Halia, Singapore Botanical Gardens

Ahh, I'm back from a hiatus..taking a break, making a short trip to visit a friend who has recently relocated to Singapore. We had good time catching up, doing things at a relaxed pace..and enjoyed the Lion King musical (do watch if you have the opportunity to!).

I thought I should see a different side of Singapore this time around- well, there's more than just sales and shopping arcades right?

And so we did a lazy sunday outing- we went to Botanical Gardens, to take pleasure in what nature had to offer :)

But of course, it is Singapore, even the Botanical Gardens was crowded. Full of tourists and locals. Sigh.

Though I'm not too impressed with certain parts of the garden, there were a few areas that was certainly picturesque..

And all the strolling left us hungry, and we made our way to Halia restaurant, located right in the middle of the ginger garden within the Botanical Gardens.

There was a choice of indoors or outdoors dining- we chose the former, as we were all sticky and sweaty from all that walk! :p

I felt like I was eating in a greenhouse, which provided a wonderful reprieve from the sweltering heat.

We were seated quickly, the service was attentive yet not suffocating.

Though the brunch menu had a good range to choose from, all of us opted for sandwiches.

I've worked up a hearty appetite by then, so I decided on the Grilled Steak Sandwich (SGD22)..

This is certainly a generous portion, the steak was sufficient (not too thick), served on ciabatta with sauteed brown mushrooms, onion marmalade, roasted tomatoes and a side of salad. The steak was juicy, paired will with the rest of the ingredients.

Jun, who's still in the breakfastie mood, went for the Poached egg on brioche (SGD22)Served with crisp bacon, roasted tomatoes, mushroom, spinach and dill hollandaise, this was quite a mouthful, but satisfying so.

Amy on the other had, decided on the Chef's brunch special (SGD23)- the list of ingredients was so long that I cant even recall..only a few things stuck on my mind- it had truffle, ham, cheese, tomatoes.... And this is how it looks like..She was a tad disappointed with her portion after seeing ours, but the combination of flavours and texture was excellent. The bread was crisp and warm, the filling- almost pate like, had a discerning rich flavour which was satisfying. The virgin bloody mary provided on the side was to cleanse our palate with every bite of the sandwich, so that we can enjoy the playing of flavours of this combo. And yes, it does fill you up although the portion is genteel :p

Halia Restaurant is located at 1 Cluny Road, Ginger Garden (enter via Tyersall Avenue, Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Betty's Midwest Kitchen, Aman Suria Damansara

Sometimes, we tend to ignore the eating places nearest to our homes. Since it's always there, no harm trying it 'one day'.

Betty's opened its doors some time back, but somehow, I just didnt make my way there..until recently.

I was there for dinner, and the place was rather packed already.

Luckily for us, there's still 1 table available :)

Some homemade lemonade (RM2.50) to quench the thirst.

Refreshing with a nice balance of sourness and sweetness.

There were quiet a selection of mains- we finally decided on ..

Country fried chicken (RM13)

The chicken was very crunchy, but slightly over fried. The fried chicken was served with a generous amount of mash and lots of mushroom sauce, the combo was creamy smooth. The sauce was rich and thick, the pork bacon bits added some bite to the mash. Dragon girl, who dislikes frozen peas gave her thumbs up for the peas- it was sweet and moist- the 'freezer' taste was not there :)

We decided to have some porky goodness, so we order the Grilled Baby Back Ribs (RM28.50)

There were 2 large slabs of ribs, served on a bed of chips and sides of coleslaw. The ribs was pretty good, marination had seeped into the meat. The meat on the other hand, was tender at some parts but somewhat dry on other parts. I liked the sauce though, it's thick, aromatic and slightly grainy- a blend of BBQ sauce with spices perhaps? There were also another sauce served on the side- had beer in it. I find it ok, I still prefer the BBQ sauce.

Overall the meal was satisfying, I'll be back to try other dishes soon.

Betty's Midwest Kitchen is located at AG40, Jalan PJU 1/43, Aman Suria Damansara, 47301 PJ, Selangor.