The "Pollen" Experience

I felt like a bee when I entered one the latest addition to Singapore's fine dining. Pollen really fits its name. It is established at one of the most famous tourist spot in Singapore: Gardens by the bay. For more info on the garden, here is the link: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en/home.html. Now back to the Pollen. So, pollen is a mediterranean-inspired cuisine lead by a michelin star chef: Jason Atherton. He has another restaurant called Esquina, I have yet to go there but I will soon, I promise.

Anyway, I would say that the winning aspect of this restaurant is the Flower Dome, the buggy and the service. It is also unfair to leave out the dessert. But that's about it. We ordered an ala carte menu (thank God we made that wise decision): 2 appetisers, 3 mains and 4 desserts. The number of dishes were chosen based majorly on how we felt while reading the menu. There were 4 of us that night and as I said, we made a wise decision because we were too full at the end of our meal. Imagine if we had a degustation!!

So here is a breakdown of what we had that night:

Snack: Pork Crackling

Appetisers

1. Roasted Quail "Brunch" with foie gras on a toast, cereal, and quail tea
2. Back to front squid risotto, cauliflower, and roasted squid consomme.

Main

1. Rack of Lamb, Braised Shoulder, artichoke, sheep's curd, roasted salsify, olive
2. Iberico pork chop, belly, fermented apple, seeds, grains
3. Cote de beouf, duck fat chips, green salad

Desserts
1. Japanese "green tea", raspberry sorbet, yoghurt mousse
2. PB&J - peanut butter and blueberry sorbet
3. "Ocumare cremeux", pistachio parfait, honey saffron ice cream, toasted brioche.

and obviously some cocktail we can't leave out:

Mint, Lemon and Cucumber with Vodka (pretty much: lemon-cucumber mojito)

Back to front squid risotto, cauliflower, and roasted squid consomme

Roasted Quail "Brunch" with foie gras on a toast, cereal, and quail tea 

Rack of Lamb, Braised Shoulder, artichoke, sheep's curd, roasted salsify, olive

Iberico pork chop, belly, fermented apple, seeds, grains

Cote de beouf, duck fat chips, green salad

Pre desserts: Chocolate mousse with chocolate ball (seriously)

Verdict? I would say that apart from the beef (which had too much fats which according to the waiter, it is because its rib-eye steak thats why 50% of the meat consists of fat as if I have never eaten a rib eye in my life but oh well), the dishes are decent. Not a chef-hat or michelin star standard even for a one hat. I have tried many one chef hat restaurant in Sydney, such as Bistro Ortolan or even golden century and the food here doesn't come close to that. The dessert, however, is living up to the reputation. I think we digged in to the desserts way too fast, I couldn't even find a single picture of it. Must have been really good.

Anyway, it is a good place if you want ambience and a free entrance to the flower dome. You can book them online through : http://www.pollen.com.sg/#!/welcome or give them a call +65 6604 9988

 And for some extra: here is what I wear to the dinner. It was my bday so yes, I had to dress up for the occasion.

For more picture, here is my instagram account: #Followme!!