That's me with my classic green floral hair clip! Well, I love flowers and I love green and that defines me. Haha. I had a regular velvety mushroom stroganoff soup while Breadman had the potpie.
Back to to the railway station. Do you know you can book the place in advance for a photoshoot? If you are trying to save some money, then you can choose to go there when it's open on these dates. Breadman and I spotted a couple taking their wedding pics there amidst the sweltering heat. The groom was sweating buckets. Fret not, the wonders of Photoshop! Thus, I am pretty sure their pictures will turn out fine.
Here's some pics from the exterior of the building, while we made our way to the railway station.
It was my first time at the railway station and as it was a public holiday, there were throngs of crowd over there, with lots of families heading there. It is a place filled with history especially for those who used the railway station before it was closed down. I have always seen photos of people sitting on the railway tracks, posing artistically, thus this place was on my to-go list! Yay, one item off the bucket list!
This was a pic of me standing on the railway tracks. I wanted to take a full length couple shot with Breadman, but he kicked up a fuss as none of us wanted to ask strangers to help us take the photo. Well, since I am the birthday girl, cant you do this little tiny favour for me?
Enjoying a popsicle from one of the stalls. Business is brisk for the stall!
Can you spot the fake potted cactus? It is really cute and can be lifted up and I had the intention to purchase it but sadly it was not for sale. Breadman was thickskinned enough to help me ask. I was pretty paiseh. Haha
So after this, we shopped around at Somerset for a while before making our way to Orchard Central to have our dinner. We did not talk during our shopping at Somerset because of the little tiff over the couple shot. I can still remember how he raised his voice at me over my request. Hmm. I guess the hot weather really brings out the personality in someone. Haha. All was fine when it was time for dinner. I had no idea where we are going to dine at but I only told Breadman previously that I wanted to have something healthy on my birthday.
I was really happy when I learnt we were heading to Orchard Central, because I really love that place! It is huge and there's not much crowd. Ambience is nice as well. We went up to 12th floor and Joie by Dozo it is. Let's just say, I was pretty in awe when I stepped in. Service was really good with waitresses dressed smartly in suit, skirt and heels, greeting you. Welcome to the world of fine dining! In case you are not sure, this is a vegetarian restaurant.
These are not reed diffusers but are edible breadsticks! We were really suaku on this. Haha.
This was Chef''s Selection of Assorted Platter. The middle one is konnyaku with carrot, the one on the left is pistachio cracker with raspberry sauce. The one on the left is a seaweed cracker with mushroom atop of it. This was really nice, with a burst of flavours.
This is followed by the side dish. I chose the Matsutake Cake, which consists of steamed Japanese mushroom with rosemary gel, golden enoki and creme patissiere, served with pistachio crumbs.I really love this one and I am not exaggerating! The mushroom cake was really flavourful and the dressing was reallly apt. It is just like how bread goes along with peanut butter. I would be really glad if I can learn to make this dish. It is a really comforting dish and as it was served warm, my tummy felt happy, Haha.
This was Breadman's choice for side dish. Gratinated Champignon with Mozzarella Cheese. This dish consistis of button mushrooms gratin served with tennessee heirloom potato pureee and Belgian endive, focaccia bread slices. Breadman really liked this as he is a cheese lover. I felt that it was average probably cuz I am not a fan of cheese. I liked the focaccia though! They were thin and crispy.
Then it's time for the cold dish. I chose the Zucchini Tower and it is the best choice ever!
Let's just say, I was pretty amazed when I saw this tower! I was telling Breadman, do I have to topple this tower to eat it?This dish was made of zucchini stuffed with creme cheese, truffle mayo, medallion of puff pastry and beetroot sphere. I can turn vegetarian if someone makes this for me on a daily basis. Haha. This dish was so good that even meat cant compare to it. It was refreshing, crunchy, fresh, crispy.
Breadman chose the Tartare Platter au Naturel. This was a platter of pine nuts, Japanese seaweed, avocado, corn, tomato salsa, pomegranate, seagrapes and rice puff. This was akin to having salad and it was fun looking at Breadman mixing it.
This was how it appeared after mixing it all up. Trust me, it tasted way better than the way it looks. Especially with the rice puff and pomegranate which gave it an overall crunch consistency. I think I can try to replicate this. Haha.
Moving on to the soup, I had Snow Pear and Napa Cabbage Consumme. I thought it would be nice to have a slightly sweet soup for a change as compared to the usual savoury soups. I was afraid that this would turn out to be similar to a dessert dish, but it proved me wrong! The snow pear was delicious and the sweetness level was just nice, tantalizing to the senses.
The snowpear had a tinge of sweetness while the cabbage soup complemented this fairly well. I was surrpised that this combination could go well, given that one is a fruit while the other is a vegetable.
Anyway, Breadman's choice was more western and mine usually more oriental. Haha. Breadman chose Clear Tomato Broth with Garbanzo which is broth made of tomato and chickpea, with orzo pasta and spinach dumpling. This was average and I felt mine was still the best. Haha.
Finally, we were going to be served the mains! By now, we were half full from drinking the soup and drinks.
Breadman had the Duo Ravioli Platter which consists of pumpkin and spinach ravioli, flower emulsion with basil cream sauce. This was pretty nice and it is quite hard to make nice raviloli because it has to be served al dente, cooking time cannot be too long as it will be mushy. There must be a good control of timing.
This was my choice! Again, the presentation of the dish blew my mind off. Doesnt that remind you of a log? This was Wildrice with Eggplant Terrine.
Can you believe this is eggplant? I cant! I got fooled! Even till now, when I recalled how the dish tasted, there was no egg plant taste at all, interestingly. The wild rice had baby carrots, baby radish, pine nuts. It was my first time trying out wild rice and though it was slightly hard, it tasted nice as well since I have the habit of eating brown rice.
Finally it was time for desserts! Yay! women love desserts. Haha. This was Breadman's choice, Truffle Creme brulee. It is interesting to have truffle flavoured desserts. Usually it's truffle fries, truffle spaghetti.
Mine was Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice-cream. This was average but I liked it anyway. Haha. Simple things like warm chocolate cake does hit the right spot.
For drinks, Breadman had the mocktail of love. This was served in test-tubes. Breadman acting all lovey in this photo. Haha.
Then the waitress came in with a cake, singing this cutesy tune, clicking her fingers as well. She is really bubbly and I cant help to smile. She also tried hard to tell a joke which both of us could not really understand as well. Haha.
Tadaa. The blessed birthday girl!
Joie by Dozo is definitely a place that I will recommend if you want a place that's quiet, away from the crowds and serves exquisite vegetarian food. Service is commendable as well. The only downside would be its skyhigh prices. Our dinner of 7 course was $68.80++ which adds up to $80.50 per pax. It was a once in a lifetime experience and I did have a wonderful and memorable time there, especially with the very cute waitress (whom i presumed is a Taiwanese) who tried to inject some fun into our date. Alternatively, you can try to have the lunch set of 6 courses at $38.80 ++ if you do not want to splurge too much.
Ratings: 4.5/5
Total damage done: $161 for 2 pax
Joie by Dozo
181 Orchard Road
#12-01 Orchard Central
Singapore 238896
Tel: 6838 6966
Website: http://www.joierestaurant.com.sg/
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