Ever since Pollen at Gardens by the Bay was first featured on the Sunday edition of The Straits Times, I had been hinting widely to misterchewy that yours truly was dying to go there. The boy got my ‘hint’ and arranged to treat me to a pre-birthday lunch! Well, if he didn’t get my big hint, he’s gonna get a hard knock on his head. LOL just kidding~ π
The hubby had everything well-planned and we took a cab to Gardens by the Bay after checking out of Wanderlust Hotel. He made reservations for lunch a few days in advance and we had a buggy to pick us up at the entrance. It sure was a long way in! Super excited while we were on the buggy! π
I think with all the hype going on, Pollen probably doesn’t need any more introduction from this humble blog. Ok but anyways, for the benefit of those who don’t already know, Pollen is the sister restaurant to Michelin-starred British chef Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social in London. Pollen sets itself to be a fine dining concept in Singapore which serves mainly Mediterranean-inspired modern European cuisine in casual ambience surrounded by temperate olive trees, herbs and vegetation. Do you know that every morning, the chefs at Pollen pick fresh herbs and vegetables from their own herb garden as ingredients for the dishes? π
Fine dining is just not my cup of tea. I prefer a casual and relaxed dining atmosphere. Being tensed doesn’t allow me to enjoy my food, and the hefty price tag that comes with it would not be justifiable, no matter how mind-blowing the food is. This is my personal opinion of course. What about Pollen then? I would say that dining in a picturesque setting is a totally different experience all together! It’s kinda like alfresco dining in a majestic glass dome surrounded by beautiful flowers and greenery in this case! Like Alice in Wonderland at a Mad Hatter Tea Party! I don’t think it’s something you can easily get elsewhere π
Thanks to the hubby for doting on me! Hehehe! π
Typical things that ‘tourists’ do. Just felt that I had to pose for a photo with Pollen’s menu. LOL.
Interestingly, the couple next to us was also celebrating the girl’s birthday! I’m not a stalker la but here’s her blog post! I was quite sure that she had to be at least a blogger, if not food blogger because her bf/husband remarked that he would have whatever she wasn’t planning to have. Hahaha! Guess what happened? All four of us had the Set Lunch ($55++). Both guys ordered exactly the same dishes and us ladies ate exactly the same too! Yup the starter, mains and desserts. Homaigawd.
I picked the Petunia Ocean Trout as my starter, which instantly reminded us of the citrus marinated salmon that we had at Pamplemousse. Served with oyster mayonnaise and pickled onion, this dish was faultless. I loved the presentation! Such a pretty flower π
For someone who generally prefers strong flavors, misterchewy seemed quite happy with his Slow Cooked Eggs with Patata Bravas. The fried potato cubes and crispy slices of chorizo went quite well with the spicy tomato sauce. Plus biting into the egg was sheer delight, as can be seen from the hubby’s facial expressions.
You should be able to estimate the size of the Roasted Pork Belly if you compare it against the size of the beans. Heh. Yeah set lunch mah, whaddaya expect? π The pork belly was really good, very tender with a slightly chewy bite. And if I didn’t remember wrongly, the cut was actually quite lean.
My John Dory was unexceptional, nothing to shout about. The seafood bisque veloute was way too salty but I finished it up nevertheless.
Isn’t misterchewy’s dessert choice of Coconut Mousse, Rhubarb Broth, Goat Cheese Ice Cream prettaaaay? The sweet coconut mousse complemented the sourish rhubarb perfectly and the goat cheese ice cream though subtle, could be an acquired taste. We liked it very much! π
My Beetroot Sorbet with Chocolate Mousse was served on a rock. Yes a ROCK! Haha. The waiter told us that a few customers actually asked if the rock is also part of the dessert and whether it can be eaten. Lololol. A rather refreshing mix of tart and sweet flavors in this one. The eating experience was a fun one though, trying to lick the rock clean. Heh.
A birthday gift from Pollen! Very exquisite chocolate! I have never tasted anything like this before π
Since misterchewy made reservations at Pollen, the entrance fee to Flower Dome was waived. This made our lunch at Pollen a rather good deal considering that we saved $12 per person on the admission fee π
There is a lift within Pollen and we were shown up to the Flower Dome. Good thing we were there on a Monday because there wasn’t much of a crowd. But I made a wrong decision of not bringing my camera charger to charge my DSLR during the staycation π Camera was running on low battery thus some of the shots that you see later on were taken with the hubby’s Canon IXUS.
Taking a stroll at Flower Dome is a very cool affair! Hahaha no pun intended. It is a very nice feeling to have the sun shining down on you but in a cool and moist climate. Almost feels like experiencing winter in a foreign country! π
Our Chewy tofu oyako – John and Sally! Long time no see right? π Ok shall let the photos do the talking!
And finally, this post concludes the fantabulous birthday weekend that misterchewy had planned for me! If you have missed out on the earlier posts and haven’t got a clue as to what’s going on, click on the following links to read about our Wanderlust Hotel staycation, terrariums workshop and romantic dinner at Senso.
TGIF my dear friends and play hard over the weekend! π
