Gastronomic Dining @ Pollen…..Singapore

Waiting eagerly like two school kids entering Disneyland for the first time; my chum and I were so excited standing at the designated pick-up point.

 

 

 

 

In two shakes of a lamb’s tail, we arrived fashionably in a buggy at the doorstep of Pollen restaurant.

 

Pollen is the one and only restaurant which you can find in the Flower Dome, Gardens by the bay. This 120-seater cum duplex restaurant is also a spin-off from Michelin-starred chef, Jason Atherton’s Pollen Social Street restaurant in London and collaboration with famed restaurateur, Loh Lik Peng.

Designed by Singapore-based Columbian architect, Antonio Eras, and “surrounded by temperate olive trees, herbs and vegetation, complete with a climate-controlled sub 20-degree temperature environment; you can easily imagine yourself to be dining in a Mediterranean garden. The flora is not all just for show as the kitchen uses herbs and vegetation fresh from their own garden patch, accessible from the restaurant’s upper level terrace.” (Epicure’s Luxe Dining Selections by HSBC Cards, Pg 96)

 

When the door opened, my chum and I were greeted by 2 parallel rows of wait staff that happened to be engaged in a staff briefing. We were then kindly requested to amble through the Flower Dome before the official dinnertime. (That’s a vantage point: you get to tour Flower Dome for free if you score a seat at Pollen!)

 

After the saunter, we returned to our reserved table and were each given a personal rack to place our pocketbooks and souvenir bags. As we shot the breeze, my chum (seated facing the interior) was indulging in the Mediterranean–chic ambience while I (seated facing the glass panels) was admiring the scenic panorama of the Singapore Flyer. The courses which we had were served in impeccable timing and accompanied with meticulous explanation on the ingredients and cooking method executed for each dish.

 

Here’s our Mediterranean Cuisine inspired by nuanced European flavors:

 

  "Complimentary Green Olives & Cod Brandade

served with sourdough bread"

 

  

"Lobster Salad"

 

 

"Roasted Sea Bass"

 

 

"Iberico Pork Belly"

 

 

"Pre-Dessert Teaser"

 

 

"PB&J - Peanut Butter and Cherry Yuzu Sorbet"

 

 

"Crispy Burnt Lemon Meringue & Cucumber Sorbet"

 

To cap our dinner, our waiter enquired us about our dessert and I enthused: “As good as you!” The dining experience was indeed a fine one but the rough side is that you have to shell out an average SGD100 check without vino in order to dine within this colossal terrarium. Nonetheless, I would love to bring my date here and amble through Flower Dome hand in hand after our romantic repast!

 

 

(For more info on Pollen, please visit http://www.pollen.com.sg/#!/welcome )