alexis blogs: December 2017

Halal Dining: Halia at Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road, Singapore 259569

December 29, 2017

Newsflash! Halia at the Botanic Gardens is one of those iconic restaurants that you would bring business partners, life partners, travelling partners and Muslim friends to, because it is one of the few Halal-certified restaurants that is fancy and delicious. I like it for serving up Singapore-inspired Western dishes and mocktails without being too over the top. The location in idyllic Botanic Gardens really helps as well. For the food, even though there are some misses, I still find that overall they managed to stand on their own.

I love their alfresco area surrounded by greenery, which can seat groups of people comfortably.

We started with some drinks, and I love the herb-infused mocktails such as the Goji Berry Infusion (S$7) and Halia Mint Berry (S$7)!

This was my Halia Mint Berry with mint, blueberries, ginger, lime and Sprite concoction. Super refreshing.

The food concept at Halia remains all about communal dining and sharing plates, though they also have lighter and side dishes. Here's the menu.

We started with a light dish like the Lightly Smoked Kingfish (S$17) which had chilled cucumber & ginger shooter, almond, chilli & lemongrass oil. This was very nicely executed with the cucumber shooter being the perfect gravy to complement the fish. 4/5

Then there's the Carmalised Onion and Beetroot Tart (S$17), something I've never tried before. This was an interesting one, with the earthy beetroot on top of some very thin puff pastry, sprinkled with feta cheese and balsamic glaze. Although interesting, I wouldn't really automatically go to this as compared to the Kingfish. 3/5

For something in between, we had the Charred Caesar Salad (S$12) that features black garlic aioli, beef bacon, pickled cucumber, shaved parmesan and of course romaine lettuce, which was purposely burnt. I liked this quite a lot for the smoky flavour! 4/5

We also shared a medium Fresh Boston Bay Mussels (S$22 for 300g), which was probably the most popular dish of the night. The mussels were perfectly cooked in that delicious coconut and ginger flower broth, with some grilled foccacia to mop up the sweet, seafood broth! 4/5

We then came upon the mains, which featured many plates. There's the Slow cooked tender Chicken Breast and Braised Minced Leg Potato Gratin (S$29) with "Wok-hei" cabbage and mushroom sauce. Now, even though this sounds delish, I find it a rather safe choice. There wasn't too much to write home about. 3/5

What I had preferred was the Lamb Rack and Braised Spice Islands Marinade Rump Stew (S$46) which can be shared between two, for sure! It had bulgur wheat, feta cheese, baby spinach, thyme jus and the most tender lamb. 4/5

There's also a beautiful Pan-fried Barramundi (S$28) for fish lovers using Asian ingredients like Thai coconut cream, along with the usual green asparagus, cherry tomato, pignolina, basil oil. This I think is a good solid meal even though it sounds simple too. Get this over the chicken if you don't feel like having red meat!

For desserts, we tried the Fig Tart (S$11) which had yogurt mousseline, speculoos, caramelised fig (I love figs!) and turmeric foam. Very innovative, light but well balanced between the sweet and sour as well as the textures! We were so stuffed by then but there's still a bit of room for dessert. 3/5

Lastly, some Yuzu Gateaux (S$13) which had yuzu infused cake, intense chocolate yuzu ganache, lait caramel mousse and yuzu foam. This was citrusy and a real palate cleanser after all the food we've eaten! 3/5

Halia never fails to disappoint, and their Halal certification makes it even more accessible to all Singaporeans who do enjoy other types of meat and non-alcoholic drinks. I like Halia for their innovative use of Asian spices and herbs to make dishes just that tiny bit more special.

Halia
1 Cluny Road (Ginger Garden), Singapore Botanic Garden, 259569
Monday-Thurs 9AM – 9:30PM
Fridays 9AM – 10PM, Saturdays 10AM – 10PM, Sundays 10AM – 9:30PM
+65 84441148
Reserve on chope.co or quandoo.sg

cafe

Cafe Hangout: Kohi-ya Cafe at 4 Hillview Rise, Singapore 669554

December 24, 2017

Kohi-ya is a relatively new Japanese cafe and bistro that opened at the very idyllic Hillview Community Club (Downtown station Hillview is a short walk away) to serve the gated community with their Japanese-inspired small brunch/lunch menu and coffees. It is nicely decorated and well-ventilated and opens to a wide field at the back, which was lovely.

The coffee machine is no joke. There's a small bar area beside as well.

They do have tarts too, but when we went there was just two croissants on display.

Here's the menu as of 24 Dec 2017. Prices are slightly steep for the food, TBH. But then again, the clientele here probably could afford to pay $10 for an avocado toast.

What's intriguing was the Matcha Bun Beef Burger with blueberry red wine reduction and matcha bun, but we didn't order this. I wonder how it tastes like!

Coffees are at a much more reasonable $4.50 for a latte/flat white/cappuccino, but they are single shot coffees.

There's also a Specials menu, which had three items on it.

They also sell some coffee-related accessories and such, being from the Ninepress family (who also started Brawn and Brains).

The flat white (S$4.50) I had was really light and milky but not offending. Very polite, like how the Japanese are. Love the cup tho! 3.5/5

The Squid Ink Orzo Pasta (S$18) was nicely done with a Japanese touch featuring ikura and edamame. My siblings really enjoyed it, but this is definitely not date food. Black teeth and lips anyone? Haha. 4/5

The Tom Yam Don (S$18) special is also really cool, though it really is just tom yam fried rice with an onsen egg on top, with some bonito flakes. But the flavour of it was well distributed and not too salty, with a kick of spice. 4/5

For those looking for a light bite and coffee, check out Kohi-Ya since it has not exploded on social media yet. While the food pricing is slightly steep, the quality at least justifies and the coffee is pleasant.

Kohi-Ya
Hillview Community Club, 1 Hillview Rise ＃01-04, Singapore 669554
+65 62888488
Tuesdays to Fridays 10am to 7pm
Saturdays and Sundays 9am to 9pm
Closed on Mondays

cafe

Cafe Hangout: Common Man Stan on 11 Stanley St, Singapore 068730

December 08, 2017

I'm always glad for new coffee places in the CBD because it means another place to hang out or go to for meetings, and boy was I glad that the second Common Man Roasters branch decided to spring up on Stanley Street which is steps away from my office. This newly opened cafe looks super pretty as well with gold trimmings and marble decor and spans across two shophouses which means plenty of space.

They have their own roasted beans available for sale, of course.

They also have nitro cold brew on tap for tea and coffee, which is pretty cool. I am not sure if there's alcohol at this place (probably not since they close at 4.30pm!)

And don't play with their coffee machine, this is no regular Nespresso.

They have All Day Breakfast, and here's the menu. Apologies for the slightly blurry photo! Prices a slightly on the high side due to probably the rental costs. But there's homemade bagels and avocado toast!

Here's the drinks menu. They have not busted the $6 mark yet for coffees, thank goodness.

Verdict on the flat whites that I've tried so far? Delicious! They are smooth, creamy and well-made despite having TWO shots of espresso inside. You can always request for one if too much caffeine makes you jittery.

I'll highly recommend this cafe for a coffee or even breakfast and I heard they also have a late afternoon high tea set. There are booth seats inside the cafe beyond the bar, and even a small room at the back for coffee workshops, it seems. I hope they are here to stay because I'll be back!

Common Man Stan

11/12 Stanley Street, Singapore 068731

Weekdays 7.30am to 4.30pm

Closed on Saturdays and Sundays

68774855

https://www.facebook.com/CommonManStan

shopping

Shopping Alert: Get ready for Lazada Surprise Boxes on 12.12

December 04, 2017

Come 12 to 14 of December, the last wave of the Online Revolution 2017 by Lazada will be upon us and the final round of Surprise Boxes will also be unveiled then! For those who do not know, every year during 11.11 and 12.12 Lazada will collaborate with brands to come up with mystery Surprise Boxes filled with goodies from the brands worth wayy more than $100 for just S$29. That's an immediate 71% saving right there!

For example, Neutrogena Singapore will be one of the brands featured and here's a preview of the Surprise Box right here...

The items in there are definitely worth more than S$100 I can assure you... and I'll probably do a giveaway of them after 15 Dec when you've done your shopping! Just as a teaser, there's a Neutrogena Hydro Boost Gel SPF 30 PA++ which already retails for $20 on Lazada is in there. That's just one of the items!

By the way, I've worked on and used to use the Neutrogena Hydro Boost range and you won't believe the amount of science that's jam packed in that little bottle. It instantly hydrates your skin and makes all those fine little lines disappear and it keeps the moisture on the skin for a long time without it feeling sticky or heavy. What's more there's SPF, which is excellent for day use.

Other than Neutrogena, there are other surprise boxes from Mamonde, Eucerin, Laneige, Nivea, Shiseido and Logitech and many more from 12.12 all the way till 14th December.

Better mark your calendars and the items you want, plus look out for the Surprise Boxes that will be released by time belts during the day starting from midnight of 12 December till 14th! The first 100 new customers who use the code LAZOR2017NEW will also get 18% off any purchase, capped at $11.

Are you as excited as I am? Shop now!

*PS: Get your Shopback $10 if you use my referral code, then open up your Lazada app via Shopback to earn cash back!