Picotin

Picotin on a Sunday evening!!

Picotin" means "horse ration of oats". I must say the food tasted no where near oats. This new restaurant is the latest addition to St Pierre Group. It consists of a bar, gourmet shop and a bistro that serves European food.

Upon arriving, we were presented withe the choice of 3 seating areas. Firstly, the al fresco area facing the old stables (now shops) which was full of Ang Moh families, secondly, the air con indoor seating and lastly, a patioed al fresco area on teh other side of the indoor seating. We picked the latter.


Now on to the food. The Menu was tastefully done up horsy style! Nice touch and good overall them with name of restaurant and setting. For starters we had Assiette de canard: Smoked duck, duck rillette, duck confit spring roll, walnut salad ($18) and Moules à la Parisienne Mussels: garlic butter, emmental cheese ($14). The selection of duck was pretty tasty and interesting. The mussels was just of an expected standard.








For mains, we had a Pizza ($21), Cuisse de canard confite; Duck leg confit, potato, mixed leaf salad, raspberry vinegar dressing ($29), Fillet de fletan au vin rouge; Halibut, potato, spinach, red wine reduction ($30), Tagine d’agneau; Braised lamb shoulder, braised organic vegetable, moroccan spices, harizza ($24).

Out of the 4 dishes, we would strongly recommend the pizza. Thin, crisp, flavourful with the right proportions of cheese. One of the better ones in SG! The fish and duck was as per taste of its same league of restaurants, good, but nothing to scream about. The lamb was somewhat not to my taste. It could be due to the moroccan spices which did not go down too well with me.













On to the dessert. The desserts were pretty good! We had Nougat glace, coulis a la framboise Iced nougat, raspberry coulis ($10), Gateau aux dattes Sticky date pudding, toffee sauce, ice cream ($10) and a complimentary birthday cake for my little sister. =)

The iced nougat was a little on the sweet side but however really good. A mixture of ice cream and nougat, it was very light and refreshing on the palette. The warm sticky date pudding was also pretty good. The dessert definitely ended the dinner on a good note!






I would return to Picotin again for the appetisers, pizzas, desserts and perhaps attempt some other mains again. This restaurant set amidst the old stables makes it feel far away from the hustle and bustle of the crowd. I like the concept and the relaxed feel it gives. Will be back again!

Food: 7/10
Ambience: 7.5/10
Service: 7.5/10

Overall: 7/10

Picotin
100 Turf Club Road,
Singapore 287992.
Tel: +65 6877 1191

Halia @ Botanic Gardens

It's Mother's Day! Instead of the usual Sunday brunches. We decided something a little different this year. A nice stroll in Botanic Gardens and a lovely meal with lush greenery with chirping birds and relaxed atmosphere at Halia. After we have parked our car, we took at 10 min stroll from to Halia (next to the Orchid Garden)

As it was a Sunday, Sunday Branch (around $60) was served in Villa Halia and ala carte was served in the restaurant. We decided on ala carte as to contain our eating, or rather the over-eating that we have allowed ourselves. :P

Halia Restaurant

Villa Halia

For appetisers we had 1) Soft Shell Crab with Wasabi Sauce and 2) Avocado with Orange Salad. The taste of the soft was heightened by the Wasabi Sauce. Comparing the 2 appetisers, we preferred the Salad. The citrusy sauce couple with juicy orange slices made the salad very refreshing!






For mains we had 1) Poached egg on brioche with hollandaise sauce on bacon ($16) 2) Chilli Crab Pasta 3) Portobello Mushroom with Parma Ham Sanwhich 4) Tandoori Chicken with Mango Sandwhich. Out of the 4 dishes, we like the poached egg, chilli crab pasta and portobello mushroom with Parma Ham! The savoury dish was poached egg was done very well. Tasty, satisify and fragrant due to the bacon i supposed. The chilli crab pasta was an innovative and tasty dish. For the Portobello mushroom, it was really tender and the mixture with parma ham brought out the flavours of both the ingredients.

Besides the food, there was also a cocktail and mocktail list which used ginger as an ingredient. We had a mocktail and a ginger iced milk tea. Whoa.. the ginger taste is strong! Definitely not for the faint hearted.

Would i come back here again? I might mainly for the lovely brunch atmosphere it brings. Not to forget the chirping birds and lush greenery. I could also head back to try the dinner menu which is different from the brunch menu i've tried. The main draw here is more of the location than food to me.

We paid about $120 for 2 appetisers, 4 mains and 2 drinks.

Food: 6/10
Ambience: 7/10
Service: 6.5/10

Overall: 6.5/10

Halia Restaurant
Ginger Garden
1 Cluny Road
Singapore Botanic Gardens (enter via Tyersall Avenue)
S (259569)
Tel: 6476-6711