Tea at the Ginger Garden | Halia

24th August 2013.
Take a stroll, take your time, surround yourself with greenery, and just take everything easy on a Saturday morning at the Botanical Gardens. What is there not to like?

Times like these are hard to come by. The fatigue from school and tropical heat fade away as one gets distracted by a joyful couple getting their wedding shots done with their friends by the lake and the sight of a families have a good time on the expansive lawn.

At the end of it, you can even reward yourself with a nice afternoon tea at Halia, located in the midst of the Ginger Gardens of the Botanical Gardens. Furthermore, the price tag pales in comparison to the staggering 42++ you get in one of those ritzy hotels downtown.

That’s what Halia at Botanical Gardens got to offer, a relaxing afternoon tea surrounded by lush greenery on the weekends without breaking the bank. Halia’s Weekend Afternoon Tea Set (28.00++ SGD), concocted by Executive Chef Peter Rollinson, an Australian chef who has once headed Flutes at the Fort, the Prime Society and the Sault Restaurant in Daylesford, Australia.



As part of the tea set, you get to enjoy either coffee with single refill or if you prefer something more exotic, the Halia Infusion, a ginger tea sweetened with honey is pretty good too especially when served chilled on a hot day.

Together with the tea, enjoy the petite savoury and sweet bites from the elegant two-tiered tea set. The Freshly Baked Scones was an excellent start, competently baked, these scones exudes a warm buttery fragrance. Savour it with the delicate Chantilly cream or the orange and ginger jam.

Chef Peter also took inspiration from local cuisine for the tea menu. Most apparent was the Wagyu Beef Rendang Samosa which was not bad but too oily. Besides local cuisine, the afternoon tea is also a way to sample some of the dishes Halia offers as main courses, a sneak peek of the main menu.

While I applaud the attempt to come out with interesting tea bites, some just don’t work such as the House-cured Salmon, Pickled Cucumber and Toasted Rye which was too raw and rough in taste. The Quince and Almond Cake with Crème Fraiche was just weird with the crème fraiche and the Coconut Panna Cotta, mango, passionfruit and lychee with toasted coconut was overwhelmed with the taste of coconut.

However, there are tea bites I enjoy too, such as the Smoked Trout Parfait with Cucumber, Apple and Lime which was a fascinating combination of the savoury and fruity flavours, the Poached Chicken & Smoked Paprika Finger Sandwich was pretty good too and so was the Ginger Flower Macaron which worked for me with its touch of spicy ginger.

Overall, some worked and some didn’t and the afternoon tea menu changes once in a while so don’t be surprised to find something different for your next visit! As for service, I think it needs some polishing up, when I arrived, one of the servers attends to the Caucasians first instead of the Korean family and I, but other staff were friendly and courteous, hopefully it is an isolated case. Overall, the ambience was great and price is quite reasonable for an afternoon tea here.

Halia Tea Service
Available Saturday, Sunday & Public Holiday from 3.00 pm to 5.00 pm (last seating)
28++ SGD per person.

Thank You Cyndiana and Ivy from Food News for the invite.

Halia at Botanical Gardens
Ginger Garden @ Singapore Botanic Garden,
1 Cluny Rd
Singapore 259569

Stellar at 1-Altitude | Dining Above All

20th August 2013.
The last time I visited Stellar at 1 Raffles Place (OUB Tower) had been a long time ago. It is not the kind of place one visits everyday but rather to celebrate a special occasion and a rather impressive choice if you want a great view (just check the weather forecast first).

The best time to visit is about 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm when you can hang around 1-Altitude, the alfresco bar located on the top of OUB Tower designed by Kenzo Tange. Taller than the Marina Bay Sands and one of the 280m trinity of Singapore, you can be quite assured that you could get a good 360 degrees panorama of Singapore, not just downtown and Marina Bay Sands but also Jurong Island, the Southern Islands, 1-North and Bukit Timah

Cocktails before dinner.

After getting hyped up with fantastic panorama, we went downstairs to Stellar for our dinner. I was informed that after a couple of years, Stellar might be getting a facelift in the near future. The dinner started off with some really good bread paired with olive oil and balsamic vinegar as well as butter.

Then there was the amuse bouche, a mini starter of Hamachi,sake sorbet and shiso leaf. The combination of the light, herbal shiso leaves, fresh Hamachi and refreshing, mildly sweet sake sorbet was a great start for the meal.

Next up was the Scallop (28.00++ SGD), Open Ravioli of Scallop, Parmesan Custard, Pear and Zucchini Paper. It was a rather unique combination which has succulent, nicely seared scallop covered with layers of thin ravioli served on savoury parmesan custard and cubes of sweet pear. The zucchini paper was sweet and raisin-like. It was one of my favourite dishes for the dinner.

The Bone Marrow (24.00++ SGD) Bone marrow fritters, Crispy porky bits, Parsley salad and sauce gribiche has a more familiar range of flavours. The preparation, for a start, sounded tedious. The bone marrow was dug out and steamed with egg and cream before putting them back into the bone marrow again while the pig trotters was mixed some ingredients before deep-frying them with a coat of breadcrumbs. It was served with a salad sprinkled with crispy pork bits. I appreciate the contrasting textures but flavour wise, it was kind of monotonous.

The other dish that I enjoyed a lot was the Aglio Uni (44.00++ SGD) which is Chef Millar’s re-interpretation of the classic aglio olio. Instead of the usual butter, he uses Smoked Sea Urchin Butter which gives it a rather savoury, mild briny flavour to the pasta not to forget, buttery fragrance as well. The combination of ikuro, chopped leeks, ebi sakura, capellini and sea urchin butter went extremely well with the wood fired king prawns. However, my only gripe with this pasta is that it tends to get overwhelmingly salty towards the end.

The dish that didn’t work for me as part of the dinner menu rather than dish was the Yellow Fin Tuna. The Yellow Fin Tuna (44.00++ SGD), Wood Fired Yellow Fin Tuna, Rissoni, Broadbeans, petit pois and mint with fromage blanc and pickled cucumber on the other hand has a distinct, Mediterranean flavour that doesn’t quite fit the “oriental” taste profile of the preceding dishes. As a standalone dish however I thought it was rather interesting and I enjoyed the rissoni as well as the perfectly grilled yellow fin tuna a lot.

The Yellow Fin Tuna demonstrates how you could configure your menu to your own personal taste. Out of several items featuring a star ingredient, you are given the freedom to pick a number of them to form a 4 – 6 course menu which gives a better value than a la carte orders.

While some of the dishes earlier had a “Japanese” slant, Chef Millar, explained that he actually draws his experience from his Australian roots such as the abundance of fresh uni back in Australia for the Agilo Uni.

Meat Lovers can enjoy a trio of prime meats such as Mutton, Beef and Pork with the Meat Platter (120 – 140++ SGD, min.2 pax sharing). Diners who ordered this get to pick their choice of Studio William Meat Blades as well. Gimmicky in my opinion but these blades are really sharp and great for meat dishes. Our meat platter featured 4 kinds of meat including 2 kinds of beef cuts, Victorian lamb rack and US Yorkshire Pork Rack.

These were served with an array of sauces and condiments as well such Dijon mustard,blue cheese sauce, morey sauce. Foie gras sauce and chili jam. My favourite item in the platter was the Victorian Lamb Rack which was excellent on its own. The meat was very tender, very fragrant with a nice smoky flavour from the grill. Oh, the seasonal vegetables served as side was wonderful too. The US Yorkshire Pork goes quite well with the chili jam which has a distinct cumin taste.

Finally, the meal ended with a sweet bang. The Sweet Experience was a theatrical experience itself as a pastry chef (in this case Chef Millar himself) crafts a beautiful piece of cuisine art on the spot for you. Chef Millar mentioned that he tries to create a kind of magical “Harry Potter” experience for the dinners in the Sweet Experience.

Featured in the Sweet Experience is the Valrhona Chocolate Bomb, Flaming Baked Alaska, Caramel Crème Brulee, Ginger Raspberry Tart, Amazing French Strawberries with rhubarb glacee. The climax of the ‘show’ was the revealing of the valrhona chocolate bomb as warm raspberry sauce was poured on the chocolate globe, hence melting its chocolate dome.

My favourite among the various sweets presented on this dessert platter was the Flaming Baked Alaska with its contrasting textures (and temperatures). Last but not least, for dinners who ordered coffee or tea, you get to enjoy specially crafted truffles such as Mango Sorbet coated with White Chocolate or a Berry Sorbet coated with Dark Chocolate.

Service was excellent, the server, Nicole was very attentive and tries to interact with us throughout the dinner service. While I was fine with the service, some might find it bordering on the line of over-attentive service. Overall, I had to admit that the prices here ain’t cheap, it is easily within the $$$$$ range but if you are looking for somewhere to enjoy the panorama 280 meters above ground with decent food, Stellar is somewhere you can consider. Come October, Stellar would be participating in Restaurant Week too.

Stellar
Former OUB Centre
Level 62
1 Raffles Place
Singapore 048616

The nearest MRT Station is Raffles Place MRT Station.

Thank you Immelia from the 1-Rochester Group for the invitation!

Spice Brasserie | 槟城美食与螃蟹大宴

16th August 2013.
Passing by Parkroyal Kitchener Road one day, my eyes were fixed on their huge banner introducing their Penang Buffet. Hence, I find it very lucky indeed that just a few days later, I received an invitation from Spice Brasserie of Parkroyal Kitchener Road to try their new menu featuring Penang classics such as the Assam Laksa and Penang-style Char Kway Teow as well as a decadent crab feast with at least 10 kinds of crabs on offer.

Spice Brasserie has always been overlooked in favour of the more popular Plaza Brasserie of Parkroyal on Beach Road or the Lime Restaurant located in the architecturally prominent Parkroyal on Pickering. It is a pity because Spice Brasserie is actually a rather nice restaurant with plenty of space for kids and the elderly and the ambience is great for a casual get together or family gathering. Furthermore with a refreshed menu by the new chef, Frederick Kho, things are looking good.

The new chef is a native Malaysian from Kuala Lumpur who has a rich culinary experience, working in several notable hotels such as Penang’s Golden Sands Resort by Shangri-la and Singapore’s Shangri-la Hotel. He is also a fan of both Penang and Kuala Lumpur cuisine hence the Penang Buffet at Spice Brasserie.

To keep this post short, I will just point out some of the memorable dishes from the buffet. First and foremost, there were the Penang Classics such as Penang Oh Chien (Oyster Omelette), Penang-style Prawn Mee, Assam Laksa and the ubiquitous Penang-style Char Kway Teow. My favourites were the amazing oh chien which has generous chunks of oyster embedded in its creamy egg and pan-fried to perfection with a delicate, smoky crust and served chilli sauce.

The Assam Laksa was another winner. I wasn’t impressed by the Assam Laksa I had in Penang (partly because we had it at the touristy Gurney Drive (Chef Kho advised against visiting it if you want to true Penang food experience). This Assam Laksa wasn’t overwhelmingly spicy like the ones I had before and it has a nice fruity and sweet touch to it from the pineapples. I was also informed that mackerel was used for this Assam Laksa, hence staying true to the Assam Laksa back in Penang. Furthermore, Chef Kho also serve this CNN No.7 most delicious dish with its full range of condiments which include finely sliced cucumber, onions, red chillies, pineapples, lettuce, common mint, daun kesum (laksa mint), pick bunga kantan (torch ginger). This was one of my favourite dishes for the day.

Then you have the crabs, the main feature of their Friday Crazy Crab Dinner where you get to enjoy at least 10 kinds of crabs prepared and different way and tasted different (instead of just being named differently). Sauces aside, I must point out that their crabs are rather fresh. The flesh was still springy and succulent as opposed to the chalky powdery texture I had in a previous crab buffet.

The Singapore Chilli Crab was served with mantous to mop up the gravy, which is very thoughtful of them. My only gripe is that the gravy was almost honey-like sweet. I prefer it to be more spicy but Chef Kho explains that there are diners who complained that it was too spicy and pointed out that if you enjoy something more spicy, you should go for the Nonya Chilli Crab instead.

My favourite item among the crabs is the Braised Crab with Glass Noodles. The noodles have great texture and come thoroughly soaked with the flavours from the crab. The crabs accompanying the glass noodles were pretty good too if you prefer something without gravy and just want to enjoy the sweetness from the crab meat itself.

I didn’t try all of the crabs. I tried the Sarawak Black Pepper Crab which was more spicy than the usual Black Pepper crabs and the Herbal Crab which was one of the other lighter crab dishes but with a herbal infusion with red dates, dangui etc.

Another signature of Spice Brasserie is their Teochew Porridge Buffet which is bound to please my parents. During our visit, they had sweet potato porridge served with a whole range of condiments and sides such as braised chicken and pork belly with mui choy to enjoy with your teochew muay.

Finally, we ended our buffet with some quality ice cream by Kapiti from New Zealand. This is the second restaurant I found Kapiti Ice Cream, 10-at-Claymore has it too! Similar to 10-at-Claymore, Spice Brasserie changes the flavours from time to time. I was told that their ice cream is unavailable on the usual supermarkets (indeed, I don’t see them at Jasons Marketplace or Fairprice Finest). The Kapiti Ice Cream is just one of the many sweets offered on their desserts counter which offers from assort French pastries to traditional desserts like kuehs, cheng teng and Ice Kachang!

All in all, I must really thank Parkroyal on Kitchener Road for the invitation. I have found another place where our family could have a decent buffet meal with plenty of room at wallet-friendly prices. For UOB Cardholders, you get a sweeter deal with their 1-for-1 offer on Mon-Thurs or 1 dines free with every 2 adults on Fri-Sun till 31st October 2013.

And here is a short Chinese write up by our guest, Calvin Ng! :
檳城的風味美食，加上富有本土氣息的家常菜，還有讓所有人垂涎欲滴的螃蟹自助餐 － 座落在吉真路（Kitchener Road) 賓樂雅酒店 (Park Royal Hotel) 的香料法式餐廳 (Spice Brasserie) 新推出的自助餐，應該能滿足一家大小的味蕾吧！

擁有豐富經驗的主廚Frederick Kho師傅獨挑大梁，推出許多經典的檳城美食 － 就包括了酸辣的Assam叻唦，檳城鮮蝦福建面，檳城炒粿條及蠔仔煎。更讓人為之瘋狂的是每週五所推出的螃蟹自助餐 － 有十道不同烹調法的螃蟹任你挑選！有大家愛吃的辣椒螃蟹，娘惹咖喱螃蟹，鹹蛋螃蟹以及米粉螃蟹。選擇多樣化，讓人不知道該從哪裡下手。

餐館的空間寬闊，位子很多，能容納近300位客人。還有特設的貴賓房 － 適合辦生日派對，公司聚會或是大壽等等。一踏進餐館，服務生親切友善，笑臉迎人，非常體貼。用餐的客人以家庭居多。一家負老攜幼來享受本土風味的美食，讓我不禁也想帶自己的爸媽來用餐呢！

值得一提的是自助餐裡有的潮州糜 (Teochew Porridge) 以及隨旁的配菜 － 滷豬腸，滷鳳爪，滷豬腳，也忘不了我愛吃的梅菜扣肉。雖然味道一般，但一定能抓住愛吃潮州糜老一輩的心。

也沒忘記我愛吃的榴蓮美食，榴蓮糯米飯 － 榴蓮肉任你拿！

豐富的配菜 － 也有我愛吃的阿喳（Achar）！

愛吃娘惹糕點的你，怎麼能忘了九層糕，Pulut Inti以及其他的經典糕點呢？
自己動手做Ice Kacang！新西蘭的Kapiti雪糕甜度適中。Blueberry Muffin口味是我的最愛！

當晚，主廚Frederick Kho也特地和美食博客們聊天。親切友善的他曾在檳城工作一年，也和我們分享檳城的美食所在！果然都是饕客！

總的來說，吉真賓樂雅酒店 － 香料法式餐廳的自助餐的確是個一家人外出用餐的好去處。因為食物選擇多，又有老少都愛吃的本地及檳城美食，加上餐庭環境理想，沒有距離感，是個用餐的好去處。


Do check out these reviews by Food Nomads and Hubsch Jess Baby who were at the session as well.

Spice Brasserie
吉真賓樂雅酒店
PARKROYAL on Kitchener Road
181 Kitchener Road
Singapore 208533

Penang Affair
Mondays to Thursday
Lunch | $34 (Adult) $15 (Child)
Dinner | $38 (Adult) $15 (Child)

Crazy Crab Night
Fridays Dinner | $58 (Adult) $25 (Child)

Sensational Seafood
Saturdays Dinner | $58 (Adult) $25 (Child)

International Buffet
Fridays to Sundays Lunch | $34 (Adult) $15 (Child)
Sundays Dinner | $38 (Adult) $15 (Child)

Thank You Cleo from Parkroyal on Kitchener Road for the invitation!