Park Bench Deli - 1st Dec 2016
I needed to find a place to have lunch in the CBD and I wanted something hearty but quick as I was rushed for time. There were numerous restaurants in the Telok Ayer and Amoy Street area but what caught my eye was Park Bench Deli, a deli serving full on sandwiches that promises to satisfy my hunger completely.
Stepping into Park Bench Deli felt like I was stepping into an American deli. It was a mishmash of furniture with skateboards and typical American style posters lining the walls. They even had a glass ceiling framed with metal that allowed more natural light into the deli. We ordered our food and true enough it came out within 5 minutes of our order. We sat on the central communal bench and started opening our little packages which were conveniently pre-cut in two.
pork fries
First, we shared a serving of the pork fries. This was French fries topped with pulled pork tomato salsa, pickled jalepeno, emmenthal cheese, sour cream, sriracha and an over easy egg. When it first came they missed out on the pulled pork and it took us a few bites before we noticed. The fries tasted like really good nachos. We then pointed the mistake to them and they topped it with pulled pork which was good but I preferred it without the pork as the sandwiches here are so meaty.
patty melt
The first sandwich we got was the first item on the large menu board, the patty melt. It was a beef chuck patty topped with American cheese, caramalised onions, pickles, their special homemade sauce sandwiched between rye bread. The sandwich had all the right ingredients, tasty meat, slight sourness from the pickles and the juice from the sauce packed between hearty rye bread. It was pure pleasure with every bite.
chicken katsu
The next thing we had was the chicken katsu. Panko crumbed chicken thigh which came with tonkatsu sauce, Japanese cucumber, shredded cabbage and kewpie (Japanese mayonnaise) and soft burger bun. This had all the right ingredients to be a hit and it was good but I felt they could improve it to the next level if the panko crust came crispy (at least on one end without the sauce), if they flatten the chicken thigh as it was a mouthful of chicken in every bite compared to the other ingredients and if there was a bit more of the tonkatsu sauce which usually goes very well with katsu. Still a “winner winner chicken dinner!”
Cubano
The last sandwich we devoured was the Cubano. This Cuban sandwich contained seared pulled pork, smoked ham, pickles, cheese, yellow mustard between Cuban bread. This sandwich had a good smokiness to it, like a Cuban cigar in a good way. It was very meaty and tasty but a little dry due to two reasons. The pulled pork was not moist enough and also I felt the Cuban bread could be pressed thinner so that you do not get so much of the white dough.
As we were finishing our lunch, a queue started to form. I also noticed that most people ordered the cheese steak which looked really good! I guess I just have to come back for that sandwich soon!
~ Andre Huber
Executive Director
Huber's Pte Ltd
Park Bench Deli is located at
179 Telok Ayer Street
Singapore 068627
T: 6815 4600
