Welcome to Botanic Gardens.

amazing experience with the cozy atmosphere and super friendly staff!

started with the burrata, at one glance, one may have thoughts on how the flavours will gel but it was REALLY GOOD (esp with the shallots) - very light and refreshing

sides we had the grilled okra, very warm n crunchy!

mains included the grilled black tiger prawns - super charred and the sauce rly rly compliments!

we also had the ribeye, super soft and it melts in your mouth, it also comes with the chimichurri sauce - love the spices in it

we also had the mocktails - first light and blushing peach! very refreshing!

lastly we had the kueh talam pudding. it was salty on the top, between at the bottom, but when eaten together, it compliments really well! additionally its also warm so its comforting!

great way to end the meal!

will defo come back again!

Great dinner here.

Highlights: Yu-Tang Clam Bowl (super comforting broth) and the Wagyu Picanha which had a really nice char and beefy flavour. The Grilled Spiced Chicken was juicy and well seasoned too.

Desserts were memorable — Cold Tofu Cheesecake was light and delicate, while the Bruleed Chocolate Brusciato was rich and indulgent.

Solid spot for a relaxed dinner.

Orh Gao Taproom is one of those establishments that should be fairly familiar to those whom frequent around the Botanic Gardens neighbourhood for the past couple of years. Serene Centre has recently went through a revamp — Orh Gao Taproom which used to share a space with Killiney Kopitiam situated around the perimeters of the building had also seen it move to another shop unit situated within the building behind Twofold, while the concept has also been refreshed as Orh Gao Peh Gao. Orh Gao Peh Gao operates as a dual-concept establishment — it identifies itself as a coffeeshop in the day being Peh Gao Coffeeshop, while it still maintains being a taproom serving up craft beer on tap in the evenings as Orh Gao Taproom. With the daytime concept being no longer tied to that of Killiney Kopitiam, Peh Gao Coffeeshop now offers a menu that is segmented into sections dedicated to Traditional Toast, Open Top Sandwich, Noodle Soup, Noodle Dry, Rice and Sides — beverages available would include that of Nanyang-style Kopi and Teh, as well as Homemade Barley and Milo; just to name a few.

One of the dishes that had caught our eye early on when we were skimming through the menu at Peh Gao Coffeeshop was the Mapo Tofu Udon that is listed under the Noodle Dry section of the menu; the menu describes the dish to be one that come with elements such as PG Mapo Tofu, minced pork, Onsen Egg, fried beancurd skin and spring onions. Giving everything a good toss before digging in, one thing that we have noticed about the Mapo Tofu Udon at Peh Gao Coffeeshop was how the Mapo Tofu Udon does seem to come with more minced pork than tofu. It does also seem that the much of the flavours does come from the gravy that came along with the minced pork; whilst the minced pork provided a meaty bite, the gravy does carry a savoury note with a hint of fragrance from the inclusion of Sichuan peppers and seemingly also came with a spicy kick as well that should tickle the tastebuds for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness. The cubes of tofu does come soft, smooth and silken, while the inclusion of the fried beancurd skin adds an element of light crispness against the soft and chewy consistency of Udon. Mixing the runny Onsen Egg into the dish also provided a silkier touch for everything else within the bowl.

One of the new openings that had been mentioned quite a fair bit around social media would be that of Park Side — these folks are located around the Visitor Services Centre at Nassim Gate within the Singapore Botanic Gardens; Park Side is a concept by the folks behind PS Cafe which is a fairly familiar name in the local F&B scene that is known for also operating other concepts such as that as Jypsy and Chopsuey Cafe. Park Side is surrounded around the greenery of Singapore Botanic Gardens; there a mix of indoor and outdoor seating spaces with the latter making up most of the seating within Park Side — the outdoor seating space also being pet-friendly as well. The menu at Park Side comprises of sections dedicated to Brunch, Big Plates, Nibbles, Salads & Pizza, For The Little Ones, Soft Serve Sundaes and Pudding & Cakes.

The Kaya, Bacon & Eggs is an item that is being listed under the Brunch section of the menu — the menu describes the Kaya, Bacon & Eggs to come with elements such as Kaya French toast, fried egg, crispy bacon, Okinawa black sugar caramel. Digging into the French Toast, the toast itself was on the soft side; despite being rather generously portioned, the toast itself was pretty light and fluffy — easy to finish. Kaya is being spread in between the toast that gives it a bit of a sweet touch — the choice of Nonya Kaya does add a hint of Pandan fragrance to the sweetness of the coconut jam. In an attempt to recreate an earthy note of sweetness similar to that of Gula Melaka for a more local touch, the folks at Park Side went with the use of Okinawa black sugar caramel that replicates just that an provided another dimension of sweetness to the dish. To create that sweet-savoury note that makes it work well as a brunch dish, the introduction of crispy bacon adds just the right touch of savouriness to balance against the sweet elements, while clusters of nuts can also be found that gives the dish a little bit of a crunch.

Established in 1998 by couple Hassan Abdul Kadir and Aminah Binte K. Omar, this legacy brand is amongst the most well-regarded in Singapore, counting Southeast Asian royalty, dignitaries, and heads of government amongst their customers. Today, it remains family-run by their descendants, including founder of Crave Nasi Lemak and their eldest son, Doctor Abdul Malik Hassan.
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Their rendition features a bed of long-grain basmati rice infused with coconut milk, lemongrass, and pandan / screwpine leaves, resulting in a fluffy loose soft moist texture with beautiful grainy earthy floral sweet herbal milky flavour. The deep-fried ikan bilis / anchovies with roasted peanuts are crispy crunchy firm in texture, shattering with fishy salty savoury earthy nutty flavour. The thin cucumber slices are crisp and juicy in texture with vegetal sweet flavour, while the fried chicken egg is soft and wobbly in texture with eggy savoury sweet flavour.
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The otak-otak / otah / spiced mackerel fish paste is pliant and soft in texture, carrying fishy savoury spice flavour. The turmeric marinated and battered chicken wing has a lovely crunch to the exterior, a warm tender juicy chew to the interior, and lovely meaty savoury salty spice flavour. Their grainy sambal tumis / stir-fried chili paste has a bigger sweet salty spice flavour kick compared to elsewhere. Additional crispy bits of batter lend an addictive crunch.
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Nasi Lemak
Selera Rasa Nasi Lemak
@ Adam Food Centre, 2 Adam Road #01-02
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2026/02/best-of-singapore-hawkers-nasi-lemak.html

Managed to learn about the existence of a new pizza store that had recently opened its doors at the revamped Serene Centre — whilst Micro Bakery & Kitchen (now branded as Micro Bread & Co.) has since moved to the previous space of the now-defunct Orh Gao Taproom within the building, Twofold has taken over the former space that Micro Bakery & Kitchen used to occupy facing outwards towards Bukit Timah Road. Occupying somewhat of a small space, Twofold is primarily operated as a takeaway eatery — that being said, there are high tables installed on the railings of the building coupled with high chairs that allows for a dine-in situation, whilst there are also communal seating spaces where patrons can order from any F&B establishment within the building and take up a seat.

Twofold describes its Italian Sausage Pizza as one that comes with elements such as Marinara, Broccolini, Kale, Mozzarella, Fennel and Sausage. It is noted that all the pizzas at Twofold do come with a relatively thin crust — we did observe that the entire pies are popped into the oven the moment someone places an order, and a slice will then be served thereafter after the pizzas have been heated up. Whilst we do like the thin-ness of the crust, we are not quite sure if this constant re-heating process results in a overall drier crust that is more biscuit-like — something that may appeal to some, though we also note folks whom prefer a little more chew. That being said, the crust does come light and not soggy from the elements that sits atop it. With all that being said, the Marinara does add a slight tang amidst the savouriness from the Mozzarella on the base; the Italian Sausage comes in the form of hand-formed chunks of meat that seems to be made from white meat — provided a springy bite though we wouldn’t mind if they carried a stronger note of herbs for more flavour. Quite liked the addition of Kale here which provides a more wholesome touch alongside the Broccolini whilst adding a crisp texture to the slice of pizza.

Yup, it’s the year-end holidays again — and I’m feeling festive 🎄 over lunch with my old pal, @shook_wai soaking in the vibes from the front-row counter seats [nevermind the greasy face and smoky hair 😅] while watching the chefs in action. Perfectly grilled, tender and juicy, a beautiful medium-rare, served with crispy shoestring fries and salad.

#stfoodtrending #straitstimesfood #wheretoeatsg #fatbellysg

Yup, it’s the year-end holidays again — and I’m feeling festive 🎄 over lunch with my old pal, @shook_wai soaking in the vibes from the front-row counter seats [nevermind the greasy face and smoky hair 😅] while watching the chefs in action. Perfectly grilled, tender and juicy, a beautiful medium-rare, served with crispy shoestring fries and salad.

#stfoodtrending #straitstimesfood #wheretoeatsg #fatbellysg

Yup, it’s the year-end holidays again — and I’m feeling festive 🎄 over lunch with my old pal, @shook_wai soaking in the vibes from the front-row counter seats [nevermind the greasy face and smoky hair 😅] while watching the chefs in action. Perfectly grilled, tender and juicy, a beautiful medium-rare, served with crispy shoestring fries and salad.

#stfoodtrending #straitstimesfood #wheretoeatsg #fatbellysg

Founded as a pushcart in the 1970s, this renowned hawker stall is now operated by 2nd-generation owner Syed Abdul Rahaman Mohammad Ahdam. Their consistent quality has seen them clinch the Michelin Bib Gourmand 3 times (2023, 2024, 2025).
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The mutton meat (bone-in and boneless) along with various offal cuts, are stewed with a secret blend of spices for up to 3 hours in a custom-made copper pot, which is said to enhance the taste. The result is a medium-thin grainy soup / broth, chunky yet tender mutton meat, with balanced meaty savoury salty earthy sweet spice flavour, generally well-rounded.
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Served with fluffy toasted baguette bread slices, carrying bready sweet savoury toasty flavour.
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Mutton Soup And Sup Kambing
Bahrakath Mutton Soup
@ Adam Food Centre, 2 Adam Road #01-10
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2025/12/best-of-singapore-hawkers-mutton-soup-sup-kambing.html

The Sapari family has been running this stall since 1973, now in the hands of 3-generation hawker Sumadi Sapari.
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Their warm and lovely soup / broth is more complex, with chicken bones simmered with 21 different ingredients, thick and cloudy, robust with meaty savoury earthy salty herbal spice flavour.
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The chewy yellow egg noodles, crisp bean sprouts, crisp coriander, tender boneless marinated shredded chicken, and soft fried shallots, lend grainy sweet vegetal herbal meaty savoury earthy salty spice flavour.
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Add on soft tender begedil / fried potato patty with starchy earthy salty sweet spice flavour.
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Mee Soto And Soto Ayam
Selamat Datang Warong Pak Sapari
@ Adam Road Food Centre, 2 Adam Road #01-09
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More details:
https://ivanteh-runningman.blogspot.com/2025/09/best-of-singapore-hawkers-mee-soto-ayam.html

From My Cosy Corner
Satisfied both craving for mee siam and popiah in the same time.
Shiok ah!