0 Pollen pleases with much pleasures

We had an amazing afternoon at Gardens by the Bay, starting with a fancy lunch at Pollen. The Mediterranean-European restaurant, helmed by British Michelin-starred chef Jason Atherton, was a perfect match to my dining preferences; it joined my radar list the moment I read about its opening a few months ago. I'm really thankful that the family could have a nice lunch together, a rare event these days, in the comforts of the majestic Flower Dome. The food was nothing short of awesome. Every dish was not only perfect balance of flavours, textures, but beautifully plated. The set lunch at 55 pax is quite a good steal, considering you'd get free entry into the Flower Dome, which would otherwise cost 12 bucks.

Rye sourdough with codiments: cod-potato dip and green olives

Roasted beetroot, goats cheese and beet leaves. Beets and goats cheese are a classic pairing but they are paired for a reason. The earthy tones of the roasted beets (which came in purple, golden and orange) accentuated the creamy sweets notes of the goats cheese. Simple yet satisfying.

Smoked salmon with wasabi-like accompainment. Have you ever seen such a hunk of smoked salmon? I'd imagine thin slices of salty salmon a la carpaccio-style, but this meaty slab delivered a pleasant surprise. I had a slice of Mum's salmon; lightly smoked and not too heavy-handed on the salt (my pet peeve of smoked salmon), the flesh was between a raw and flaky texture. This would definitely provide the daily recommended dose of omega-3.

Pan-seard John Dory, prawn minestrone, baby courgettes, coco beans and edamame. Although slightly disappointed the cod was not on the menu, the pan-seared John Dory did not disappoint. The execution of the searing could not be more perfectly done; it yielded a skin so crisp you could feel it crackle at the slightest pressure, unveiling smooth tender flaky white flesh. It's so easy to overcook white fish, but as mentioned, the timing here couldn't be better (I'd imagine the chef had a ticking timer beside him!). The foamed sauce of prawn minestrone was poured over the fish upon serving; it looks deceptively light, but was potent with the umami taste of the crustaceans. I loved the beans and edamame that came with it. Overall, a stunning fish dish.

Most awesome risotto ever: turffle & sorrel risotto. It was creamy but not heavy (no jer lak aftermath) and bursting with mushrooms and truffle jus! I shared this and the John Dory with my sister, so we could enjoy the best of both worlds :)

All good things must come to an end, and the divine desserts helped to end it right, leaving us with sweet memories (pun intended).

Peanut butter and cherry yuzu sorbet. It was my first time having desserts in a deconstructed form, so I wasn't sure if the different components were meant to be enjoyed separately or combined into a mess. So I sampled the them individually first: the cherry yuzu sorbet was tart but refreshing. The "peanut" part of the dessert was delivered in multifarious forms - as a peanut mousse, peanut parfait, peanut crocante and crunchy peanut butter - which resulted in a complex but complementary play of tart and sweet, smooth and crunchy.

You may need an acquired taste to enjoy the goats cheese ice cream, but I'm sure no one can deny on the artistic appeal of this dessert. So pretty and pink!

Chocolate roast cocoa nib ice cream, lavender parfait and cherry. Again I had a bit of Mum's dessert; the crushed cocoa nibs with ice cream reminded me of oreos atas style. This was on the sweeter side compared to other desserts, but still oh-so-good.

Overall, this was one of the most memorable meals I had, for the food, company and ambience. Delivering fresh and clean flavours amid a modern flowery setting, I look forward to many more returns - if only I had the money. (Total bill racked up to approx 300 for 4, thanks to the charges for the bottled water.)

Some pictures of the setting:

After that we had a walk around the Flower Dome and Cloud Forest, which will be featured in the next post!

0 Chocolate mole banana tofu soft serve

After months (years) from procrastination, I finally took out the food processor from the depths of the kitchen cupboards. Dusting off the layer of fine dust that had settled from under-usage, I set to create the much anticipated banana tofu soft serve.

This morning was a good lesson why you should never procrastinate - you'd end up missing up lots of good things in life!

I can't believe how such a simple no fuss recipe (if you can even call it a recipe) can yield such amazing wondrous results in less than a minute (or five if you consider washing up.) Thick, utterly smooth and completely flexible, tofu soft serves are definitely going to make more appearances (and so put my food processor to good use too!)

Chocolate mole banana tofu soft serve (serves one)

Ingredients

• 1/2 frozen banana, sliced
• 1/4 package firm tofu (I used Moringaga; silken would work too but probably would yield a slightly less thick texture)
• 1 tbsp chocolate mole powder (or 1 tbsp cocoa powder)
• 1 scoop protein powder (optional; I used Sunwarrior natural)

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in a food processor, blend.
2. Serve immediately or chill/freeze if you want a more ice-cream-style dessert

Recently, I'e been enjoying lots of fancy nut butter products too, including PB&Co cinnamon raisin swirl (so-so; good for a bit of indulgence); Woodstock farm creamy almond butter; Artisana cacao bliss (will please coconut fans, 2nd order from iHerb!); and Arrowhead Mills crunchy peanut butter (PB will always be my first love). From iHerb I also got Vega complete optimizer (natural) which was 60% off! So happy with the great deal! Shipment was faster this time round, taking about 2.5 weeks. I also got Chocolove chocolate with cherries and chilis. Chocolate mole is my new favorite flavour. The Mexicans have nailed it right!

Finally, last weekend I bought Nancy's kefir (beverage made from fermenting kefir grains in milk) and Kashi's seven whole grain puffs. Kefir's not cheap but the tangyness and benefits of it is far superior than any yogurt drink; can't be beat. Off to complete my to-be-due-soon essay!

2 A weekend to remember

Tourist in my Country

Gallivanting around the city, discovering the new and old side of Singapore. This weekend brought me to places from Marina to Tanjong Pajar, Duxton Hill and Ann Siang, Botanical Gardens and even Geylang [see below]. While each area boasted their own charm, I cannot help but feel that there is too much consumerism and 'urban spectacle' at the Marina area. An aura of development also hangs palpably in the Duxton area; construction was going on in every other shophouse, perhaps to make way for yet another indie cafe, quirky book store or off-the-track fashion store. Give another one or two years, I will not be surprised if Duxton morphs into the next Clarke Quay. In contrast, the vibe in Geylang, with pot-bellied Singaporean uncles, Bangla and China workers and families out in full-force over the weekend, feels so much more authentic, so much less pretentious.

Soul Food

While at Marina on Friday, I had lunch at Alli*Oli, a tiny nondescript cafe in Marina Link mall, seating no more than ten. It was the dreadful lunch hour, which meant the white-collar yuppies and expats were out in full force. This cafe was the only decent one that had space for dine-in. Although they had sandwiches and hot pasta, I opted for the salads which went at 3 for $8. Unfortunately, it was a case of over-ordering and over-eating. The black pepper linguine, tuna carrot & asparagus salad, and vinegary mushrooms were superbly tasty, but I still can't believe I finished that whole mound of food. Not to mention, the pasta was dripping in [olive] oil and the tuna was probably canned in brine for it was a tad salty. I felt quite disgusted after, and my bloated stomach (which remained bloated for another 10 hours or so) was a cruel mockery of my overeating episode. I must say it did provide fuel for my walk from Marina to Chinatown [or maybe it was the cause of it?]

The Big Bird wholemeal wrap from Salad Stop! is an in-house combination consisting of mixed greens, roast turkey, avocado, green apple, grapes, celery and ranch japanese wafu dressing. I had this for lunch today with the parents 'cause I was sick of Novena FC. I was slightly disappointed that the turkey was in the form of turkey ham rather than meat, and as such, quite on the salty side. That aside, I was pleasantly surprised how well fruits go in a salad, albeit "wrap" style, for I usually prefer salads to be of greens only. The tart sweet green apple and grapes helped toned down the saltiness of the turkey, while the avocado provided creaminess and healthy fats. Overall it was rather refreshing. I wonder why salads are so expensive though. Surely some green veggies shouldn't amount to more than $10? But a dear $10.80 this yummy wrap was.

At Cold Storage, I bought a tub of So Delicious Chocolate Almond ice-cream. The company specializes in dairy-free ice cream, and this one is soy-milk based and fruit-sweetened. (They also have coconut milk-based and almond milk-based ice creams but these were not available at CS.) I don't know whether to rejoice or be guilty. I mean it's the first time buying ice cream in years (although not 'real' ice cream). Anyway I opened the tub and peeked inside and it looked and smelled deep and rich with chocolate. Wonder what I should pair it with. Perhaps I should make spelt pancakes or even spelt ice cream bread.

And the highlight of the weekend no doubt goes to..... unctuous, creamy, bitter, sweet, potent, deep yellow mao shan wang durian. I specifically trooped down to Geylang after church to buy durians! At $20 for 2 boxes, this was reasonable. This was from the stall at Lorong 19, and as I walked from Aljunied side, I didn't know there were still so many stalls further down towards Kallang. Luckily the durians at those stalls didn't look that good, and although some were slightly cheaper, they were of other varieties (D24 etc). If not, the pain of regret! As mentioned in the first paragraphs, the atmosphere was fantastic. Families gathering by the road side to have durians on the spot, cars queueing for the $1 kampong durians... so very Singaporean. The two boxes of durians were so potent I could smell it even as I was in the MRT. Luckily no one else seemed to be able to smell it. Or do I have an extra sensitive nose for durians?

Quiet mornings and more chocolate bakes
this time with Royal Gala apples, Ezekiel cereal and spelt flour streussel

Play time with the Cat

At this point he was not fully awakened yet, but in less than a minute later he was all ready to bite!