Walk around Holland Village on any Friday night and it is impossible to miss Wala Wala. Arguably the most popular spot on Holland Village on the weekends, Wala Wala offers live music, a wide range of drinks and a pretty impressive menu, as HOOKED found out.

Wala Wala has been standing for nearly 13 years, evolving from a small bar and grill restaurant into today’s music lover hang-out spot. The bottom level is dimly lit with low lights, accentuating beautifully the soft background music. Early in the evening before the crowd comes in, the restaurant is lovely for a romantic dinner for two, or just a get-together with your buddies.

The full menu is available only downstairs, upstairs at the bar, only snacks are served. We started off with the Buffalo Wings, a plateful of browned chicken wings, mixed in 15 different spices and cooked to perfection; crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside. Upon the charming floor manager, Maniam’s, recommendation, we ordered a pizza and he kindly offered to let us try 2 flavours on one pizza. After going through the long list of available flavours, we finally decided on the Wala Wala Special and Al Fungi.

If the Buffalo Wings were good, the pizza was beyond expectations. The Al Fungi was a simple, delectable mix of garlic, mushrooms and cheese. Like they say, simplicity is best. The Wala Wala Special did not fail to impress indeed; the pizza had the most generous amount of toppings HOOKED has ever seen. Topped with artichokes, olives, sausages, bacon, ham, pineapple, mushrooms and cheese, the pizza was a lovely blend of sweet and salty; guaranteed to tantalize the taste buds. 

Thereafter, we proceeded upstairs where the live band was playing, and to help us with our selection of drinks, the friendly staff patiently listed the types of alcohol in each drink. We finally settled on Grasshopper, a minty alcoholic delight and our favourite, Chocolate Martini and Dooleys Toffetini (Wala Wala’s September promotion). The martini and toffetini were slightly disappointing, with too high an alcohol content and not much other taste.  

The highlight of our night was definitely our last dish, the Calamari which came with a delicious tomato-based dip, which gave the dish a lovely Mediterranean feel. The batter was wonderfully light and crispy, with a slightly sweet touch to it; and did not overpower the squid but instead served to bring out the taste of the squid. This is definitely a must try at Wala Wala.

HOOKED was a little bummed to hear that Wala Wala did not offer desserts, but they do allow patrons to buy sugary delights from nearby NYDC or Gelato and have dessert after their meal. However, no loss we say, as the live band more than makes up for the lack of dessert.

Overall, Wala Wala provides good food, good drinks and good music. ‘Nuff said. hooked

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no pictures Written by Guest on 2006-12-07 04:08:42 no pictures

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