Sunset Tavern
Address: 106 Clementi Street 12 #01-38G/H, Singapore
Tel: +65 6777 8938
Most people will view Chinese New Year (CNY) as a time of fantastic feasting on good food all around. That is true to a certain extent. On the eve of CNY, you will get your reunion dinner. That entails usually the mother of the household slaving in the kitchen to prepare all the customary dishes served during this festive time. You will get your abalone - expensive stuff with each can of these suckers costing upwards of S$50. Your steamboat thing with fishballs, sotong balls, fish, meat slices, quail eggs etc etc. A recent fad that started from last year was the serving of peng chai. It is a collection of various expensive items cooked in a single pot. This dish is also rather expensive, costing upwards of S$200 - S$400 per pot. I guess it is a symbol of luxury. I am not very sure on the presentation though as it looks pretty much like a collection of various mushy items dumped into a single pot.
Tradition and pure over-estimation of the appetite of family members usually results in much leftovers. These leftovers are of course served over the first day of CNY. Mothers are also prideful people. They will return to the kitchen on the 1st day of CNY and whip up additional dishes for presentation to any guests that visit. These dishes can include noodles, curry, Gor Hiang, cakes etc etc. This of course adds up to the pile of leftovers.
The mothers’ enthusiasm usually runs out by dinner time of CNY 1st day. This results in the family members having to eat the same leftovers for the next foreseeable days. I am thus craving for anything non-chinese now… anything that is deep fried KFC style…anything that is in between two sesame seed buns…anything that generally used to moo and comes now served with potatoes on a hot plate. Thus my reminiscing of a dinner with colleages at Sunset Tavern.
Do not be mistaken. The food at Sunset Tavern is distinctly ordinary. But the extent of my craving makes me pine for anything non-oriental in nature.
This stretch of Clementi boasts a new enclave of eateries. They have al fresco dining areas. They are open till late in the night. And they have a good mix of eateries comprising Western, Italian, Japanese, Chinese (of course) cuisine.
It presents a very relaxing place to chill out after work.
I have a penchant for fruity girly drinks. So I had some concoction that had a rather feminine sounding name. I have erased the name from my memory already. I spy some irony there with the drink resting on the Heineken coaster.
My colleagues started on the Appertiser Selection of Fries, Cheese Sticks, Onion Rings and Calamari Rings. They tasted like they came straight out from the easy to cook bags of frozen tidbits that can be bought at NTUC.
I went for the Seafood Marinara. The taste was flat. There was no zing of the tomato in the pasta. The clams and prawns tasted dead (ok..I know that they are already dead…but it tasted dead-er if you know what I mean).
My colleagues went for the Fried Chicken dish. You cannot go wrong with Fried stuff…though I suspect this eatery tried its best.
Total expenditure per person was around S$20 - 25. We had issues with the service at this place. They were slow to present our menus and equally slow to get our bill. One of my colleagues had a bone to pick with the manager there. He found the manager sarcastic and smart-alecky…
Well. Back to reheated leftovers for now.
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February 11th, 2008 15:33
Sorry to hear your negative experience at Sunset as you always do even with other establishments. I was there too but enjoyed the atmosphere and service by the young and knowledgable staff. My company of friends (10 of us) enjoyed it too. Better luck for you next time.
February 11th, 2008 18:13
Hi,
I’M THE OWNER RUNNING THIS CAFE BAR THAT YOU HAVE VISITED AND GIVEN COMMENTS.
FIRST, I’LL LIKE TO THANK YOU FOR VISITING SUNSET TAVERN.
I HAVE READ THROUGH YOUR COMMENTS AND SEEN YOUR PHOTOS.
I’LL BE VERY SURE TO SAY THAT THESE PICTURES ARE NOT TAKEN DURING THE EVE, 1ST OR 2ND DAY OF CHINESE NEW YEAR.
I HAVE SEEN THRU YOUR PICTURES THE FOOD AND DRINKS THAT YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS HAVE ORDERED AND FOUND NO MATCHING RECEIPTS.
THE PICTURES YOU HAVE TAKEN HAPPEN TO BE MY MANAGER, AND HE WASNT WEARING THAT PARTICULAR CLOTHES ON EITHER THREE DAYS. AS I HAVE PHOTOS TAKEN WITH THEM THAT DAY. MOREOVER, CERTAIN SETTINGS OF THE DECOS AND PROMOTIONS CARDS HAVE BEEN CHANGED, WHICH I COULDNT TALLY THAT YOU SAID THAT THE PICTURES WERE TAKEN ON CNY.
I BELIEVE THAT WITH MORE THAN 10YEARS OF EXPRIENCE THEY HAVE, THEY WOULD KNOW HOW TO HANDLE EACH AND EVERY CUSTOMERS PROPERLY. THUS, IF THERES ANY MISUNDERSTANDING THAT YOU OR YOUR FRIENDS HAD ENCOUNTED, WE DO APPOLOGIES.
LASTLY, PLEASE DO NOT GIVE FALSE STATEMENTS OF SUNSET TAVERN, AS I’LL TAKE IT SERIOUSLY AND SERIOUS ACTION WILL BE TAKEN IF NEEDED.
WE DO HOPE THAT EVERY CUSTOMERS WHO PATRONISE SUNSET TAVERN WILL HAVE A HAPPY AND PLEASANT STAY. WE DO HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN AND HOPE THE NEXT TIME WE WILL GIVE YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS A BETTER VIEW OF OUR SERVICES.
LYDIA
February 12th, 2008 01:04
Hello Lydia,
To clarify, I was reminiscing (erm..I stated this in my post) about a visit to your eatery that took place earlier in the month of January .
The post is just feedback. Hope no hard feelings are generated. I concede that I am quite a negative person with regards to food (heh..but that is just me). Glad to see that other people have experienced great service from your eatery.
February 13th, 2008 20:38
I find the management’s reply aggressive and over-defensive. There is no question of ‘false statements’ here - only of a misunderstanding of the time of the restaurant visit. Bloggers are perfectly entitled to record their subjective experiences. To threaten ’serious action’ because of a negative review is offensive to my sensitivities. People like me who read food blogs recognize that recorded experiences are always subjective. The management response reveals so much more about the kind of service experience we can expect from the establishment.
February 14th, 2008 23:32
well…maybe establishments in Singapore are still not used to negative reviews from non-mainstream sources, like blogs.
February 18th, 2008 00:46
COME ON SUNSET TAVERN…
seriously. if you can’t even take an unsatisfied customer’s blog entry about your restaurant, then you might as well close down lah.
i’m sure my friend here won’t be the first nor the last to have a shitty experience at your place…take the feedback and improve yourself lah! don’t go and threaten “SERIOUS ACTION”. i mean…come on, if you’re in this business, you should know a thing or two about public relations.
and if you do know anything about PR, DON’T TYPE YOUR RESPONSES WITH YOUR CAP LOCK ON!!! IT’S DAMN RUDE!
and why are you so defensive? what false statements were made? if he doesn’t like your food, he doesn’t like your food lah! and if he doesn’t like your service, then change your attitude lah!
i think change starts from top down…and i can already see why none of my friends, family, affiliates, colleagues nor even acquaintences will be visiting your place EVER AGAIN.
eat that.
February 18th, 2008 07:01
haha…chanced upon this site and yeah, interesting…im actually a frequent go-er at sunset tavern. found this ‘out-of-the-crowd’ & cosy place few months ago while visiting a kaki nearby…
for me…the experience there was great. no problem with parking too! + SUNSET TAVERN IS SO SWEET…they even provide free night coupons for patrons, in support of our government campaign ” Drink, dont Drive” (just in case you had a drop too much!)
…
a new hideout to chill out!
oh yes, oei-ster…i did noticed that you probably not there during chinese new year as i saw that your pictures were ‘out-dated’…
to be fair, i was even impressed that even their junior waiter is super polite and offers good service eh..in fact most staff there are also pretty approachable…
cheers! i hope the whole stretch at sunset will go on!
February 18th, 2008 07:07
ohhh…sorry, oei-ster…so, this is a recollection of your experience at ST….i did not read the comments in detail and failed to see that…paisei….:)
February 18th, 2008 07:28
wow. ms lydia really does seem to be “sarcastic and smart-alecky” too… i suppose the management training program worked then…
but seriously, if he had more than 10 years of (successful?) experience, he would be running a better restaurant. macdonalds has been around for many years. but it still serves shitty food.
p.s is lydia retarded? the post was clearly in two parts. first about CNY, then about his visit to the restaurant. clearly, the latter wasn’t during CNY (coz he wouldn’t be working? and why would he be going there to eat reunion dinner with his colleagues? which, incidentally was the steamboat in the first pic as opposed to crappy pasta and fried? and is lydia implying hat he is lying about visiting the restaurant? coz that would be really retarded. er..how’d you explain the pictures?
oh i also note that she said the setting and promotions have changed. strangely, these were the things praised in the blog. ie “a very relaxing place to chill”. why doesn’t she just change the standard of the food?? haha.)
February 18th, 2008 14:54
wah…such a flurry of activities. Power to the consumer man - whether it is pro or against the establishment.
February 18th, 2008 23:36
Disappointing reply from the management from Sunset Tavern. Makes me wonder if i should have an experience at their place. If i do, i will try to find out if the owner is called lydia. Lydia may turn out to be a guy eventually. LOL. Nevertheless, just in case your not going to Sunset Tavern anymore, Grill Out (their neighbour) got good food and service.
February 19th, 2008 06:15
I prefer to dine at sunset…more space there and i can still enjoy my drink and hang on after dinner…im still cool about the staff…they even allow me to order food + dessert from Grill out…friendly eh
February 19th, 2008 16:02
To Ms Lydia,
Whatever it is, customer is king. Customers are the pay masters and they are also entitled to their own comments. Btw, listening to feedback is allowing the company to improve. Some will not even borther to complain. They simply dont patronize anymore. Please try to look at things from another angle. In fact, having bad publicity is better than having no publicity at all.
Cheers!
February 22nd, 2008 00:44
eh, but how do we know the person who post the comment is the REAL boss of sunset tavern?
February 25th, 2008 01:01
ask the SUNSET ppl la.. i dont think they wont know who their boss is. lols.
July 10th, 2008 18:42
hi,
i recently went to sunset tavern they have totally change their chef and management in the kitchen… do pop by and try the difference…
the food is way better than the past…. just a tot… cheers
July 10th, 2008 23:28
hey “passerby” i agree with u ! The food i try is different from the pics! i guess they really change their kitchen management.. the pasta i try was good! hahah! defintley a 4/5 star rating.. as for the fish n chips my gf ordered.. it seems ordinary to me but upon trying it.. haha.. i am glad to say its good! the side order we also try was garlic bread! which i strongly recommend to u guys! i be back to try their sauteed mushrooms.. wil feedback to u guys soon! stay tune!
July 18th, 2008 00:56
guys! i agree the food is worth the money. quote: “Pasta lover”; the garlic bread you recommend was indeed something worth trying! Me and my colleagues will defintely head back for the food. Their pastas n main entrees are worth trying. Cheers to sunset tavern
September 2nd, 2008 22:16
Hi everyone, thank you for all your comments. We will definitely work further on improving our level of customer service, so as to make your stay at Sunset Tavern a most pleasant & memorable experience. The new chefs have devoted themselves on working even further on our new food menu, and currently they have successfully impressed many of our customers with mouth-watering delights such as the sauteed mushrooms, garlic bread and also the new recipe for the popular fish & chips. Look out for our upcoming promotions for both food and beverages! See you at Sunset Tavern! Cheers! =)
November 1st, 2008 00:26
hey, the pasta at sunset tavern was great, totally love it, espcecially their aglio.. u guys gotta try it..