Cavern Restaurant by Tunglok Group, to open on March 12 at Rainforest Wild Asia

Trying the the food at Cavern Restaurant

Cavern Restaurant’s menu is best described as mostly western, and has a good amount of starters, sides, mains, and desserts. It also avoids being too pricey (by attraction standards), with mains starting at S$20 for a Stone Age burger, with an angus beef patty. 

Some starters we enjoyed at the media preview include: The Stone Hearth loaf (S$12), a sizeable soft sourdough bread with a side of whipped salted butter, the Emerald Canopy (S$12), a plate of romaine lettuce “cups” with Green Goddess dressing, and the Crystal Cave salad (S$22).

The latter came with a creamy burrata drizzled with truffle honey, and a heirloom beetroot salad mix — a refreshing dish that whet our appetite for the meal to come. 

Its one-bite pulled pork taco with smoked paprika aioli was also plenty satisfying, though at S$22 for three pieces, you’d probably be expecting bigger tacos.

By now, you must be thinking: Why is everything so healthy sounding? But that’s only because you haven’t seen the mains yet. 

With it being a cave-themed restaurant after all, you can expect strong meat dishes. (Because cavemen eat meat, duh.) 

One of Cavern Restaurant’s highlights is its Ironstrike knuckle (S$28), a behemoth of a pork knuckle that’s been braised for over 12 hours in a Chinese spice-mix, and served on a bed of homemade mustard sauce. 

Tackling the whole knuckle can be quite a challenge, and definitely not for those who aren’t big fans of pork — as it is, well, a lot of pork —- though the taste is quite mild, and the flesh, tender. The tangy, creamy mustard sauce felt like a bit of an off-choice, when placed alongside its oriental-leaning marinade, but it was at least yummy, overall.

The other meat option we enjoyed was the Caveman’s meat skewer (S$38), which features 200g of beef tenderloin on a skewer, served with button mushrooms, shallots, peppers, and a side of chimichurri sauce. 

The beef came with a medium-well doneness, was well-marinated and had a nice smoky char, but at a price tag of nearly S$40, its presentation left much to be desired — we counted just four to five morsels of meat on the skewer. 

If you’re looking for more value, or to feed a bigger party, the Hunter’s board (S$68) with pork rib, beef tenderloin steak, a whole chicken, tiger prawns, and roasted vegetables, might be more suitable for you. 

Its desserts also turned out to be the dark horses of the meal. We tried three out of the four desserts — the Balinese dark chocolate tart (S$18), pandan bambolini (S$6 per piece), and durian with soft-serve ice-cream (S$12) — and everything was extremely enjoyable and as the Asians like to say, “not too sweet”. 

Of the three, if we had to choose, it would be the extra-oozy bomboloni with its silky smooth pandan jam filling. 

For the imbibers, there’s also a bar near the entrance that serves up anything from coffee and juices, to alcoholic refreshers such as Cavern’s signature “sng buey” lime margarita (sour plum lime margarita, S$18) or the deceptively innocuous looking Jungle coconut mango (S$22) that’s served in a coconut itself. 

We understand there will be a good selection of wines available once the Cavern Restaurant opens. 

All things considered, it’s a vibey spot that can be quite the photo opportunity, with decent food offerings. We’d say: Go on, cave into your curiosity and check out this spot after it opens on March 12. 

This was an invited tasting. 

For the latest eats, read more about 1030 Breakfast Shop at Chinatown and Edith Patisserie’s new sister concept Tina’s Cafe. 

Enjoy up to 50% off when you dine with GrabFood Dine Out.

You can also book a ride to Mandai Wildlife Reserve to check out Cavern Restaurant.