The Fat Cat

it’s a baffling prospect to go to a place that serves up three cuisine options all at once — and rather a relief to find that this isn’t some madcap venture, and that the food is genuinely all good. I put this down to the fact that it’s done up food-​court-​style, with the café basically serving as a communal dining area for three different stalls (and therefore three kitchens): thai yai, masala mantra and the french onion.
the place is packed out — and a little cramped (though not uncomfortably so, especially since it’s a casual joint) — and you get handed this large folder of a menu upon seating. you take your pick amongst the three menus — or do what we did, and go for all three — and the food comes relatively fast and fuss-​free.
it was a predominantly indian meal for us — we particularly liked the value-​for-​money sets on the menu — all tender, well-​spiced and moist, these were very good. we got appetisers to share from the european menu — a lobster bisque and calamari. not offensive — which is to say that its quality is rather in line with the surroundings. the thai fried rice though, was truly surprising in execution. it had all the wok hei and flavour you’d expect from a restaurant, and there was a huge mound of it.
it’s now on our roster of family haunts — and the variety offered here is one of its largest draws, especially since we don’t always agree on what we want to eat. it can get a little hectic during dinnertimes, and they seem a little short on staff: they were rather harried when the place filled up and we had to wait to get our orders in, but when they’re there, service is pretty dilligent.

The fat cat bistro does not warrant a visit if you have to travel across the island. But if you do live around this area, then I would definitely recommend you to check it out.
I guess my favourite thing about this eatery is its unexpected location– right in the middle of a housing estate. They also have a wide selection of food and their service is quite attentive and warm too.
They serve Western, Indian and Thai food. I have tried their burger (really average and nothing to shout about), tom yam (good. ingredients are fresh and the spiciness level just hits the spot!), tandoori chicken and chicken tikka (both are not too bad).
And they have quite a decent selection of beer and purrrrfect hour too=) Which provides another good reason to try out this bistro. It does get crowded during dinner especially on the weekends so do make a booking.

UPDATE:
Please note that The Fat Cat has moved to a new location in Holland Village. Have yet to check them out at the new location so please note that review below is my review when they were situated at Jalan Riang.
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I feel bad saying this but The Fat Cat is really more of a substitute joint for me to head to if I cant get a seat at the nearby Italian restaurant. But it’s still an interesting place to head to for a meal if you enjoy the variety of food.
The best way to describe The Fat Cat in my opinion is perhaps a «high end Coffee Shop». The setting is like one with a few stalls selling different types of food (over here you have a choice of Indian, American, Thai). Then there’s the drinks stall that instead of the usual kopi and teh or beers, you get a selection of more atas alcoholic options like Ciders and wines.
So far I’ve always been having their Indian food and I really enjoy it! The masala onion rings and of course the naan are truly awesome.
For first timers, do note that there’s service charge and GST. :)

The French Onion Soup + Fish and Chips set lunch were alright, but the Rogan Josh and Masala Chicken set lunch was really good.

I tried the Indian food here at Fat Cat, and honestly I have to say that its a dumbed-​down version for expatriates. The butter chicken tastes like baby food, while the tandoori is quite bland. That being said I didn’t give them a one-​star because I think the selection of beers and alcohol is decent.
However I seem to notice that all the expatriates around me just loved the Indian food! A couple next to me who ordered the exact same butter chicken masala couldn’t stop complimenting it. So perhaps if you’re an expatriate go for this as it seems to cater more to your palate. Otherwise avoid.

My friend and I stumbled across the fat cat accidentally as we were driving around the estate in which she lived in at Upper Serangoon. We were pretty early for dinner so there wasn’t much of a crowd when we got there but the place started filling up quite quickly come 7pm on a weekday.
I like the concept that they serve different cuisines from different booths, each booth having their own chef. Perfect for a day when you cannot decide what you would really like to eat (happens to me often enough). I tried their butter chicken that came with 4 pieces of garlic naan. The butter chicken was flavourful and tender although a little more spiciness in it would have made it perfect.
Dining is completely alfresco. Service there is impeccable! So glad we stumbled across this place!

Just paid The Fat Cat a visit today for dinner. The previous time when we wanted to have dinner there it seemed like full house so we skipped it. This time around at 7 there were still a couple of seats left so lucky us!
The concept of the place is probably its biggest draw — it sells french, indian and thai food all together in quite a casual, homely restaurant tucked away in the Upper Serangoon enclave. It is very family-​friendly, though parking around here is not that easy.
We ordered calamari for starters, and I had the Butter Chicken with Naan set and my friend ordered the Duck Confit set. The former was served quite quickly and we dug in. The butter chicken is not the classic type, as the gravy is quite watery and buttery. It was quite nice this way though, so I enjoyed it. Almost felt as if it was a bowl of thick pumpkin soup in fact.
The duck confit took quite long to serve and when it did, it was SUPER salty. The mashed potatoes were like Salted Butter with a side of potato, and the duck was overwhelmed by salt. Avoid this.
The calamari was too oily, but the side dip of tomato and chili sauce is quite nice.
Overall interesting place for dinner but don’t have any high expectations on the food quality.

This is one of those secret enclaves you hope people don’t find out. Tucked away in the Upper Serangoon area, the Fat Cat is a lovely place to hang out with friends for a relaxed dinner and beer. The dining area is completely alfresco, which I really appreciate because air-​conditioned restaurants with this price range are usually not well ventilated and noisy.
The dining concept is similar to Bar Bar Black Sheep, which means that there are several «booths» selling different cuisines, and a bar. You can take your pick from Western, Thai and Indian cuisine. My friend and I shared the Tandoori Chicken set and the Mutton Vindaloo Curry set. Each $ 12 set came with two pieces of papadam and a nan of our choice. Both dishes impressed me — the tandoori chicken was well-​seasoned and tender, while the mutton curry was a tad spicy with a generous portion of meat and potato chunks. I preferred the curry, which went really well with the nan and papadam. I also had the apple cider which was refreshing.
Parking can be a bit of a hassle if you come at peak hours.