The Narrow Lounge

Take a close look at the first picture of this post.  What immediately comes to mind?  Is this an entrance to a crack shack?  An abandoned warehouse?  Illegal gambling?  Something found on the X-Files?  A Chinese restaurant washroom?  No, none of these are right.  In fact, it is the "welcoming" entrance to The Narrow Lounge.  This little and aptly-named establishment was where Mijune and I went for some eats one night.  Actually, it was I who was hungry.  She was coming from dinner, but hey, 2nd dinner for her...

In fact, Mijune had been here before and enjoyed the food considering the reasonable pricing. We ordered a whole bunch of things including the Truffle Parmesan Popcorn.  Presented in an appropriate ceramic container, the smell of the truffle oil was pretty strong.  Personally, I'm not a huge fan of truffle oil (and neither is Mijune), but it wasn't completely overpowering here.  However, it wasn't used lightly either.  Our only wish was for the popcorn to be served fresh and warmer.  Next, we tried the Mushroom Chorizo Flat Bread with artichoke and Parmesan. As you can clearly see in the picture, Mijune was reaching for it as I took the picture.  Why?  Because it was loaded with salty, spicy chorizo with an equal amount of tender artichoke.  There was a nice garlic Parmesan hit as well as the Earthy mushrooms.  The flat bread itself was either crunchy or chewy depending on the piece.

Onto the Mini Dogs consisting of Nathan's famous 100% beef hot dogs, we enjoyed its simplicity.  Yes, they were nothing more than mini hot dogs served with mustard and ketchup, but these were good.  The meaty wieners were appealingly salty while the buns were toasted until a touch crispy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside.  Presented on a bed of radicchio and diced tomatoes topped with a creamy chipotle lime sauce and cilantro, the Fish Tacos were decent.  We found the modestly-sized tilapia filets to be flaky and moist with a crispy and light tempura batter.  With a squeeze of lime, there was a good balance of spice, acidity and savouriness.  Although the radicchio added a solid crunch, the slight bitterness didn't seem to go.

Lastly, we sampled the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich served with potato wedges.  We found the pulled pork to be moist and easy to chew.  It was sauced just enough that it didn't leak all over the place nor destroying the brioche bun.  It held up and the firm crunch from the coleslaw provided that textural contrast to the soft meat and bun.  I wasn't a huge fan of the wedges though as they were rather stiff and dense.  I would've preferred something crunchier with a more moist potato interior.  In the end, I was pretty surprised at the decent eats at equally decent prices in a neat little bar.  Sure, the entrance is sketch, but don't let that scare you away.

*We received a 20% discount off our bill*

The Good:
- Decent eats
- Reasonably-priced
- Genuine service

The Bad:
- Yes, it looks sketch
- Very dark and narrow inside (hence the name)