Amidst the rah-rah openings and facelifts around the Chinatown area, the less-than-new Western restaurant, 49 Seats is still going strong, enjoying a full house everyday even on weekday nights. This is quite a surprise because it means are no longer riding on business from being the novelty. In the brutal Singapore food and beverage industry, I would say they are the 25% that could survive.

The soup of the day at 49 Seats that day was the tomato soup. Densely packed with sour tomato brew and topped with a lavish amount of parsley leaves, this soup can be considered as one of the better ones. These days I seem to enjoy tomato soups more than mushroom soups.

I ordered their Creamy Smoked Duck Pasta because I couldn't forget the smoked duck from Sneakery Cafe and was waiting for something to top it. This pasta from 49 Seats was mediocre, the smoked duck was tough to bite and dry too. The carbonara cream base was also quite jarring on the appetite. Rubbery can be the best adjective to describe the pasta noodles. It definitely did not settle well with me.

The Beef Bolognaise Pasta, though a cliche choice, was slightly more edible. The pasta wasn't cooked al dente but overcooked to limpidness. At least the beef bolognaise sauce was quite tasty, except that it was a little watery. Both choices of pasta turned out to be pretty disappointing, and it made me regret not choosing their signature Tom Yum Seafood Pasta. Nevertheless, with such standards of pastas, I don't really understand why there is such a roaring crowd.

49 Seats

49 Kreta Ayer Road

Singapore 089007