With a girlfriend back from Japan for good and the Mommy in our clique who’s itching to go somewhere nice, we decided to meet for brunch. And I must say, it wasn’t easy finding a venue that fits our Mommy-girlfriend’s criteria. I don’t blame her though. I could imagine I would also make full use of every precious opportunity to go out while having the husband taking care of the children.

So yes, we were off to Halia at Botanic Garden for brunch which starts from 10am to 5pm (Hi-tea is from 3pm to 5pm). We reached at 11am as we were told they don’t accept reservation, and we didn’t want to wait in line. So yes, we went early. Ha.

Getting to Halia was a little tricky though. Botanic Garden is big, and we were not sure at which end they were located at. And because all of us stayed in the North, we shared a cab to Botanic Garden. And Hali is located beside the National Orchid Garden. They have air-conditioned seats and alfresco seats, which we went with the latter as the weather was cooling enough to sit outside without breaking into sweats. =)

And from the brunch menu, we ordered:-

1) Truffle fries, $18 (above) – Parmesan, parsley & white truffle oil.

2) Smashed avocado on toasted sourdough, $22 (above) – Seasonal tomato, chilli & goat’s cheese.

3) 62.5° poached egg, $22 (+ $5, Irish smoked salmon) (above) – Toasted english muffin, sauteed spinach, smoked capsicum salsa, herb butter sauce.

4) Halia’s Singapore-style chilli crab spaghettini, $26 (above) – In spicy, sweet & tangy sauce.

5) Cinnamon French toast, $18 (above) – Fresh seasonal berries, white chocolate sauce & Iranian pistachio.

6) Die die must have chocolate, $12 (above) – Chocolate raspberry ganache, cacao nibs tuile, chocolate marshmallow, raspberry sorbet, raspberry sauce, crispy raspberry & chocolate.

7) Latte, $6.50 (above)

8) Cardamom milk tea (chilled), $10 (above)

9) Ginger jive, $12 (above) – Ice blend of fresh ginger, fruit punch, orange & honey.

Frankly, the food at Halia (in my humblest opinion) was way overpriced! I mean, $22 for avocado on toast? And the portion of avocado was very small. Pardon me. Ever since I do my own grocery shopping and prepare my own meals, I am very sensitive to prices.

Halia is a nice place to chill and catch up with friends. But catching up is made more fun when there’s good food too. So even though the food at Halia was acceptable in terms of taste, the dishes were too expensive. Too expensive! How to catch up over food when we can’t bear to order the overly priced dishes. o_O Ha. I mean, we can’t be sharing 3 mains among 5 ladies, right?

So unless one is desperate for food after exploring Botanic Garden, I won’t suggest Hali at Botanic Garden. Our hard-earned money should be spent more wisely.

And oh… The reception at Halia was really bad. Which could be a good thing in a way; Less hands on mobiles. Ha.

Related posts:

Brunch @ Lola’s Cafe Brunch @ Open Farm Community Brunch @ The Book Cafe Brunch @ Bee’s Knees at The Garage Brunch @ Three Years In A Balloon