Halia Restaurant- Dining in lush greenery

Halia Restaurant
location: Botanical Garden

I tracked down Halia as an optimum choice for a fine dining experience with a live jazz band for my friend's Dad's birthday dinner.

Halia is situtated in a perfect spot amidst lush greenery without the greetings from bugs.
The atmosphere is fantastic. Perfect as a romantic dinner location. But be sure to come with a thick wallet. Fine dining never comes cheap.


Starters: Foie Gras with spring roll
perfectly done.
not over cooked, not raw. Fatty and fresh, not gelad.


I'm posting this post as part of my tummy log. Not going to say too much on it as I don't recall the names of the dishes and didn't get to taste much.
But to sum it up, the starters and mains are really good. The chef is really skilled and experienced, therefore able to control the temperature and cooking time of the meats very well.
I guess this is also why people in the high society often dines in fine dining restaurants, not just for the fact that they can afford it, but also most importantly is the attention and dedication that goes into the dish.





Desserts are not their strong point. I could easily get better desserts elsewhere. So, do give the desserts a skip to lessen the impact on your wallet.




Overall, a great dining experience mainly from the ambiance, great service and chef's culinary skill on the meats. But for the costs of it, I don't see myself returning here unless it is for very special occasions where I have set aside the budget

Dim Sum High Tea Buffet

Jade Restaurant
1, Fullerton Square
The Fullerton Hotel
tel: 6733-8388

Dim Sum screams excitement for a whole lot of people especially those born with Chinese taste buds. I'm influenced with the English fare but would never forget and often reminisce on foods derived from the Chinese origin.

The Piping hot steamed pork dumpling that oozes sweet soup with a light prick in the skin.
Slurpy good especially when accompanied with sliced ginger soaked in vinegar.


The Wasabi Prawn.
I've had bad experience with a similar dish served at Chinese banquets by chefs who try to imitate the innovation of fusion cuisine but failed at it. So, I was rather skeptical at trying this dish. But upon a third persuasion by my friend, I decided to give it a try..
my verdict.. yes, its rather good and interesting. But make sure u try your Wasabi prawn dish at renowned restaurants like here to have good memories of it.



Fried Cheese Dumplings.
- cheese is wrapped around the sticky glutinous rice ball dough and than deep fried and lightly dusted with sugar powder.


Fried Spring Rolls

Braised Chicken Feet

Steamed Prawn Dumpling
the prawns are really fresh, sweet and succulent.
This dish would be perfected with a slightly thinner skin, but is ok on a overall and still gets a passing mark from me.


Abalone Siew Mai
Yes! It is really mini abalone on top of the Siew Mai
The abalone is done well that it retains its natural flavors and easily chewed.
well done on this dish!

Chicken Soy Sauce noodles
a tad too oily and a slight disspointment on the taste. It is not horrible but I would suggest you to make good use on your tummy space by trying out other dishes instead.


Char Siew slices.
Tasty and not oily. 1 of the dishes that you should order.


Pan fried carrot cake:
- the thing about spending more on carrot cakes which is 1/3 the portion of a regular plate of carrot cake lies in the texture.
the reason behind people being willing to spend the bucks is the authenticity of the food ingredient. One gets to feel the real texture of fine hand shredded radish in the Pan fried carrot cakes served in Chinese Restaurants.
This dish is simple and real.

The crab and spinach soup in light chicken broth
my kind of soup.

Sweet and sour soup.
Pretty good as well. Tasty but not overwhelming.




The Dim Sum high tea buffet here is pretty decent and not as pricey imagined.
They adjust the price quite often, so do your research or give them a call for a pricecheck.
But the price at this time when i ate is $32-$36++, the average total cost is about $40 per pax

The Daily Scoop- Ice cream Cafe

Address:
Blk 43, Jalan Merah Saga
Chip Bee Gardens
(tucked away in the private housing area opposite Holland Road shopping centre)


Salty Mr. Brown with Ms Strawberry Shortcake
Salty Mr. Brown was not salty enough and therefore lacks the expected Ummphh to it. Brownie is average. I have recently developed a liking for Salted caramel or salty ice-cream/desserts. Was rather disappointed on its taste.
Ms Strawberry shortcake is not sweet like the cartoon character. The strawberry used is still unripe and sour, without any tinge of sweetness from the fruit bits.

Peppermint side by side with Sesame. Black or White?

Peppermint is Ok, safe. Would prefer it is green peppermint colour though.
Sesame is quite rich, but swings towards a higher sugar ratio.





How I felt about Daily Scoop:
The service is good, the staff are friendly and more than willing to accede to your tasting requests.
The quality and taste of the ice-cream falls short than expected. I did not expect it to be very good, but at least satisfactory to my requirements. Taste wise, Daily scoops is unable to meet my expectations.
Im quite a fan and critic for ice-creams and desserts so forgive me for my harsh review.

the interior is fun and friendly. If i was still a student, I think I will patronize Daily scoops for a nice not too crowded after school hang-out spot to laugh and chat with my friends.
But as a working adult and a foodie, I am sorry, but I doubt I will come back again as there are far better ice-cream joints out there like Udders and Island Creamery that is a better worth of my bucks

Mykii

Mykii (pronounced as Mee-Kai)
Address:
17D, Lorong Liput
Holland Village (opposite Pet Lovers centre and next to Provence)



It's my friend's birthday.
I was looking for a place which is rather special, in a laid back environment and serves good food.
I was thinking of Holland Village as the hang-out location.
Mykii popped into my head. So after reading up the latest reviews and making sure it was almost full-proof, I decided Mykii to be THE restaurant to head to.

it was mad rush for me that morning. I didn't have lunch, so when I browsed through the menu, I set my mind on the Mains over their weekend Brunch.

Pot Roasted Chicken with Almond and Olive Pilaf sounded comforting to me.
The thought of slow cooked chicken with a melt in the mouth texture, served over rice is simply enticing and absorbed my attention.
Here it is..
I seldom finish the full portion of rice that I have.
however,
for this dish, even though the serving is very generous and is easily able to feed 1 and 1/2 lady's appetite, I find it hard to rest my fork and let the remaining go to waste.
It is so appetizing and delectable that I could not stop my go at it

The chicken is moist, and tender from the slow cooking process, exactly like how I pictured and wished for it to be.
Tomato based and olive based sauce made the dish appetizing
the grain by grain rice stirs fragrance in your mouth.
I will definitely come back for this dish. I'm craving for it already!


BBQ Baby back ribs is average. Same tasting as other joints that serves ribs. Nothing fanciful about it. A dish which you will finish but not crave for.
The mash potato mixture u see below (contained in glass) is a minus point of this dish. It is a rather unappealing combination which me and my friends do not appreciate. It was left untouched after the 3rd tablespoon.




Thai-style chicken on French Pastry.
The outer coating of the chicken has a burst of flavors from the spices and packs a crunch.
The chicken meat is a tad dry for me. however, my friend who had this dish enjoyed it alot. She commented that she loves the crispy coating with the meat.
I guess it comes to individual preferences. Some tends to love the drier parts of chicken meat like breast meat whereas some love the juicy and tender parts like the thigh/drumstick. I am for the latter so this dish gets only a passing mark from me.



I did not get to try out the signature dishes and desserts which they are famous for as my goal here is to celebrate a friend's birthday rather than food reviewing.
But I decided to post this review anyways as It is nevertheless, a ideal Brunch/lunch/dinner location with loved ones


Im a fan of Mykii's interior design and concept.
The atmosphere is relaxing with the playing of jazz vibes in background and lighted with warm lighting.
I'll wanna Brunch here on a lazy weekend,
have dinner here on a tiring weekday night to sooth my soul and tummy.

Im becoming a fan of Mykii... I'll be back here..
till than we meet again...
I will have a closer encounter with u when I return and sink my teeth into the nutella squares with salted caramel!

Hatched

Hatched
Address:
26. Evans Road
#01-05, Evans Lodge
Singapore 259367
email: www.hatched.sg
tel: 6735 0012

If you love eggs. This is the right place to be in.
Hatched serves all-day breakfast with a menu ranging from boiled, poached, Benedict, fried, baked, omelette, Sunny-side-up to scrambled eggs.
Which ever way you like your egg to be, Hatched is sure able to met fulfill your egg desires.
I love to explore dining places which is rather inaccessible and serves food which satisfies my tastebuds.
Hatched is located @ Evans lodge which is a rather nice quaint quiet place for Brunch.

I like their cozy Warm Industrial cafe look

the Catalog of eggs. the most Elaborated and widest selection of eggs I've ever set eyes on


my fave Coffee- Caffe Latte
I will never miss u out from my order. you're too tempting. U and I go way back to the time I was 1st introduced to English coffee. Even a decade falls short of the time i've known U.

Smoked Royale: Poached egg with Smoked salmon on english muffin, topped with Hollandaise Sauce

The 1st cut with Oozing Runny egg yolk
Sir benedict:
Poached egg with black forest ham on english muffin, topped with Hollandaise Sauce. Served with Mash
Papillote: Scrambled eggs wrapped n Smoked Salmon, drizzled in chive cream. Served with Toast, sauteed potatoes and Caramelized onions.

Waffle with scoop of Sea Salt caramel ice-cream
Pancakes

their Egg mains are good. They have indeed uphold integrity of eggs by mastering the culinary skills well. The Poached and Scrambled eggs are done pretty well and able to meet the egg critic's expectations.
For its price range, I would fare it as a well worth Brunch if you have a budget of approx $12-$16 to spend on the mains.

Their Desserts are however not deserving of the price quoted. The Waffle and the Pancakes are estactically well done, however still not up to mark in terms of skills and taste. Room for improvement.
It tastes fair. Not worth investing on, but can order to give it a try. But if it is a pondering choice over a selection of Pancakes or Waffles. Go for the Waffles instead.

A pointer: They do not serve ice caffe latte on the menu, but when they agreed to do it, I was thinking it would taste quite bland. Surprisingly, it turned out to be really silky rich and by far one of the best latte i had in s'pore. Hopefully it would remain this way the next time I order it again =)