After lunch we walked around and then Vincent managed to coax a friend to sign up for Asia’s Biggest Loser, and so while waiting around I met up with Emilia and we ended up being photographed again. It was nice to see her after more then eight years and I hope she has the opportunity to take part in this years competition.
Then Vincent decided Dessert was needed after our lunch. We walked around again and then this time the four of us, went to Gardens.
By now the hot afternoon sun was getting a little bit too hot and so what we needed was a cool environment and a nice good cold drink and dessert. So Gardens looked quite inviting from the outside. So we went in and got seated and looked at the menu which featured a good amount of local and well known western foods along with oysters and all. Funnily enough it had very few desserts and a so so number of cold drinks.
Now Gardens being what it’s called one would think it would be a cool walk in an English garden, but alas, the air conditioning was not strong enough and looking closely at the table décor and ceilings and some of the plants around, it was all plastic! I mean who likes to eat on a table with plastic lavender flowers? Real flowers are always better, it may cost more but it leaves and impression and if you do not want to use real flowers then real greens would be nice too. Sungai Buloh is just up the road, go and get nice cheap greens to give Gardens that real garden effect. I don’t know why I did not take photos of the potted plastic lavender and the plastic foliage on the ceiling.
We ordered out drinks, I decided on a Lavender Soda ( I am suddenly into lavender), Vincent ordered an Iced Latte, Kenson ordered a Green Apple Soda and our fourth friend,Jason, who also decided not to join Asia’s Biggest Loser had a Longan Soda.
Dessert was another story. Vincent saw these sorbets and proceeded to order a few and was told there was only one type, Green Apple Sorbet, so that’s what we
Green Apple Sorbet
had and I know this is not home made as I am in the catering business so I have been approached by sales people selling this product but this was the first time I tasted it. It was nice I must say and presentable, however, I think the garnishing of artificial
Cross Section of the Sorbet
cream and chocolate lines was a tad bit too much for a sorbet as Sorbets are suppose to be healthier then ice cream and hence should not be served with artificial whipped cream all over the plate with lines of chocolate. We cut the Sorbet into four and ate it. It was nice, though I thought it was a tad bit too sour and the sourness was more citric acid then green apple sourness.
I ordered L’Opera cake and a Hazelnut Chocolate Cake. They came and I guess the chocolate lines did suit the dessert this time. The L’opera named after the Grand Paris Opera was nice, the hint of honey together with the chocolate ganache layers and the chocolate cake delicately made with almond meal was refreshingly nice. There
L'Opera Cake
was no alcohol of course or not the cake would have been absolutely divine. This suddenly is giving me an idea for my future class.
Chocolate Hazelnut Gateau
The other was the hazelnut chocolate cake. It was layers of chocolate sponge with layers of a chocolate mouse with hazelnut powder. This seemed to be a favorite with the rest. We ate both cakes as we did want dessert. Both cakes were nice to me, but I think more photos of the cakes would have been good in the menu for ease of choosing.
Now the drinks was another story. It was served in mini jugs which was quite a novelty but why served such artificial flavored drinks I really do not understand? My Lavender Soda tasted like something from a Bubble Tea shop. The same with Kenson’s Green Apple Soda. I cannot say much about the other two because
Vincent drinking Green Apple Soda from a little jug
everyone was thirsty so they gulped everything down, but such artificial flavor was unnecessary. The purple layer at the bottom of my jug and the apple green layer at the bottom of Kenson’s jug looked like something you see in a lava light lamp! You can notice it in the photo of the L’Opera Cake. I drank everything up because I was thirsty and I do like soda water as I have it almost every other day, but seriously, I will not have it again.
Service was good, I have to say waiters were attentive and you cannot blame them if the kitchen does not have certain things you want. They explained well enough to me and should be commended.
The bill was around RM77 something as Vincent forgot to take the bill. This is one things I must do from now if I am going to do a review. I don’t know if I will go there again but maybe I will for the food, as it looked quite nice and had a good array of dishes both local and Western. How it tastes, well perhaps next time.
Cooking with Nicholas 