Halia Blogger Outing

Halia Blogger Outing

Another successful bloggers outing organised by Harris after communicating among ourselves with more than 100 emails. Our "shooting ground" is none other located in the training ground of many (local) photographers and our focus wasn't the butterflies nor flowers but a restaurant, nestled among the trees, flowers and earthen beauty of Singapore Botanic Gardens. Judging from last week Sunday crowd, it seems that this place is patronised greatly by the caucasians on a Sunday morning.

Weekend a-la-carte brunch is available on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays, from 9am to 3:30pm with a selection of lunch favourites from noon to 3:30pm.


Poached Egg on Brioche with Dill Hollandaise, Roasted Brown Mushroom,
Spinach Tomato with pan-roasted ocean trout. ($24++)
My liking for poached eggs started since my visit to Choupinette and based on my understanding, the key to having a good one lies in the amount of vinegar used and its accompanying hollandaise sauce.

Yuan felt that it was too sour (probably from the hollandaise sauce) and the bread was soggy and slightly burnt. For me, the overall taste was acceptable but to spend $24++ for a poached egg and that there is nothing special with the pan-roasted ocean trout, this is something I doubt I will come back for.

Frankly speaking, Canelé's Eggs Florentine and Choupinette's Eggs Benedict are cheaper than Halia's so I presume it is the ambience we are paying for.


Cinnamon French Toast with glazed strawberry and honeycomb butter. ($14++)
Since this is a chef recommendation, I thought it might be worth a try. Though it is said to be cinnamon french toast, cinnamon and egg coating were barely detectable. It is closer to a regular toast, served with cream, strawberry sauce and honeycomb butter.

Apart from having a lazy brunch in Singapore Botanic Gardens, the new extension to the Halia, Villa Halia (located opposite the restaurant) is a popular choice for solenmization. The Villa consists of three distinct areas - the Wine Bar, the Courtyard and the Gallery Room; and that the exclusive use of each venue requires a minimum expenditure (3 hours usage, between $3500++ to $9000++, depending on the choice of venue and whether it is for lunch or dinner).

Before signing off, here are some of the orders our fellow bloggers have ordered


Poached Egg on Brioche with Dill Hollandaise, Roasted Brown Mushroom,Spinach & Tomato with crisp back bacon ($16++)


Kurobuta Pork & Portobello Burger in special blend of spices, sake and mirin with apple aioli and mesclun salad. ($18++)
Of course, the highlight of the entire dining experience lies in the company and it was fantastic to share photography tips, recommendations and our joy in blogging. Introducing...

Kaelyn from My Food Sirens
Zaylene from This is Yummy
Daniel from Memoirs of Food
Glenn from Hungry Epicurean
Angeline from Simply Angeline
Reiz from Sitting Wishing Eating
Cheryl from The Baker Who Cooks
Harris from The Simplest Aphrodisiac
Hui Yuan from Yuan Yuan
Serene and Leanne from NTU Deli Aprecio Club
Phoebe and her sister Chloe from The Food Chapter


For a different perspective of this place, here are some of the other bloggers' after-thoughts of Halia Restaurant,
YuanYuan - Food Bloggers' Gathering ( Halia Restaurant)
*the simplest aphrodisiac - Bloggers Outing: Halia
Simply Angeline - Halia Restaurant - Brunch by the Garden
SittingWishingEating - Halia Restaurant – Botanic Gardens
For the love of ... calories and weighing scales - Halia at Botanical Gardens
Live to Eat! - Halia: Brunch in The Greens!
sitting.wishing.eating - Halia Restaurant – Botanic Gardens
My Food Sirens II - Halia Restaurant
Hungry Epicurean - Bloggers Outing: Halia Restaurant

Halia Restaurant
Singapore Botanic Gardens
1 Cluny Road, Ginger Garden (enter via Tyersall Avenue)
Singapore 259569
Tel: 6476 6711
http://www.halia.com.sg/

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Triple 3

Triple 3

Named after Mandarin Orchard's address, 333 Orchard Road, Triple 3 is another commonly mentioned buffets in Singapore. For those who has visited Triple 3 some time back, this restaurant has gotten a complete makeover and instead of a casual dining area, the ambience this place offers is classy and contemporary.

What makes this buffet distinctively memorable from the rest is the amount of live stations this buffet gets to offer.


Like most buffets, seafood on ice has always been a highlight and Triple 3 makes no exception with its wide and fresh selection.


The sashimi station offers freshly cut sashimi which includes a selection of Salmon, Meikijiki (Swordfish), Tako, Prawn, Hamachi, etc. In addition, there is also another chef stationed beside the sashimi station, providing a continuous fresh supply of sushi made with Unagi, Amaebi, Soft Shell Crab, Hokki Clam, etc.


Pasta live station with an option of cream, aglio olio or tomato style are cooked upon ordering and if the chef is tied up with several orders, this will be served to your table.


Apart from the regular salads and cold cuts found in most hotel buffets, Triple 3 includes a nice selection of Kushiage (Japanese deep-fried skewers). The crispy breaded exterior were not oily at all and all 3 types of meat (i.e. scallops, chicken or squid) served that day were juicy and tender. Apart from that, one can also expect juicy Chilean Sea Bass Pan-Roasted with Miso and juicy Scallops wrapped with Fried Vermicelli.


One of the highlights of the buffet is the luscious, slow-roasted Wagyu Beef and the accompanying truffle sauce. Roasted Lamb Leg and Split Roasted Marinated Spring Chicken with Cajun Spices and Fresh Herbs are other highlights in the carving station.


One of our favourites in the entire buffet is the tender, juicy Beef Fillet served in thick cubes. Apart from that, this station also offers Tiger Prawn, Salmon in Foil, Bean Sprout and Mushroom.


This is one station which we didn't try. Anyway, this station offers a choice of 3 types of noodles (e.g. Wan Tan Noodle, Mee Pok, Spinach Noodle), served with Fish Dumpling, Vegetable Fish Ball, Sze Chuan Vegetable, Snow Vegetable with Minced Chicken.


Not that the noodles aren't tempting but rather we were overwhelmed with so many choices and the dilemma of going for a second round. Wok-Fried Station serves Assorted Seafood with either Chili Crab Sauce or Honey Black Pepper Sauce; and Wok Fried Rice with Crabmeat, served with Crispy Soft Shell Crab.

Kudos to the Fried Rice for its strong Wok Hei flavour. I don't have to emphasize how good it is judging from the drama this picture got to say.


The steam section also serves fantastic Steamed Cod Fish, delicately seasoned with sake and shoyu. The Herbal Black Chicken Soup and Chawanmushi are other highlights of the buffet. The latter has a silky texture topped with prawn roe and a light sauce made from bonito flakes.


Of course, the Tempura live station features deep-fried Shitake Mushroom, Brinjal, Japanese Sweet Potato, Kisu Fish, Prawn and Lotus Root served with tentsuyu sauce and also a mixture of powdered green tea and salt.

Frankly speaking, if I were to put up photos for the entire spread, the list will go on and on and what is uploaded on this entry is only 60% of the entire buffet. Thus, one can imagine the amount of spread Triple 3 gets to offer.


The desserts offered by Triple 3 are generally light and refreshing, thus there is always room for desserts. Signature Mandarin Cheese Cake is something not to be missed for its smooth texture. Lemon meringue tart is worth a mention for its crisp tartlet shell topped with light fluffy meringue and tangy lemon curd. Apricot Pana Cotta with Peppermint is something unique as it bears resemblance to having a hint of salted caramel in its aftertaste.


Other desserts served in the buffet includes Wine Swiss Roll, Chocolate Hazelnut Crunch, Blueberry Yoghurt Mousse, Mango Mirror Mousse, Dark and White Chocolate Cake, Apricot Almond Tart, Pear with Almond Filo, Poached Pear in Red Wine, Cherry Jelly, etc.

Apart from desserts, the ice-cream served in the buffet, uses Triple 3 very own recipes, with interesting flavours such as Saffron Pistachio. The ice-cream is not sweet and is smooth to our liking.


Introducing Sous Chef William Tan & Japanese Executive Chef Shigeru Akashi of Triple 3. A big thank you to Assistant Marketing Communications Manager, Ms Low Shi Ping and Sous Chef William Tan for making our phototaking possible.

A memorable dinner, with good food, fantastic service and warm hospitality. No doubt, top of our buffet list.

Buffet Lunch
$45++ per person (Mon-Fri & PH)
$48++ per person (Sat & Eve of PH)

Sun Brunch
$68++ (No beverage)
$98++ (include free flow of sparkling wine)

Buffet Dinner
$68++ per person (Sun-Thur & PH)
$72++ per person (Fri, Sat & Eve of PH)

Credit Card discount as follows:
OCBC - 20%
Amex & Citibank - 15%
HSBC & UOB - 10%

Triple Three
Mandarin Orchard Singapore
333 Orchard Road
Singapore 238867
Tel: 6831 6288/71

Operating Hours -
6.30am – 10.30am (Breakfast)
Noon – 2.30pm (Lunch)
6.30pm – 10.00pm (Dinner)
Website

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K Ki Sweets

K Ki Sweets

Tucked in the corner of Ann Siang Hill near the junction of Club Street lays K Ki Sweets. Barely two week old, this Japanese styled concept store serves to inspire people. Owner Delphine who spoke to us said that she wanted people to gain inspiration as they step into the store, be it artists, photographers, etc. This is also the reason why they chose to be situated in the corner of Ann Siang Hill.


Their pastry chef is co owner Kenneth (Delphine's husband). A self taught baker who pursues his dreams to set up K Ki. I can see his passion as I observe him carefully align his creations.


K Ki offers limited selection of cakes and they gets replenished as the cakes get sold out to ensure freshness of the cakes. But even then, note that each creations are limited in quantity per day.


Apart from cakes, K Ki serves a short list of beverages (i.e coffee, tea and orange juice) with their coffee served with home baked chocolate hazelnut or coconut sables which are sold in packets of 12 - 14 for about $12.50.

Newly introduced this week, Delphine recommends their dine-in guests to try the Pumpkin Pudding ($7.00). Often you find pumpkin either in the form of soup, infused with yam cake or even fried like fritters but as a pudding, this is really a first for me.

Overall the pudding tasted very close to eating actual pumpkin with salted caramel drizzled over the top. Even non-pumpkin lovers like Fen finds it refreshing but associate with a similar after-taste as eating caramel popcorn.

The Mont Blanc ($8.50) contains bits of chestnut, mixed in light fluffy cream that is on the blend side. The puréed chestnuts drizzled over the cream has a nice texture and powering taste of chestnut, complimenting pretty well with almond cake base. Not too sweet and the essence of chestnut is presented sufficiently to Fen's liking.


K Ki shares the shop space with the Little Drom Store - a vintage store which brings back fond memories of my childhood. Film cameras, old telephones, five stones... can be found here.

The ambience this place offers is very laid back and as portrayed in the pictures, the place shows some resemblance to some shops shown in Japan Hour. We stepped into the shop, having the intention to blog and left the place with some fond memories of our childhood and a light-hearted feeling. Having to enjoy cakes in a quiet setting and the freedom to browse around Little Drom Store, we have to admit that the experience this place offers is unlike most patisseries.

Since Kenneth is seeking ideas to come up with new bakes, join their facebook group and check out their new inspiring bakes this cafe has to bring to their customers. Something to note, as there is limited seating areas, the store actually promotes take-aways.

K Ki Sweets
7 Ann Siang Hill
#01-00
Tel 6225 6650
Their website and facebook group

Operating hours:
12pm - 7pm (Sun to Fri)
12pm - 4pm (Sat)
Closed on Mondays

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Antoinette by K Ki

Antoinette by K Ki

This cake is named after co owner of the Little Drom Store (which shares the same shop space as K Ki) as it was baked for her birthday.


Encapsulated by velvetly smooth white chocolate mousse and a layer of soft white chocolate sponge, the surprise lays in the mango puree within. It has the same effect as a warm chocolate cake with molten chocolate in between. This is probably the "warm chocolate cake" for mango fans.

White chocolate cakes are often very sweet to most liking but fret not, the sweetness is just right and the beauty of this cake lies in the mango puree. White chocolate mousse is smooth and light and the addiction kicks in when this is eaten together with the tangy mango puree. Who would have expect a white chocolate mousse cake to be refreshing. Highly recommended.

As seen together with our previous introduction of K Ki, the creations offered by this patisserie are generally light and easily accepted by most. What is more important is that the desserts aren't cloying nor rich, making it easily finished and the urge to crave for more.

Apart from the cakes mentioned in both entries, we have also tried the cheese souffle, a Japanese light cheesecake that is so soft and moist. We didn't manage to capture it on our camera as it collapsed in Yuan's hands while he attempt to remove the foil that is beneath the cake.

K Ki Sweets
7 Ann Siang Hill
#01-00
Tel 6225 6650
Their website and facebook group

Operating hours:
12pm - 7pm (Sun to Fri)
12pm - 4pm (Sat)
Closed on Mondays

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