RÖSTii

Managed to learn about the opening of the new Röstii within Far East Square during another visit to Far East Square for Six Hands the other day and made a mental note to give them a try once they have opened their doors. Röstii takes over the former premises of the now-defunct 钟婆婆米线 Zhong Po Po Mixian that is located right beside Bao Makers in Far East Square; this would also be the same stretch of shops where one can find the outlet of Ollella as well. Röstii is a Muslim-owned establishment; the brand does seem to adopt a shade of blue as its theme colour which is extensively applied to its logo as well as in its interior furnishings and fittings as well. There is a slight Swedish diner vibe within the small space it occupies; partially from its branding but also from some of the details such as the chequered vinyl that is pasted on the counter itself — this is all matched with fittings that feature wooden accent with the dine-in furniture being pretty much for function over form. Primarily operating as a takeaway stall, Röstii does have a very limited number of dine-in tables for patrons whom wish to eat-in; think four (4) tables that seats around four (4) to five (5) pax each. As the namesake of the store suggests, Röstii has a primary focus on its Rosti offerings — the various Rosti offerings coming with different types of meats while they also do offer a line-up of beverages such as that of lemonade, Salaam Cola or canned Gryphon Tea; just to name a few. These folks also seem to intend to serve up Cookies in due time considering that such a category does exist in their POS system as well.

Among the various Rosti items that Röstii has listed on their menu, the Beef Gochujang Röstii did catch our attention given the slightly more unique combination of elements that goes into this item — other variants of the Rosti that Röstii serves up would include more commonly found options such as the Smoked Salmon Röstii, Chicken Herb Sausage Röstii and Smoked Wagyu Brisket Röstii. Those whom prefer their Rosti plain can also opt for the Classic Röstii as well. For our order of the Beef Gochujang Röstii, we had also went for the Mini Mozerella Ball add-on; a chargeable add-on priced at $3. The Rosti are freshly prepared upon order; we did note that the waiting time for the order wasn’t quite as long as it would be as compared to most other establishments serving the same — our order was served up around more than 5 minutes after we had placed it.

As one can observe from our order, the Beef Gochujang Röstii also does come served with sour cream on the side. The Rosti at Röstii seems to come with shreds of potatoes that are shredded pretty fine in comparison to what we are used to seeing from some other establishments where the potato shreds might be more broad but shorter. The edges around the Rosti did come browned and were crisp; we also found that the Rosti here didn’t feel like it had soaked up too much grease at the same time — something which we tend to observe with Rosti that comes with more thinly-shred potatoes. Considering so, the inclusion of sour cream didn’t turn out too heavy for the Rosti; all that whilst being a little refreshing having introduced a slight tang that tries to neutralise everything else that it comes with. The direction taken for the Beef Gochujang was a little odd however; we are used to see Beef Gochujang being served with slices of beef though it is interesting to since how the Beef Gochujang is served with minced beef here — the end result being rather similar to a Beef Ragu which detracted from the usual expectations of the dish. The inclusion of nibs of carrot was rather odd, and whilst it did carry a slight sweetness and a little bit of a tang, it was also rather mild in terms of spiciness — there was also that slight hint of gaminess; overall a little confusing, though probably also being a bit of a compromise given how the ingredients used here should be halal-certified. With prices starting from $5 for their Classic Röstii to $15 for the Smoked Wagyu Brisket Röstii, Röstii does bring the office folks in the Central Business District yet another interesting meal option for lunch — though we would probably stick to the more conventional options such as the Smoked Salmon Röstii or the Chicken Herb Sausage Röstii if we do ever drop by Röstii again.