Food For Thought @ 8QSAM

It looks big from the outside but FFT@8QSAM is actually really small inside, so reserve your tables early if you intend to pop by over weekends, or head over to their bigger outlet at the Botanic Gardens. Part of the profits generated by the restaurant goes to several selected goodwill missions and charities, so it lives up to its motto of "Good Food for a Good Cause" (see website for details).

Perhaps the centrepiece of this outlet, is its extensive light installation made out of food jars hanging from the ceiling. White tiles adorn the walls of the place- their signature look. Even the table we set on was covered with small tiles- giving off a very utilitarian kitchen vibe.

I had their Garlic Prawn & Red Capsicum Linguine ($16). It's pipping hot al-dente linguine- not too oily but a little dry for me. The garlic prawns served were huge and succulent, and the dish was garnished with bits of red capsicum and coriander leaves. The pasta dish was tasty, though I thought the portions were a little small (or I was probably hungry).

My friend had Mussels in Creamy Laksa Broth ($18), a dish that is part of their May menu promotion. You have a choice of linguine or french fries, in a fantastic laksa broth sauteed with roasted capsicum, thickened with fresh cream and garnished with laksa leaves. I am a huge laksa fan and the cream broth really captured the authentic laksa taste which went surprisingly well with mussels. I did think the laksa sauce could be thicker but after some thought that may not be as enjoyable. Thick creamy laksa sauce+pasta+mussels would definitely make a deadly jerlek combo.

FFT also serves out all day breakfast set. Here is their House Works ($12) with generous portions of scrambled eggs, fried bacon, toasted brioche, hash brown and thyme tomato salad.

And finally for dessert, we had Dark Chocolate & Stewed Cherries Pancake ($12). (BTW, pancakes are not on the dessert menu, they have a separate section, but anything with chocolate, sugar and flour makes the cut hurhur). So they serve out two freshly cooked warm pancakes (they even have a slight raw flour taste to it) generously topped with dark chocolate curvatures, cherries, fresh cream, drizzled in gula meleka syrup. How decadent can it get? The chocolate bits actually melt on the warm pancake, so the dark chocolate sauce spreads nicely throughout the pancake. The pancakes were thick and fluffy and definitely went well with the toppings. I wasn't able to detect much gula meleka from the syrup, it tasted like normal syrup to me, but nonetheless I thoroughly enjoyed this! (Too bad the others were too full to eat anymore so I had the entire thing to myself muhaha).

FFT definitely serves out decent food and the best part is, you get to enjoy good food while helping the restaurant further its charitable causes. Kill two birds with one stone ya? It might be a good idea to avoid walking in during weekends- the place gets really crowded and a long queue of hungry teenagers form outside the restaurant very quickly.

Address: 8 Queen Street. It's near the Singapore Art Museum, easily accessible from Bras Basah MRT.