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

Prive

Apologies for the long absence! Boogie has been eating but not posting.. will try to come back with some post dated blogs.. but for now.. lets review Prive..the lastest restaurant in town!

Arrived at Marina at Keppel Bay before dark. View is relaxing.. and it was pleasant sight to see the boats docked at hte Marina. Theres 3 outlets here. Prive the Restaurant, Prive Gastrobar and Prive Bakery Cafe. Having been here for drinks twice at Gastrobar...its time to try the restaurant!!

The restaurant is a small 80+ seater modern styled New York restaurant. Service standard is close to a fine dining restaurant yet atmostphere is lively with banter going on in the room. I must say Gastrobar has a much better view, a pity it only serves drinks!

For appetisers, we had warm spinach salad with goat cheese and tataki tenderlion. The tataki tenderloin is a japenese style raw beef. The beef was tender, however a little bland for our liking. The warm spinach salad with goat cheese on the other hand was very inviting! The spinach was fresh served with a tangy sauce. The goat cheese was soft and full of flavour. Yumz!

For mains we had: 1) Duck Confit Pasta [$30+] 2) BraisedOx-Tail [$30+] 3) Grilled Double Rib Lamb Chops [$50+] 4) Grilled Striploin Angus (300g) [$50+]

As recommended by the waitress, the grilled items were indeed more appetizing as compared to item 1 and 2. The lamb was succulent and very tasty. It was also very well done, with no parts overdone or too raw. The grilled striploin was also a pleasant surprise. Tasty, grilled on a even basis, with no parts too raw or overcooked. It was also a generous portion of 300g+!

However, the duck confit pasta was a dissappointment. The pasta was not al dente. The duck confit and the overall dish was also a bit on the dry side. The ox tail was pretty tasty but it did not wowed me. Tender and tasty, however the taste was pretty much like a chinese dish.

Other highlights of the dinner was the wine and dessert. Theres an extensive wine. We had a First Cru from Burgundy. It was a full bodied wine with a strong nose and a tinge of sweetness in its taste. Nice!

For dessert we had a chocolate platter. It consist of a warm chocolate lava cake, a chocolate tart and rich chocolate ice-cream served on top of a biscuit. Cake with warm and fluffy which flowed with hot molten chocolate. The ice cream was rich which complemented the cake very well.

An overall interesting find. Location at the Marina, grill menu and wine list are its main draws. A drink prior to dinner or after dinner at the gastrobar will definitly heighten the experience. Will be back for its grilled menu and perhaps its less pricey version at lunch.

Total damage for 2 appeitizers, 4 mains, 1 desser and a bottle of wine: $450

PS: The gastrobar is a great place for Chill out drinks! View: Yachts docked at the Marina..

Food: 8.5 (for grilled items), 7 (for other mains)

Service: 8 (attentive waiters who filled our water glasses without request)

Ambience: 8

Overall: 8

Prive

No 2 Keppel Bay Vista

Marina at Keppel Bay

House @ Dempsey - 1st Post!!

Quite awhile ago, Boogie stumbled upon this place while checking out the newly-revamped Dempsey Village. Enter the building from a side door, we went on a pretty "cold stroll" within the building. Why "cold"? It was hard to explain. The various sections of the building were very different in terms of decor, and there were quite a few rooms with glass walls just so you can look into them, coupled with tables scattered on the main dining room amidst lots of furniture and ornament(simply read: messy), we felt like we were really intruding into someone else's house. Still, we like it. It was fun. The concept is kewl. And we told ourselves that we must come and dine some time soon.

From http://picasaweb.google.com/boogiefoodie/BarracksHouse

That, we did. However, for the sake of ambience, we decided to do it in the al fresco area where they named Barracks. Barracks and House is really just one establishment, just different areas.



Straight to the point, for starter, we had the soup, Foie Gras Consomme. Wasn't exactly impressed. The foie gras was within a ravioli and the taste of the soup was mild, much like a lighter version of chicken broth.



Next, we had the Prawn Capellini, which was suppose to be one of their favourites and speciality. It was a fairly decent dish, tasty though slightly saltish.



The other main that we had was the marinated lamb chief. This was, by comparison, a nicer dish. The lamb was tender and sweet, nicely done medium.



To top it up, we had the Strawberry shortcake for dessert. Taste was not bad although we were amused by the way it was served. Fitting of a dessert at a barrack, don't you think?



The dessert was served on a mess tin, bringing me back to memories of my army days. Can't remember when was the last time I ate from a mess tin. Even brought out a few sniggers from me as I imagined SAF soldiers having this dessert from mess tins during outfield training.

Overall, the meal was satisfaction. Nothing to rave about but then again, I don't think anyone will come here purely for the food. One more thing, they do have a wide range of beverages and wine list to choose from, plus given the ambience, it is more of a chill-out place for a simple drinking session with friends.

PS: Theres a live DJ spinning on weekends and Fri on the other side of the House. Its a non restaurant portion but just drinks facing greenery. Pretty cool for chill out. I recommend the Tiffin Punch for a gals night out. Sweet cocktail served in metal tiffin containers!

Damage: The above meal costed $89.50 (with service and GST, $105.34)
Food: 6/10
Ambience: 8/10
Service: 6/10
Overall: 7/10

Address:
8D Dempsey Road
#01-01 to 06 Tanglin VillageSS
(Tel: 6475 7787)