Ever since watching an engaging documentary called Deli Man on Jewish Delis, I have been more than keen to try out an authentic place in Singapore. Namely the one at Mandarin Gallery.
I went with sky high expectations (you would too, after watching the show) so I was a little bit disappointed not to be blown away like the people were in the documentary (although that was based on a years old deli in New York). The food was great but I guess I expected more for the prices. Also as usual in Singapore, the dining space was crammed and you needed to leave you mobile number for them to call you when a table was ready. It didn’t take too long – about 20 minutes I think.
The cream cheese topping on the bagel was very generous but then again prices were steep – $8 for a bagel. My partner expected much bigger portions for his sandwich (aka American style like those in the documentary where you have a hard time even putting your mouth around the sandwich).
Perhaps it would be a more pleasant experience if we had come here on a weekday and wouldn’t have to sit in such close quarters to the other guests (meaning it was hard to have a conversation). Service was generally polite though.
I wouldn’t mind visiting again to try other items on the menu. As you can tell from the receipt, the visit was some time ago in July.
Here’s a review by blogger Ms Skinnyfat which was a good read. I think she knows her New York Delis a lot better than me. And another one by Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow with an interesting breakdown about what to order.
This deli isn’t very authentic at all. Its bagels were an utter fail.