New Restaurant: Lollapalooza

Lolla reallyyyy impressed us when we went when they first opened but they've become so popular since then that we have yet to go back so when I heard a sister outlet was opening, I was very excited! I knew the food would be good and when they finally announced their opening, I told N that we would go asap! So we went and it was already full on a weekday night! (not Friday) so I guess they do have many fans :) rightly so since their food is great!

It is situated near the end of Keong Saik road but I suggest you park at whatever lot you find cos parking is crazy and so difficult to get! 

The following photos are the menus for the night and it changes daily according to their website. N and I both agreed that their menu is one of the most interesting ones we've seen and the dishes are all very original! There are safer choices and more adventurous choices for different palates and I suggest you try to push your limit cos you will never know if you don't try! 

The ambience of this restaurant is very different from Lolla. Lolla's main concept is a bar concept where you sit at the bar and watch them prepare your food. But Lollapalooza, is all sit down with a few bar seats but similarly its an open kitchen concept with a huge stone oven catching with my eye. It is not a big restaurant so expect seats to be full and it can get rather noisy but not deafening.

Now on to the food:

Dog Cockle Tartare

$30

Okay so we didn't know what dog cockles were initially haha but after the dish was served, we were like "ohhhhhhhhh" basically its the kind that you find in some Chinese restaurants, sometimes they cook w vegetables and they come canned from the supermarket. I don't really like them usually because they're quite chewy and sometimes there's still sand inside but they cleaned it really well and the marinade was great because it didn't mask the taste of the cockle but gave sort of a "fresh" taste to it which made you okay with eating it continuously! Also like the presentation of this dish :) 3.9/5

Braised Tuna Eye with Salsa Verde 

$48

I saw this on the menu and I told N, we are definitely ordering this!!! I thought only the eye would be served but actually it was more like tuna cheek/half of tuna head kind of thing haha which I love because the meat there is so full of fat and the texture is so soft and unlike the other parts of the fish! So if you love fish head then please get this :) the texture and the aroma is great and the salsa does a great job of balancing the fattiness! The eye itself you don't eat because its kinda hard but they do cook the parts behind the eyeball but don't worry, there's no strong fishy taste or weird smells. Don't be afraid to order this dish! You won't regret it :) 4.5/5

Wagyu Ribeye Cap

Prefecture, Grade A4, 180g, served rare only

$55

The boy ate this on his own as I don't take beef. He said that this had a very interesting texture - crusty/crispy on the outside and the inside is very soft and kind of melt-in-your-mouth type of texture kinda like otoro he said haha. He thinks its really a v good dish and its v worth the money! The first few pieces were heavenly for him but because there were other dishes on the table and he kinda rotated amongst them so coming back to this dish, was a bit jialat cos he did have to finish all of those by himself haha but I imagine most people would share it so not much problem there! 4.3/5

Flatbread

With fennel and cured anchovies 

$15

Please be prepared that cured anchovies is rather salty and the taste is quite intense so if you are not okay with that, don't order this. Because in some bites you'll get anchovies and flat bread, the taste is quite strong. Couldn't really taste the fennel tho :/ different parts of the flatbread had different textures, the first piece I got was chewy but then the 2nd slice I took was more crispy and fragrant. 3.4/5

Lamb shoulder and oyster stew

$39

I LOVED THIS! :) It was a great marriage of tastes and I think its a really really great idea!!! Super creative to think of adding oysters to lamb stew! I thought it would taste weird but surprisingly the gravy went well with the oyster and the oysters were super plump!! Tons better than those at the hotel buffets omg love these :) the lamb was not super tender such that you don't really need to chew but theres still some bite to it which is the type of texture I like :) the gravy is super addictive and I used the flatbread to mop up the gravy :) also scooped up spoonfuls of the gravy to eat with the carrots inside! There's no raw/oyster-ish taste in the gravy, it tastes purely like a lamb stew kind of gravy 4.6/5

Dark chocolate roll

$16

I haven't actually been to a restaurant that serves roll cake for dessert! This was very very fluffy and light! The cream in between though occupying about 80% of the dessert (look at photo below) doesn't feel heavy/cloying, there's a fairly strong taste of alcohol but doesn't overpower the chocolate! The chocolate cake itself, though it looks like it is super crispy, it is not actually crispy haha its just really soft and fluffy. Its a light dessert to end with! 3.9/5

Quince Galette

$18

Quince is a fruit that is in the same family as the apple and pear. Its texture is more of a pear and when cooked it looks kinda like pumpkin haha but the taste and texture is like stewed pear! I really really loved the crust of the galette! It was sooo crispy on top and there were quite a few layers in the dough although it looks deceivingly thin, and the strong buttery fragrance just makes me love it even more! There is enough quince for it to be evenly spread out with the dough and the cream at the side went quite well with the buttery dough giving it some vanilla fragrance. The quince itself were cooked with vanilla too I think 'cos I saw the vanilla specks! 4.2/5

The service was really really good there! Everyone was super friendly and light-hearted, very smiley :) I love restaurants that provide a jug of iced water to those who want cos its so much easier for everyone! At Lollapalooza, they don't just leave you with the jug, if they pass by and your cup is empty, they'll pour it for you. There were quite a lot of staff for a restaurant this size which is applaudable since restaurants now have shortage of staff! Wish there could be some seats in front of the kitchen so we can see them in action. 

Our food came super quickly, one after the other and our table barely had space to fit everything. I think it was cos we gave our order when the other tables didn't so our food came super fast. Cos when the tables next to us ordered, theirs came at a more spaced out pace. 

I would definitely go back to try more dishes, especially since their menu changes daily! I also love the fact that they don't stay with the usual tapas dishes and really put their minds into creating new dishes. I also like the fact that they have adventurous options for those who want to try. For example, the veal tongue, according to the server, you are really served the tongue and you have to peel off the outer tough skin and then eat the inside. Then the fig dish is super interesting I feel haha, its stuffed with merguez which is a spicy mutton or beef sausage and wrapped w bacon! We didn't order that cos I don't really like sausages/bacon but both tables next to us ordered and it did look good :) 

They have a selection of red and white wines and some dessert wines but I didn't take a photo of that menu.

Be back soon Lollapalooza!

1A Keong Saik Road

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Mon-Sat 6-11pm

Lunch and Sunday brunch coming soon

Closed Sunday

Website

Can reserve online at Chope!