Experience Modern Southwestern Cuisine by Cali

Published - 07 July 2021, Wednesday

Whether you are a newbie or a connoisseur of modern Southwestern cuisine, Cali will still find a way to give your tastebuds a delicious surprise. Their menu makes daring promises that it certainly lives up to – no matter which dish you order! It consists of uniquely Southwestern dishes - made with the finest ingredients and the freshest natural herbs and spices.

Cali leverage’s a unique customer service concept known as “My Place” that can be experienced in every corner of the restaurant. It creates confidence that the “our place” concept is somewhere you can be understood and, more importantly – be yourself. This “My Place” experience gives you and your family members, friends, or colleagues a reason to return – not just for the food but also for Cali’s personalized touch. Delivery Orders

Cali

One reason for their top notch quality is the recognition that eating out is a journey – not a one-off activity! You can start this journey with some rich and creamy mushroom soup. It is served with chunks of shimeji, pure white mushrooms, and shiitake - with the right amount of truffle oil to get your tastebuds excited about the rest of the journey. Or you can try Cali's version of the Caesar salad that comes with a special in-house dressing.

Once you're ready for the next step, you can get your hands on vegetarian and non-vegetarian Southwestern appetizers with a modern twist. Sink your teeth into Santa Fe jumbo crab cakes that contain sizable chunks of scrumptiously cooked crab meat and a side of mesclun and spicy tartar sauce. In the mood for mouth-watering ground beef? Try their golden-brown chimichangas that also come stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese and smoked bell peppers. And yes – plenty of guacamole and sour cream!

For veggie lovers, check out the deep-fried jalapeños - served with tostadas and avocado mango salsa. There's enough cream cheese to make you feel like ordering one more! If you want to bite into some grilled mushrooms, order their portobello mushroom that is served with house marinade, baby spinach, and pine nuts for that extra oomph.

Cali

Now, for the pièce de résistance noun – a slew of main courses that offer the best of the Southwestern worlds. Their braised beef cheeks are slow-cooked to perfection in red wine sauce, with some good old-fashioned mashed potato. If pork is on your mind, don't think twice about ordering the extremely tender BBQ baby back ribs - made with their chef's special mix of fresh spices and basted with Cali's signature BBQ sauce. If you'd rather choose seafood, you can't go wrong with the grilled sea bass that sits next to buttery brown rice and mind-blowing aloe vera salsa. Delivery Orders

If you're looking for some more carbs, try a plate of juicy Fajitas. Pick your stuffing – chicken, pork loin, or beef tenderloin – and be amazed at how tasty their wicked marinade is. Each one is lovingly served with tortilla wraps, cheese, sour cream, and guacamole salsa. Cali also offers homemade thin-crust pizzas that are topped with chicken tikka, parma ham, or buffalo mozzarella. And when you want to have a burger, Cali understands that you need to have the right-sized one! Their Wagyu and Crab Meat Burgers are showstoppers in their own right. If pasta is what your heart desires, look no further than their hardcord prawn or drunken crab pasta.

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Cali also ensures a great end to the journey – having created exciting dessert combos. The quality is unmatched – not just for the freshness of ingredients but also for the way they are prepared. The molten lava torte combines the best of both worlds by fusing perfectly-baked chocolate cake with summer berries compote. The lip-smacking apple crumble is a thing of beauty – served with crumb toppings and vanilla ice cream. Then, their neo-classical warm pecan pie has that sweet buttery caramel filling – along with fresh pecans, cinnamon caramel sauce, and chocolate ice cream.

Of course, there's nothing like a good drink to accompany these wonderfully diverse Southwestern flavors. And what's good for you is a matter of choice! Cali offers a wide array of non-alcoholic beverages like mocktails, smoothies, or fresh juices and alcoholic beverages like Grey Goose vodka, Hendrick's gin, Captain Morgan rum, Jose Cuervo tequila, and a lot more.

The red and white wine comes from world-class vineries across Australia, France, New Zealand, Spain, and the USA. They also boast of an impressive single malt list, including the prized Glenfiddich (18 years).

Simply put, Cali helps you embark on a memorable food journey - like never before.

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Cali, Ascott Raffles Place⁣⁣⁣

a. 2 Finlayson Green, Level 2⁣⁣⁣, Singapore 049247⁣⁣⁣

e. raffles@cali.sg

s. www.facebook.com/Cali.Singapore

w. www.cali.sg/

t. +65 6336 1228

Cali, Park Avenue Rochester⁣

a. 31 Rochester Drive,⁣ Singapore 138637⁣⁣⁣

e. rochester@cali.sg

s. www.facebook.com/Cali.Singapore

w. www.cali.sg/

t. +65 6684 9897

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Sylvia Fernandes

  • 391 comments
  • ELITE
RATED 7.5 / 8

Glass windows open out to greenery, as the setting at Cali Rochester Park Avenue beckons. Quite different to its branch in Raffles Place where the business district atmosphere is evident.

I felt relaxed as soon as I stepped in. High back chairs made dining comfortable with two distinct dining spaces. My mind immediately hopped on the idea that I could have an intimate celebration with a few friends here sometime.

Connected to the Rochester Park Avenue Hotel, guests have the convenience of dining in this lovely restaurant while feeling a connection to nature outside.

I noticed three good choices for a light lunch - the Southwest Caesar Salad, chicken quesadillas and grilled Portobello mushroom. All well priced around $12 and with portions that would hit the spot.

Cali Rochester Park Avenue has a full variety of Southwestern cuisine so there is something for everyone. I tried the BBQ baby back pork ribs which fell off the bone and was basted generously with a signature sauce.

Meat lovers, this is a good option if you are in the mood to get your hands dirty, as it’s finger licking good. Served with fries and vegetables this is a wholesome, full meal that is so reasonably priced at $28.

It is no wonder that Cali have five branches including Park Avenue Changi, Pen & Inc @ NTU and My Café Bar in Balestier. I couldn’t help but feel this was good value for families and larger groups to enjoy an affordable Southwestern meal.

Being a crab lover I decided to try the drunken crab pasta which was done in an aglio olio style with Dungeness crab meat. Loaded with crab meat, this linguine dish was adorned with baby asparagus, garlic slices and cherry tomatoes.

All very appealing to my taste buds! The next time I visit Cali Rochester Park Avenue this would be my pick.

For those who love a set lunch there is a choice of having a main dish only to indulging in a two, three or four course. Great flexibility given to diners who may all have different levels of appetite.

Not forgetting the wonderful desserts that Cali churn out I was blown away by the Mexican brownie – light crunch on the outside and chewy inside. Hard to beat I thought, but when the warm apple crumble was presented, it made for a great competitor!  

Ice cream lovers take heart. All four warm desserts have a big scoop of ice cream to complement.

This was my second trip to a Cali restaurant. I had pretty much tried everything on the menu and could declare that this was a fine consideration of a restaurant (more than 12 years in existence) when you are next on a hunt for dining options.

Sylvia Fernandes

  • 391 comments
  • ELITE
RATED 7.5 / 8

Tucked away in the Ascott @ Raffles Place is one of Cali’s 3 restaurants. I wondered how I could have missed it all these years having driven past so many times. Set in the best location to serve patrons of the business district, Cali has a lovely privacy about it.

Stepping in to the foyer, a lovely bar presented itself. Open at night I could imagine a relaxing tete-a-tete with a few friends and a glass of bubbly!

Progressing up the stylish curved staircase I was pleasantly surprised to see the restaurant, brightly lit with views to the buzzy outside world. A private room for up to 25 pax (in Covid times) lay to the left.

I thought it would be a great spot for a training event or private group celebrating a special something. Nice! Parked in a corner of my brain for some time in the future, I ventured to my table.

Cali offers a 5-course set lunch for $48 hence the full capacity crowd who were happily dining. My guess from the way they were dressed was that they were mostly office workers on their lunch break.

I noticed the Cali slogan – Everything Easy for Everyone Everyday! It looked like they had captured a captive market, making it an affordable consideration.

I decided against my usual “no alcohol at lunch” philosophy as it was the eve of a public holiday and I wasn’t going back to work! Voila! If that sounded like an excuse it was.

“I’ll have a chardonnay thanks” for Cali have priced their Pierre Jean Chardonnay and Merlot at a very reasonable $8/glass. It was fair dinkum, paired with a baby spinach & US asparagus and Jalapeno poppers with tostadas (deep friend jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese).

I reminisced about the Southwestern / TexMex food I’d binge on in the U.S. and felt I should dig deeper into my memory recall with some Santa Fe jumbo crab cakes.

Feeling that Cali had a good value proposition, with starters priced at $10 to $14, I couldn’t help but imagine that this establishment would be very attractive to corporate people seeking a special lunch.

For residents of the Ascott this would also be a highly convenient spot for daily breakfast and a glass of wine at the bar, on return from a sightseeing day out. Cali’s location being so central is certainly well placed for constant patronage.

Moving on to mains I had to have the fajitas. Wanting to be different, I ordered the Kurobuta pork loin which came in a sizzling hot plate with tortilla wraps and dips. Made my own fajita wrap and gobbled it down with a few sips of wine. Delicious!

Portions at Cali are pretty generous so I was definitely not going to have dinner. The braised beef cheeks arrived. Served on a bed of mash and spinach on the side, this fell off the bone.

Slow cooked and braised in a red wine sauce, this was a melt-in-your-mouth experience. Hard to do something like this at home as it requires long hours of braising and oven baking attention.

Cali’s menu also extends to pizza, pasta and burgers priced at about $20. The Cali’s I-Want-Meat-Zza Pizza was something new and worth a try. Emulating a 4 cheese pizza, there were 4 different toppings in each quarter – parma ham, chicken tikka, pepperoni and mozzarella.

This was a good thin crust pizza and one I would recommend as there would be something for everyone, just as the Cali slogan suggests.

Reaching the end of my meal I was recommended to have the Molten Lava Luxurious Bomb. With chocolate oozing out of the perfectly baked chocolate cake, I dug into a dollop of vanilla ice-cream.

The fusion of cold and warm textures in my mouth was nothing short of magnificent. Priced at only $10 I would not rule out the possibility of popping in to Cali for a dessert and coffee.

If you are reading this and feeling full don’t worry. At Cali you have options of a 2, 3 or 4-course meal as part of your set lunch.

Having enjoyed a lovely lunch I felt the essence of Cali was about value meals.

No need to wait for a special occasion, just rock on down for an everyday hearty meal with a few friends which will undoubtedly leave you satiated. 

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