Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar

Garibaldi needs no introduction in Singapore. One of the top Italian restaurants in Singapore, it has been attracting diners for many years, with their standards more or less maintained over the years.



Lunch started with warm Italian bread which had a crisp crust and served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar



For appetizer, I ordered the Mediterranean Tuna “Tartare” Style with Orange and Grey Mullet Roe (S$24). This dish looks extremely "summery" and the tuna was fresh.



I also had a warm Soup of the Day (S$16), which was Broccoli soup. Creamy, warm and full of vegetable goodness.



First Grade Angus Beef Tenderloin with Potato Gratin and Red Wine Sauce (S$48) was served as my main course. The tenderloin was done medium rare, with juices and flavor sealed within the meat. It was ok, but after the heavenly experience at Wolfgang Puck's Cut, no other steak can beat its taste.



To go along the meat, a small serving of Rocket Salad with Goat Cheese, Cherry Tomatoes and Lemon Dressing was also served together with the tenderloin.



The service staff also served me sauces for the tenderloin.

No desserts was ordered because I was too full.


Garibaldi Italian Restaurant & Bar
36 Purvis Street,
#01-02
Talib Centre

Halia Singapore @ Singapore Botanic Gardens

The Singapore Botanical Garden houses some beautiful F&B outlets, and having visited 2 of them before, we complete the F&B reviews here with Halia Singapore. Halia, which means ginger in Malay, is located at the entrance to the Ginger garden within the botanical garden. It is opened for both lunch and dinner, but the most popular time to dine here is during its weekend brunch.



We had this refreshing Gorgonzola blue cheese mousse, maple-glazed walnut & wild honey on multi-grain toast fingers, with spinach and fresh fruit vincotto salad (S$20). We really like the mixture of wild honey, cheese and salad leaves plus fresh crunchy fruits.



We also shared the very flavourful Shiitake Mushroom Cream Soup (S$14). The soup was full of yummy shiitake mushrooms.



One of Halia's most unique local dish is this Singapore style chilli crab spaghettini (S$24). I was surprised at how generous Halia was with its crab meat. The taste was fantastic as it combined the local chilli crab with Italian spaghetti.



Another east meet west dish is this Char-grilled tandoori-spiced chicken fillet focaccia with fresh mango, cucumber mint yogurt and salad (S$20). The tender and juicy tandoori chicken was full of Indian spice flavours and the spiciness was complimented with the cool cucumber mint yogurt.



Our burger feast did not stop there. We also had the Kurobuta pork & portobello burger in special blend of spices, sake and mirin with apple aioli and salad (S$20). Sake and mirin are added to give this burger dish a "Japanese" taste.



To end our brunch, we had the chef's special brunch dish - Freshly baked caramelized banana walnut bread & vanilla mascarpone cream with oriental kumquat compote and crushed macadamia nut (S$24). Top marks for the banana walnut bread.



And no visit to Halia is complete without a taste of this gingery dessert dish - Young ginger nougat frozen parfait with roasted fresh pineapple and spiced pineapple sauce (S$12)

As we were leaving, we saw this beautiful ginger flower outside of the restaurant.

Halia Singapore
1 Cluny Road,
Ginger Garden
Singapore Botanic Gardens

Le Saint Julien @ The Fullerton Waterboat House

Even though we have been to Julien Bompard for a few times, but we never been to their flagship restaurant at the Fullerton Waterboat House. And since Julien Bompard has closed down, we thought it is a good time now for us to revisit our old friends who are now working in Le Saint Julien.



Long before all the celebrity chefs came to Singapore, Le Saint Julien is one of the few places where you can expect good French food to be served in an old world-ish Paris environment. I still remembered the Waterboat House used to have a merlion souvenir shop before the Merlion moved over to the other side. Now, it's a French restaurant and a rooftop bar.



Although the restaurant is located next to the busy Esplanade bridge, but you will not hear the rumbling of the vehicles. Instead, diners are treated to a wonderful view of the entire Esplanade bay.



There was a special promotion going on for Perrier Jouet, and we ordered 2 glasses of Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque (S$34 per glass). It was served in a matching Perrier Jouet commissioned flute.



There was a limited edition Perrier Jouet Belle Epoque serving table at the centre of the restaurant, which was designed by Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance. And it is now exclusively on display at Le Saint Julien.



Complimentary small bites to go with the champagne.



Our proper dinner started with bread rolls. For our dinner, we ordered a St. Julien Set Dinner (S$168) for 1, plus additional ala carte orders.



First, we had a platter of oysters from France - Fines de Claire No. 3 (S$8 per piece), Ecaille d'argent (S$10 per piece) and Belon (S$14 per piece). My favourite was the Belon oyster which was fresh and creamy.



There were condiments to go with the oysters such as red wine sauce, and vinegar sauce. Plus the usual lemon wedges.



Tio Pepe (S$22 per glass), sherry - taste is not too sweet



Another complimentary Amuse Bouche from the chef for our dinner.



Next up was the flavourful Seafood Bisque (S$29). The soup is poured from a kettle while the fresh seafood sits in the shallow bowl.



From the set dinner, 3 appetizers were served. The first was the Medley of crab meat and seafood with orange dressing. Different toppings on the crab meat including caviar and truffle mousse.



The second sherry we had was this Harvey's Bristol Cream (S$22 per glass) - sweeter than the previous sherry.



A shot of the sherry in a glass.



The second appetizer from the set was the Roast Hokkaido Sea Scallop with sauteed mushrooms and Merlot wine sauce. This was a favourite between us because of the really sweet scallop used, and the tasty Merlot wine sauce with mushrooms.



The third appetizer from the set was the duo of seared duck liver with slow cooked quail egg and black truffle from "Perigord". Anyone who finds foie gras too oily will like their version. Here, the duck liver is seared so that the outside is crisp but not too dry. The inside is still creamy, but less oily than other version I have tried.



Our ala-carte main course was the Roast veal loin with morels, demi-glace jus with port wine (S$62). The meat was juicy and tender, and the sweet port wine glace went well with the meat.



Braised veal cheek with medley of spring vegetables and rosemary sauce was the main course from the set dinner. It's amazing how tender and juicy the veal cheek was. It literally melted in my mouth. And the spring vegetables were also wonderfully sweet.



To go with the beef, we had the White Asparagus (S$36) with horseradish sauce. The sweet asparagus was juicy and tender but not mushy.



In recent times, most of our meals ended with the Cheese trolley. And it is no exception here at Le Saint Julien. The service staffs were all very knowledgeable with the cheese served in their restaurant.



Le Saint Julien had this wine dispenser machine which allowed the wines to be served by glasses without compromising their taste. I believe this is the first time I have seen such a machine in Singapore.



From the dispenser, we had the Silval Port 97 (S$32 per glass)



Desserts from the set dinner: Assortment of cherry and kirsch with rolled crepe, home-made vanilla ice-cream. I didn't think the dessert was their forte. But it was not bad.



From the cheese trolley, we had a Cheese platter with 5 cheese selected by us. Some dried fruits were served to go with the cheese.



The final item from the set dinner was Tea which was served together with this cow milk jug which I remembered fondly from Julien Bompard...



and of course, the Petit Fours.


Le Saint Julien
3 Fullerton Road,
#02-02
The Fullerton Waterboat House

Il Cielo @ Hilton Singapore

We read that Hilton hotel has just opened a rooftop Italian restaurant, so on a weekday evening, we decided to give it a try as were wanted some nice Italian pizzas.



Il Cielo is a rather small restaurant and the private room which can sit about 10 diners already occupies about 1/3 of the entire space. Fortunately, there is a large al-fresco dining area next to the hotel's swimming pool. However, diners should stick to the actual restaurant for food.



Although the restaurant is rather small, but it is still quite spacious and roomy to a certain extent. Service was prompt and polite without being intrusive.



I guess after being spoilt by so many rooftop restaurants, the view here is really nothing to shout about. But this is the first time I am seeing Orchard Road from the rooftop of Hilton hotel.



Free regular tap water is served to all diners.



We were served the Amuse Bouche - Scallop with rockmelon puree. I cannot remember when was the last time a restaurant actually served a whole piece of scallop as its complimentary amuse bouche. So top marks for Il Cielo.



The Assorted breads with truffle butter and olive oil + balsamic vinegar was rather ordinary.



The soups at Il Cielo were served in a unique way. Here, the Cielo Seafood Soup (S$18) is first served in a hollow and bottomless glass cylinder.



The cylinder is then released and the soup "falls" into place, like how the Cream of forest mushroom and leeks (S$16) looks like now. For the soup, I prefer the Seafood Soup due to the rich seafood taste.




The Il Cielo signature platter (S$28) which had grilled artichokes and mushrooms, smoked salmon, mozzerella cheese, parma ham with rockmelon, fresh and sweet lobster claws plus crispy squid rings. This is meant for 1 person, but I think it is enough for 2 diners to share.



A glass of red wine (S$25)




Another appetizer we ordered was the Three way scallops (S$22) - Saffron sauce and caviar, wrapped in pancetta with parsley foam, truffle & topped with foie gras & wine reduction. It's a joy to sink your teeth into sweet and meaty scallops, and the scallops here are one of their specialty.



Before our main course, we were served this Lime sorbet which I felt was a bit too sour and bitter.



One of their signature main course - Ocean trout (S$32) coated with fine herbs & crushed mixed pepper corn in a saffron sauce and baked on olive wood. The fish is slowly baked on top of the olive wood to absorb the flavours. The outside of the trout is pretty dry due to the baking, but the inside flesh is rather moist.



This is the star dish of the day, our Pizza Bosco (S$42) - Porcini, home cured Italian sausage and truffles. Not only were the generous with the black truffle shavings, but the entire pizza base was made with this truffle cream sauce. The crust is crisp but the base is thin and not too crusty. Because of this excellent pizza dish, I am going to make it a point to return to Il Cielo again.



We were very full after the whole pizza, but still ordered the Dessert Sampler (S$16) including tiramisu, strawberry panna cotta, lemon mousse and saffron ice cream. I find that the desserts were really nothing to shout about.



From the open doors, you can watch the laser lights show from Marina Bay Sands. I would say this is quite a quiet and cosy restaurant to have dinner in the midst of the forever buzzing Orchard Road.


Il Cielo
Level 24,
Hilton Singapore
581 Orchard Road