What: De Ungria * LeBeouf Nuptial
Date: When Karmina finally meets Shia
Venue: Singapore Botanic Gardens
Time: Stay tuned!
Reception will be held at the Halia Restaurant, Ginger Garden.
HAHAHA.
If you intend to stay for quite some time in Singapore, do drop by the Singapore Botanic Gardens, especially if you’re with your family.
Since we are a family who loves a good hearty meal (I love to eat, it’s just that I’m more of a ‘nibbler’), we decided to stop at this little restaurant, Halia, in the Orchid area of the Gardens.
Halia Restaurant
I was immediately taken in by the restaurant. Imagine surrounded by all these trees, and flowers, and little squirrels… and GREAT food! I want my wedding reception here! Now if only Shia would… hahaha.
Anyway, it was more of a ’snack’ time when we ate there, so I wasn’t really craving for a heavy meal. The nice and attentive waiter recommended the soft-shelled crabs as appetizers. Yummy and would make a great pulutan!
Soft-shelled crabs
The crabs all but disappeared in a few seconds.
Like I said, I wasn’t that hungry so I just ordered dessert and coffee which I promptly regretted when the waiter brought in my aunt’s order:
Grilled Minute Beef Steak (S$18)
Mouthwatering noh? It’s beef steak with sauteed swiss brown mushrooms, onion marmalade, and roasted tomatoes on Ciabatta Bread. It was delicious! The meat was tender, the brown mushrooms were really JUICY, and i have always adored roasted tomatoes. The ciabatta bread was crusty on the outside and soft on the inside. It made a great contrast with the tastiness of the meat and the slightly salty taste of the mushrooms.
But my favorite by far was this:
Halia's Kurobata Char Siew & Wanton Capellini (S$20)
TASTY! Oh my, the only thing I really know about food is shoving it into my mouth. This dish is so addictive! Angel Hair pasta topped with premium sliced pork with traditional siew honey soy marinade and sambla chili and XO sauce. The waiter said this is one of their house specialties… it wasn’t hard to believe him. The pasta was cooked just right, and the pork was so tender… okay I’m making myself hungry.
The Gremlin, like me, ordered dessert. I didn’t get to try it out since well… you know how boys are. They inhale food, not chew it. Here was the gremlin’s order:
Cappucinno "Dunking Pit" (S$10)
I didn’t get to try this out but the gremlin couldn’t stop smiling after taking a bite. I checked the menu and it said that the “Pit” is composed of.. ready? “layers of warm chocolate, cool vanilla cream, and iced coffee shavings with brownie dunkin’ cookies.”
Bliss… coffee and chocolate! Two of my favorite things in one dessert. 
My order was this:
caramelised banana & vanilla custard crepe (S$12)
It deserves a close-up don’t you think?
The Wayward Walnut
It’s a dessertlover’s DREAM. The crepe was soft and warm, the custard just had the right amount of sweetness, and the clotted chocolate gave it a pleasant sweet kick. The toasted nuts were delicious *closes eyes*. And what made this meal all the more special? I topped it with this:
Iced Mocha
Ahhh LIFE IS GOOD.
Halia = Malay for “Ginger”
Watch out for updates on our wedding! Shia is resting after filming and promoting Transformers. My baby is such a hardworker…
HALIA RESTAURANT
I Cluny Road, Ginger Garden, Singapore Botanic Gardens (enter via Tyersall Avenue), Singapore
Tel: (65)6476711
Website: www.halia.com.sg
I usually partner this type of outfit with the oversized blazer I bought last year for P300 in some nameless bazaar. Its cut is similar to boyfriend blazers but when I bought it, it was just an overrun, oversized blazer that my mom hated. Haha. I’ll post it next time. Anyway, I usually nick my brother’s belt (his polos, his shirts; he in turn nicks my sports watches) when he’s not using it because it pulls the outfit together. Anyway, the gremlin was using it, so no belt.
