Casa Verde @ Botanic Gardens

The time for birthdays is a time for feasting and expanding that waistline by a couple of inches...ironic isn't it..to celebrate the coming of age with more food! And then you get depressed with the jumping of figures on that weight sensitive weighing machine. Ok, I shall cut the story short...one of the meals I've been looking forward to..the sis' treat at Botanical Gardens, Casa Verde, under the Les Amis group.

A note of forewarning...be careful where you drop off! We alighted at the entrance of Botanic Gardens and walked past the forlorn mute swans, oogled at a dozen other funny looking yet beautiful plants, took a number too many pictures with the gorgeous backdrop...and a good 45 minutes later, we found the place!? Au Jardin really looks awesome in the evening, just to sidetrack.



Casa Verde first strikes you as a bustling family cafe, unlike its Les Amis roots. There's an open concept kitchen for you to peer into the "making of your food". Pretty much packed on a weekend evening at slightly before 7pm, we even walked past a table with a dog!



We requested for a table inside..the thin menu with few options, either a set dinner or an array of thin crusted pizzas that nearly everyone else had.



Totally green setting for dinner!



Glasses of warm water that weren't lukewarm, to say the least. They were filled consistently however.



The cosy interior...the whole place was filled with people by the time it struck 7.

The menu is planned by Chef Oscar Pasinato of Buko Nero fame, menu changes every month! I was quite excited by that introduction..buko nero...a highly famous place.



Leeks and Sea scallops soup with white truffle oil. The sis' lovely soup starter. I found it quite nice, not overpowering in leek taste, the scallops were juicy and lightly pan-fried. It lacked the warm bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar to round it off nicely..I thought most dinner places would have complimentary bread!



My choice of Chilled slices of roasted veal loin, served with a tuna dressing capers and parsley. I loved the same starter at Garibaldi, and was most happy to see it on the menu. Doesn't disappoint! The paper thin slices of veal and salty tuna dressing..yummy! It's almost like a main on its own with the portion. The pinkish hue in the extra tender sliver of meat.



The sis' Home made spinach straccetti pasta with red chilly, anchovies and prawns, was originally squid but we replaced it with prawns that were diced quite small! The pasta's much like our hand made noodle, looks a weebit like kelp but I like the sauce that went with it. The prawns were a tad too sweet for this savoury dish.



My Ragatoni pasta tossed with braised leg of duck ragu and parmesan cheese, started off on a delicious note in the first few bites but after a while, it got a little too much. The dish is somewhat too sweet, the duck's mostly shredded so you don't get to taste the bite of the meat. No cheese nor chilli flakes were offered either. I prefer the sis' spinach pasta, though she prefered mine.



Fresh orange, mango and mint salad with dark chocolate ice-cream. The dark chocolate ice-cream had chocolatey bites in it! A fruity dessert it is.



Hazelnut and white chocolate cake with vanilla ice-cream, sweet it is! The cake's dense...not much of a white chocolate hint...I was looking out for black specks in my vanilla...but none, so I figure it's just the ordinary vanilla. The warm and cold tones of this dessert were well played.



The birthday cake on the house! Carrot cake with cream cheese. The waiter was really cute about it, giving me a plastic knife to "knife" the cake! Their carrot cake blew us away, not sweet at all, my first carrot cake without raisins and I'm so loving it!

Overall food wise...some hits and misses. I adore how this place is without GST and service charge, the servers are your happy and cheery bunch who's most delighted to attend to you promptly. The waiting time in between dishes were somewhat too long and the dishes didn't arrive together..which is a glitch in service I feel.

I'd wanna be back for their pizzas that look so delicious..provided I have transport the next time.

Casa Verde
1 Cluny Road
Botanical Gardens

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