Casa Verde

People who know me quite well will know that one of my favourite places in Singapore is the Botanical Gardens. I know that 'nature' to some people doesn't come in the form of pretty and pruned things that grow from the ground but since I've a major soft spot for aesthetic beauty, I'm more than fine with the Botanical Gardens being an overly-commercialized 'natural' park.

Apart from the vending machines and the almost-always deserted food court that sits far away from the main visitor's centre and everything else that's worth looking at in the Botanical Gardens, there really isn't much one can eat or drink unless one is willing to fork out money that is comparable to a decent meal at a normal restaurant.

Out of all the restaurants at the Botanical Gardens, the most prominent would be Casa Verde, probably because it is situated just next to the visitor's centre.

If you were to enter the garden through the entrance along Evans road, you will definitely see Casa Verde once you step into the garden! There's indoor and alfresco seating so you can choose to sit indoors or outdoors depending on the weather/ your preference.

As I'm extremely averse to being bitten by mosquitoes, we chose to sit indoors. This is the walk way that separates the indoor seating area from the alfresco dining area.

The tables and chairs in the restaurant definitely helped to bring out the relaxed garden theme.

Each diner has his/ her own GREEN casa verde table mat! (: Our two table mats are placed in a 'leaf' shape!
Complimentary pita bread with tomato dip. The pita bread was warm, soft and chewy (except for the crusty sides) and we liked it!

We decided to be adventurous that day so we chose to have an antipasto platter ($20) which consisted of parma ham, melon, beef, grilled vegetables, olives and different types of cheese! I'd a hunch before the dish came that I would like the dish and I was right! (: Jeffrey loved the different types of meat too and this helped to whet our appetite for our main course!

We opted to share their Pizza of the Day ($23), which a tomato based pizza with bacon, asparagus, lots of cheese and one sunshine egg in the middle! I think most restaurants serving pizza are going for the thin-crust pizzas these days because we don't seem to get those thick ones anymore. We're not complaining because thin-crust pizzas are less filling so we can eat more of other things! I don't like crusts that are too thin because they taste like biscuit but this was pretty okay (:

For dessert, we chose to have their signature tiramisu ($8), which was much better than expected! I think I like tiramisus with sponge layers that are soaked with some alcohol instead of just coffee. The alcohol gives a slight bitterness to the dessert and it complements the sweetness well.

Finally, we'd a surprise chocolate cake ($8) for Jeffrey! (: I appreciated the waitress' placing of a candle on this cake but we didn't like the fact that she (and a couple of other waitresses) sung a happy belated birthday song for him! Generally, we dislike being so public about our celebrations but it was nice of the staff to wish him a happy belated birthday anyway so thanks!

I would love to return to Casa Verde in the day to try their breakfast/ brunch dishes! Casa Verde's usually packed in the day on weekends (especially during late morning and early afternoon) so be sure to make a reservation if you're heading down on a weekend for lunch.

Alright that's all for now! Have a great week ahead! (: