south union park, kembangan.

south union park is really quite out of the way. tucked in a housing estate, it's not one of those places you'd just chance upon. made my way down with X for a late lunch.



there weren't a lot of options on the menu. i wanted some protein, so i zeroed in on the poached salmon with baby potatoes and spring vegetables ($20). before going i'd already marked out the roasted vegetable salad ($10) and crabcakes ($12) as things i wanted to try, so we ordered them to share. knew that they were known for their handmade pastas, so i managed to cajole X into ordering the duck confit tagliatelle ($19).



they had an open kitchen, and we were seated quite near, so i got to look at them potter around while waiting for our food. there weren't many tables occupied, but they were still busy making things. at one point in time they were making corn muffins, and it smelled awesome!



i was hungry, and while watching them make stuff was fun, i was more interested in getting my food. the roasted vegetable salad came first, and while i've read good reviews of it, i didn't expect to like it this much. the pumpkin and carrots were roasted till they were soft and yielding, while the broccoli and cauliflower florets were toasty and slightly charred. everything was tossed in an asian vinaigrette (reminded me of balsamic, actually) and was so more-ish. it was a promising start to our meal.



the crabcakes (or rather, crabcake) arrived after we were done with the salad. i loved how it'd been freshly fried, and was completely not greasy (makes me feel a little better about eating it). the breading was really minimal, creating just a light crust around the filling. and happily enough, i could really see (and taste) the crab in the filling. even the purple cabbage slaw was dressed thoughtfully- it was lightly acidic, which was offset the heaviness of the crabcake. found that i didn't need the accompanying remoulade, actually.



it was only after they'd cleared our starter plates that our mains arrived. my poached salmon was perched on top of the spring vegetables and baby potatoes. the vegetables were swimming in a buttery broth- still can't quite make up my mind if i like it. loved the perfectly poached salmon, though i wished it was more generous in size.



because she wasn't hungry, X'd requested for less pasta, so i'm assuming the portion was smaller than their usual. i tried a bit of it, and i can see why they are known for the pasta. the silky ribbons of pasta was the perfect vehicle for the hazelnut cream.

no service charge was added, but service was pretty good. our plates were cleared quickly and water refilled regularly. it was a really nice place to spend a lazy afternoon chatting and lounging around. i can see myself coming back to try their pastas.

south union park
101 jalan kembangan
https://www.facebook.com/southunionpark/