When I was in JC, I used to eat from this western grill stall at Ghim Moh hawker centre which had this amazing chicken chop, fried rice and coleslaw after my CCA ended. There's something special about all these hawker centre grills - tasty and affordable western fare - at a fraction of the price of what you will find at Swensens/Billy Bombers etc. Lava Rock specializes in grilled meats and western food - for such a small stall, it has a really good variety food.
Classic cream of mushroom soup ($2.50) had lots of real mushroom bits inside.
Toasted garlic bread ($2) - crispy baguette, great for dipping into the soup.
Appetisers - breaded oyster and mushroom with home made special sauce
My favourite dish of the night was the
breaded oysters ($5.90)- I'm a huge oyster fan (especially the raw freshly shucked ones!) and the breaded oysters were very fresh, plump and juicy. The batter is made from
panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) and the oysters were very creamy. I must say that these oysters are really value for money cos they're not the tiny miserable ones which are so unsatisfying.
Breaded mushrooms ($3.90) - paled in comparison to the oysters, but for people who don't like oysters, this will be a good appetizer -
Herbed garlic fish ($7.90) - pacific dory with herbs - this was my favourite dish of the evening. The fish was moist and tender, and this is one of the better fishes I've tried from western grill stalls.
Sizzling hotplate Rosemary Lamb chops ($11.90) - I'm a sucker for hot plate anything and since I don't eat beef, lamb chops are the next best substitute.
I'm not a big fan of all the sauce so I requested for less sauce, but the usual dish comes doused with lots of brow sauce (can choose from mushroom, blackpepper and classic brown sauce). You can also request for the sauce to be separate.
Honey mustard chicken ($6.90) - chargrilled with sweet honey mustard sauce. The chicken is very tender and tasty.
Flame grilled rosemary peppered pork chops ($11.90) - I'm not crazy over pork dishes (unless it's grilled pork ribs).
Herbed Norwegian Salmon ($13.90) Very tasty, flaky falmon with creamy sauce.
Ribeye - my dining companions who all devoured this dish in a jiffy all said that this was the best dish and and they kept saying that I'm missing out loads in not eating beef. They also serve premium cuts of beef - I've read online that some people who ordered the expensive beef dishes were disappointed - I recommend that you do the math and see if your'e willing to spend $20-30 on the premium cuts of beef in a hawker centre/coffeeshop setting before ordering it. After all, spending 20-30 bucks won't change the ambience.
The main courses all come with either herb rice or fries, and a choice of 2 sides.
Cheesy Fries ($3.20) - lots of cheesy sauce and bacon bits. The cheese sauce is similar to the very synthetic kind of cheese sauce that comes with the nachos from most cinemas - somehow I really like it lol! Normal fries (sides) can be upgraded to cheese fries for $1.20.
Sides of pasta salad and coleslaw.
Glazed carrots and butter corn. The carrots were surprisingly delicious since I'm not really a carrot loving person but I found these really nice and ate quite a bit.
Granted, the prices here are higher than the usual Western stores you find at most hawker centers, but their menu is much more extensive, and there's a really good variety of food. I definitely return to eat the breaded oysters (I'm feeling super hungry thinking about it) and the dory fish and oysters. The foods comparable to Astons, but the menu is more extensive. They also have very affordable set lunches if you're working in the area.
Thanks to James and Joan for hosting us - we had a great time sampling the food.
LavaRock Grill House Outlet Addresses:1) Blk 681 Hougang Ave8 #01-853 S'pore530681
2) Blk 153 Serangoon North Ave1 #01-512 S'pore550153
3) Blk 449 Clementi Ave3 #01-211 S'pore120449
4) Blk 713 Ang Mo Kio Ave6 #01-4032 S'pore560713
5) Blk 147 Potong Pasir Ave1 #01-93 S'pore350147
6) Blk 530 Ang Mo Kio Ave10 #01-2379
