Oriole Cafe & Bar

Oriole Cafe & Bar, located at the Pan Pacific Suites, was once a rather hidden gem in the busy Orchard Road. With the opening of Somerset 313 right beside the cafe, it is now a popular place for shoppers to rest their feet. The cafe is well known for its coffee. The owner, Keith Ong, was awarded the best barista in the Singapore National Barista Championships 2010.

With both indoor and outdoor sections, this cafe offers the best of both worlds.

Dimly lighted up by the warm lightings from the Chandeliers, the indoor section provides a cozy hangout place for the diners.

We ordered philly steak & cheese. It has a few slices of medium well beef striploin, some onions, peppers and swiss cheese sandwiched between the hero bread. Hand-cut fries and greens were served as side dishes.

We actually came here for the St. Louis' pork ribs. Our friend told us that the taste of their pork ribs was reminiscent of the ribs from the famous Naughty Nuri’s Warung in Bali, Indonesia. These pork ribs were marinated with kicap-manis, served with sweet potato fries, greens and sambal matah. Although we felt that it is still a far cry from the char-grilled ribs done by Naughty Nuri's Warung, we like the combination of sambal matah with the ribs. The sambal matah was not visible from the picture, it is hidden behind the rack of ribs.

I like mocha, but chilli chocolate mocha? I have yet to try until today. It is a blend of double ristretto with fresh chilli juice, chocolate and steamed milk. The steamed milk was poured conscientiously on top of the coffee to produce a beautiful latte art. The chilli, although quite mild, added an interesting twist to the mocha. It comes with a cinnamon stick as a stirrer.