Cuisine: Western

Address: 56 Tanglin Road, Tanglin Post Office #01-03

Tel: 6835-1128

Nearest MRT: Orchard MRT (North-South line)

Updated Feb 2020

Nassim Hill seems like a place for the Singapore elite. From the number of convertibles we saw in the parking lot to the surrounding gated community, this seemed like an upmarket area. It is located at the same building as Tanglin Post Office and is also a walking distance from the nearest bus stop along Tanglin Road.

Nassim Hill, nestled in the Tanglin Post Office building, has a comprehensive drinks menu, as well as late night dinner and bar bites. It brings new energy and excitement to the downtown dining and bar scene. The exhaustive drinks menu includes a variety of beers on tap, wines, whiskies, boutique malts, champagnes, spirits, liquors and cocktails. Today Nassim Hill has become the place to do for cuisine and drinks. Taking centre stage in the restaurant is an enormous marble counter that seats up to 20 people, reminiscent of something in a medieval tavern. Customers in Nassim Hill are encouraged to share dining space and mingle at the counter and the communal tables, and tap their own draught beers at the end of the counter, where the taps are located.

The bar also serves its unique all-day signature cocktails such as Yuzu Breeze or Dirty Sriracha Bloody Mary and has the longest happy hour in town for draught beer pints from 9 am to 9 pm. The bistro is also well known for its famed malt-flavored Stout beer bread, used in their signature Hot Reuben sandwich. Taking a spin on classic dishes, the bistro also offers Spicy Eggs Benedict and Chili Crab pasta as well as healthier alternatives such as their generously sized Detox Salad, The Nutty Bird and Asian Chicken salads. All eggs used are antibiotic and hormone free.

Truffles fries with grated parmesan cheese ($12) was crispy and tasty. The aromas of the truffle oil wafted through the air even before the fries reached our table. Portion was also reasonable enough for sharing.

Cheddar cheese bacon waffles ($20). It was a unique mix of sweet and savoury in this dish. The salty crispy bacon paired well with the freshly baked waffles, accompanied by sour cream on the side.

We ordered the Hawaiian pizza ($23) for sharing. It was average and not much ingredients. But to quell the hunger pangs, it is good to pass around the pizza while waiting for the rest of the gang to arrive.

The Pappardelle Meat Ragu ($24) was tomato based and had a rich meaty flavour (oxtail, pork shoulder & minced beef cooked in red wine). The pastas were done al-dente as well. Not everyone can take pappardelle because it is a thicker form of linguine, reminds me of mee pok. But Nassim Hill actually scores well with this dish.

The dry laksa pasta ($18 for half portion, $26 for full portion) had a generous serving of prawns and was slightly spicy. It is a must-dry for laksa fans, especially since the fragrance of the coconut milk in the laksa complimented the pasta and tomatoes.

Fish and chips ($28) is a classic dish that can’t go wrong. The Atlantic cod fish is a premium quality fish which was lightly battered with beer and fried, while retaining its juiciness inside the batter. The fries were underwhelming and I still preferred the truffle fries. My friend did not finish up the fries in the end.

Seared sea bass ($25) with mushrooms and sautéed baby spinach. The spinach salad was delicious with the dressing. The fish was not too overcooked and still retained its juiciness. The fish was lightly seasoned and not too salty.

The strawberry longan mocktail ($10) took a long time to arrive and we had to remind the waiters several times. It had a lot of ice cubes and the fruity taste of the drink was balanced with the sweetness.

After NYDC closed down, I had not been able to find any decent chocolate mudpie. However, this chocolate mudpie ($7) blew my mind. I was so happy to be having such good mudpie in Singapore. The chocolate was not overly sweet and the crust was just nice. I gently scooped away the whipped cream as I am not a fan of it.

The chocolate banana waffles ($19) came with four small stacks of waffles, chocolate sauce and banana. Waffle texture wise was crispy, without the fluffiness of pancakes. The waffles are similar to the bacon waffles, but this ended off the meal on a sweet note.

As for drinks, we took advantage of the 1for1 promotion before 9pm and had a total of 10 pints of beer, mainly the Kronenburg 1664 lager and blanc. Even though it is 1for1, it is actually quite pricey at $19 for a set of two pints, which works out to be the usual price at some other bars. The food here is not that cheap either and we spent in total $370 for a group of seven people, including drinks. That was after a 20% Eatigo discount. Nevertheless, due to the cozy ambience at this bistro bar and the excellent company, we had a good catch up session over food and drinks. We would like to come back here again.

For breakfast the next day, I also bought the turkey ham and cheese bread. It was made of wholemeal flour and there was a 20% discount at the end of the day to get rid of bakery items. Review of the bread? It was not worth it as the turkey ham was bland and the bread was slightly hard, probably because it had been kept overnight.

On a second visit to Nassim Hill, me and my friends tried new dishes. One of them is the chill crab pasta ($17 for half portion, $25 for full portion), served with a jumbo lump of crab meat, spicy and tangy chili crab sauce and spaghetti. The portion of crab meat was really generous, but the spice level is still too mild for us.

The steak and eggs ($24) looks like a breakfast menu except for the 150g if grilled ribeye steak which was cooked to medium well and hidden under the two sunny side up eggs, with their yolks still runny. It was a simple dish that can’t go wrong. The steak was served with homemade entrecôte sauce. I would have preferred some bread by the side to go with the eggs.

Lastly, it was the pork chop with caramelised carrots ($24), served with romesco sauce made with pistachios and hazelnuts. The pork chop was not overcooked and the sauce paired well with the meat. The caramelized carrots had a tinge of sweetness to accompany the meat in a mouthful. This dish was not outstanding but still satisfying to try.

Pork chop

On a third visit with another group of friends, we noticed some changes to the menu and also we tried new dishes.

For appetisers, we ordered poutine ($13). Poutine is a dish that includes french fries and cheese curds topped with a brown gravy. It originated in the Canadian province of Quebec and emerged in the late 1950s in the Centre-du-Québec area. Instead of cheese curds, the one at Nassim Hill comes with mozarella cheese and some minced beef. The sauce was tasty and some of the fries were still tasty.

The spaghetti aglio olio ($24) for a full portion comes with a generous serving of fresh prawns. This a classic pasta dish that can’t go wrong and the taste of garlic with olive oil emancipated through the dish. While the ingredients are similar to the laksa pasta, the taste is actually different.

Another new dish that we tried this time was the buttermilk fried chicken ($20). The chicken was fried with buttermilk batter and made crispy. The frying process was not too much and the chicken remained succulent inside, with the crispy exterior complementing the taste. However, my friend feedback that the salsa sauce did not go well with the fried kitchen. Perhaps barbecue sauce or something else would have been better.

The dry laksa pasta is one of the chef’s recommendations. The ingredients have changed since the last time I tried this dish. Previously, there was only prawns and pasta, but this time round they added in fishcake too to mimic the layout of the real laksa dish. The light taste of the coconut milk still continues to make this dish stand out and remind us of eating a bowl of laksa.

In line with going meat-free, the Impossible Burger was created, as an alternative to vegans and also those who wish to try to be vegetarian. This plant-based burger looks and tastes like real beef. For the NH Impossible Burger ($23) version, it comes with a serving of fries and pickles on the side.

Upon cutting open the beef patty, it really looks like the interior of a hamburger, with the meat slightly rare. This would be a medium-done steak, but when the waiter took my order he did not ask me for the doneness. The redness of the ‘meat’ comes from genetically engineered heme, an iron-rich molecule found in meat and plants, for use as a colour additive. Apparently, the plant-based meat is gaining popularity in Singapore, with many cafes and restaurants having the Impossible Burger on their menu.

To end off the meal on a sweet note, we ordered two cakes. One of it was the hazelnut dream cake ($8). It is a light and fluffy cake layered with Italian meringue buttercream with praline, chopped hazelnuts and milk chocolate ganache. The cream was not too sweet and the chopped hazelnuts added a crunch to the dish.

While the hazelnut cake came in a huge size, the chocolate mud pie ($7) was smaller. It was really delicious, not too chocolatey or thick, and everyone enjoyed it.

Do come to visit Nassim Hill Bakery Bistro Bar if you are in town and want to find a quiet place to catch up with your friends!