inspired by the german slash danish word for work (arbeit/arbejde), a group of schoolmates decided to come together, take the very bold step and transform their passion for food into their work. and so saw the birth of the new kid on the block at serangoon gardens - arbite. to be honest, i have always wanted to embark on a similar adventure....yes, there has always been dreams of opening my very own cafe serving kick ass coffee, delish desserts and yummy ice cream, of course all in a nicely decked out modern yet homely corner...but the reality of the endeavor and acknowledgement of my very 'cannot make it' business mind, keeps me in my day job but yet oddly spurs me on to venture into other people's dreams and try to be a part of it by blogging about them here at mojitos. i was hence very glad that i got invited over to arbite by a good friend b, who is friends with the brains behind the joint, for some dinner and catch up time.
located on the second floor just above sushi tei, arbite has nice clean lines and a homely feel to it. with warm white light, pine furniture, quirky light fixtures and cool pictures (with equally cool perspective quotes!), the place was done up really nice. i particularly liked the scribblings on the photo of the screw above - 'trust me. i can bear the heaviest of loads. just look at my rippling lines and lean frame. not an ounce of fat, only pure brute strength!'. props definitely go out to the trio as according to b, they pretty much designed, built and put together the entire place on their own.
the food and drinks served up at arbite continue to reflect the mantra of the place...work hard. live well. with everything freshly made, from the soups to even the pasta, each dish had a special arbite touch. i had the beef burger which was pretty good. the pattie was freshly made and grilled just right...sandwiched between old school sesame seed buns and topped with melted cheese, a portobello mushroom, caramelized onions and tomato, i do have to say the burger is one of the better ones i've tasted. my current burger benchmark is that of b3 so it is pretty high, and arbite i would say ranks in the has potential category. more onions and a little less salt in the pattie would have maintained the sweet salty balance a touch better but overall, no wasted calories there! the other favorite around the table was the new zealand steak. flown freshly in and apparently specially for the occasion, only five steaks were available that night. i managed to have a quick taste of it and was quite impressed with the cut of the beef. while i don't claim to be any steak connoisseur, i do admit that i have been spoiled rotten by pak law's steak versions so again, the bar is set pretty high. in this case, arbite again ranks in the has potential category. they've got half the battle with a pretty good cut of the meat and the chef does seem to have the timing to medium rare down, so its all about fine tuning the marinate and drizzle. definitely worth enquiring if it isn't on the specials board and you are in the mood for some cow *grin*.
the dessert range at the moment is modest but i think arbite's right in focusing on just the few that they have gotten right. the fruit terrine (apologies for the not so pretty pic) was something quite different and was a definite refreshing change to the heavier and sweeter desserts that other places serve. with layers of orange, banana and raspberry, the terrine concluded the meal quite perfectly for me with just the right amount of sweetness and a huge dose of tanginess. the chocolate cake apparently is the other must try dessert. made by the wife of one of the owners, it definitely has developed its own cult following with several peeps around the table placing orders the moment the word dessert was mentioned!
all in all, a really nice place to kick back, relax and catch up with friends. over a good meal and cold beers (or ciders!) to quote the arbite crew....work hard. live well!
arbite66a serangoon garden way
http://arbite.com.sg
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