Now that the crazy crowds have gone away from Pollen, and the kitchen has ironed out all its earlier misses, we took the parentals to dinner. They aren't the outdoorsy type, especially not in humid Singapore. That's why they disappear to a temperate climate six months out of a year. They've not visited Gardens by the Bay. They wouldn't see much during this short dinner stroll around the Flower Dome, but at least they could say they've been there. The parentals were thrilled with the buggy service from the carpark to the restaurant.
We're familiar enough with Jason Atherton's restaurants in Hong Kong, London and Shanghai, and well, Esquina (which is like 22 Ships). Done our rounds. While their menus don't exactly blow our minds, we like how the teams at the different restaurants are dependable and send out delectable offerings which make for a decent meal. The parentals wouldn't enjoy the atmosphere and the tiny seats at Esquina, but they prefer the space at Pollen. I like the Haviland & Co. plates, which are made from Limoges porcelain, I assume. Their vegetarian options are one of the best in town. As usual, the restaurant had a list of beers, and one choice in Gage Roads' Atomic Pale Ale. The rest on the current beer list were a useless pilsner, lager and witbier. They had a Basil Hayden which made for a great digestif.
Canapés, appetizers, starters, mains and dessert. Loved how all the flavors meshed together. The expected style and presentation of contemporary cuisine, yet not a weird fusion of foods. We took fish for the mains. Their cured swordfish with fennel, grapefruit nitro and toasted seaweed, and jasmine-tea-cured Norwegian salmon with artichoke barigole, ikura, mandarin orange and soft shell crab were very good. The man was crazy enough to order a gigantic tomahawk steak. Of course we couldn't finish it and had to pack quite a fair bit home. You know the man- he's gonna be making beef stock from the huge bone and remnant meat.
Sneakily instructed the restaurant on the matter of the bill. The parentals wanted to get us dinner, but we were determined not to let them do it. The restaurant sorted that out beautifully and told them "The bill has been taken care of." Perfect. I had casually mentioned that the parentals share a birthday month in October. To my surprise, besides the petit fours, the restaurant also gave them a cute onion-shaped mango-pineapple-cheesecake topped with a candle. How very nice! The man was very pleased because he got to share little bites of sweets. Heh.
We're familiar enough with Jason Atherton's restaurants in Hong Kong, London and Shanghai, and well, Esquina (which is like 22 Ships). Done our rounds. While their menus don't exactly blow our minds, we like how the teams at the different restaurants are dependable and send out delectable offerings which make for a decent meal. The parentals wouldn't enjoy the atmosphere and the tiny seats at Esquina, but they prefer the space at Pollen. I like the Haviland & Co. plates, which are made from Limoges porcelain, I assume. Their vegetarian options are one of the best in town. As usual, the restaurant had a list of beers, and one choice in Gage Roads' Atomic Pale Ale. The rest on the current beer list were a useless pilsner, lager and witbier. They had a Basil Hayden which made for a great digestif.
Canapés, appetizers, starters, mains and dessert. Loved how all the flavors meshed together. The expected style and presentation of contemporary cuisine, yet not a weird fusion of foods. We took fish for the mains. Their cured swordfish with fennel, grapefruit nitro and toasted seaweed, and jasmine-tea-cured Norwegian salmon with artichoke barigole, ikura, mandarin orange and soft shell crab were very good. The man was crazy enough to order a gigantic tomahawk steak. Of course we couldn't finish it and had to pack quite a fair bit home. You know the man- he's gonna be making beef stock from the huge bone and remnant meat.
Sneakily instructed the restaurant on the matter of the bill. The parentals wanted to get us dinner, but we were determined not to let them do it. The restaurant sorted that out beautifully and told them "The bill has been taken care of." Perfect. I had casually mentioned that the parentals share a birthday month in October. To my surprise, besides the petit fours, the restaurant also gave them a cute onion-shaped mango-pineapple-cheesecake topped with a candle. How very nice! The man was very pleased because he got to share little bites of sweets. Heh.
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| No mains pictured. Too busy eating. |
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