Halia Restaurant - 10 March 2006

I have heard so much about Halia Restaurant but have not had the chance to go there until yesterday. It was a toss up between Les Amis Au Jardin or Halia. Since I have been to Au Jardin, I decided to try Halia. Besides, the feedback has been good.

Nestled in the middle of the Ginger Garden, Halia (Malay for ginger) blends into the lush greenery. I must be pretty bad with directions as I kept losing my bearings whereas F knew precisely where we were heading.

The restaurant has full length glass windows, with tables scattered all around. It is not very big and gets filled up very fast. So reservation is recommended. We snagged a table by the glass windows and it was very nice, looking out to the trees and plants. There are alfresco sittings too, for those who prefer to be outdoors and be one with nature. I like the old world charm of the place with the wooden timber slats across the ceilings and the fans. One can imagine the whirr of the fans on a lazy warm afternoon. But since we are living in the 21st century, there is air-conditioning to cool the place.

I decided to go for the 3 course set lunch as I didn't have breakfast. I selected the seared tuna belly with avocados and some greens for the starter, linguine vongole laksa for main and dessert was cappuccino dunking (or something like that) with coffee to end. I also ordered the iced halia which is a very refreshing ginger drink with plums.












Iced Chocolate - looks good with the whipped cream and cherry on top.








Chili crab spaghetti









Seared tuna belly with avocados and greens. The tuna is nicely done, not too raw or overcooked.









Linguine Vongole Laksa - a tad salty but still tasted great, but nothing can beat Teaspa pasta with laksa inspired sauce. Too bad it has closed down.












Cappuccino Dunking - This is a disappointment. Maybe I was expecting some sort of warm chocolate cake-like dessert. Instead I got this. Beautiful presentation though. This dessert is great for those who loves caffeine or coffee. It is a layer of warm chocolate sauce, followed by fresh cream and shaved iced with coffee/cappuccino drenching it. You are supposed to dunk the walnut chocolate cookies (like biscottis) in the creation. In the end, I dunk the cookies in the regular cup of coffee.

Contact:
1 Cluny Road, Ginger Garden
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Tel: +65 6476 6711

Meal Service Hours
Weekend Breakfast Buffet 8am to 10:45am
Lunch 12 noon to 3pm
Light Meal 3pm to 5:30pm
English Tea Service 3pm to 5pm (except Sunday & public holidays)
Dinner 6:30pm to 10:15pm (last seating at 10:30pm onFriday, Saturday & eve of public holidays)

ETA: See the greenery surrounding the restaurant.

(Just ignore the person in the pic :p)