the amount of food they can serve up against their own operating hours; whilst being opened from 7am to 9pm, there were already a few dishes that was sold out before 12 noon with them totally running out of food and closing for the day just several hours after. Dishes in their Brunch Things and All-day Favourites sections of the menu start from $7 to $28; the lowest-priced item being the Olives, Sundried Tomatoes in the All-day Favourites section that seem more like a starter, while the priciest would be the Farmhouse Platter from the Brunch Things section of the menu. Despite all these teething issues, Beth is still an establishment that is worth making a visit to nonetheless; the interesting combination of flavours and for the effort and passion that went into conceptualising each dish; it is just gem on its own that definitely needs some polish around its edges where operations is of concern due to the lack of experience in running a brick-and-mortar store, though their sincerity in trying to get around those issues can still be felt while at it; we do hope that we will be able to return to give more items a try after they had sorted out their operations as the smoothen out things as time moves along!