Joie by Dozo - Value-for-Money Fine Dining

Quality food with good ambience typically comes at a premium. Rarely do we find a fine-dining restaurant deal that can be considered value-for-money. Hence, we were delighted to find a truly value-for-money deal in Joie by Dozo, a meatless fusion fine-dining concept situated on the rooftop garden at Orchard Central.

Credits: Joie Restaurant

Lunch is served as a customizable 6-course set menu. Unlike most set menus with limited choice, Joie offers a variety of at least four options per course (except for one course). Hence, we sought recommendations from the service staff, who helpfully provided us with a comprehensive description of each of his recommendations based on dietary needs.

Strips of pasta crisps were served at the side. There were two types: the thicker, orange strips are mildly spiced, while the thin whitish strips are coated with mozzarella cheese. We love these pasta crisps so much that we polished them off rapidly and refilled a couple of times throughout the meal.

Pasta crisps

Our lunch began with a complimentary palate cleanser: a refreshing, tangy passionfruit sorbet smoothie. We love how the drink came in stylish ergonomic glasses.

Passionfruit Sorbet Smoothie

The first course (amuse-bouche) is an assorted platter. The item in the centre is carrot terrine, which tastes and feels very much like salmon without the associated fishy smell. To the right is seaweed cracker topped with wasabi mayo. The final item is raspberry okashi which we were warned to put in the mouth first, as it would pop when the surface is broken. The raspberry okashi bursts with minimal pressure and the flavour coats the inner surfaces of our mouths delightfully. An excellent start to the meal!

Amuse-bouche: Chef's selection of assorted platter

After the impressive amuse-bouche, we were served our appetizers. Topped with cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, croutons, walnut and black olives, the Transparency of Manchego Cheese tastes like pizza without the crust. The lightly-torched Manchego cheese has a more delicate taste compared to typical cow cheese.

Transparency of Manchego Cheese

Our first impression of the Gratinated Champignon with Mozzarella was "Wow, meatless cheesy escargots!" This escargot-like dish features button mushrooms gratin served with sweet Tennessee heirloom potato puree, Belgian endive and thin slices of focaccia on the side. The amount of mozzarella cheese in the gratin is generous, and the strands of cheese makes for photogenic shots.

Gratinated Champignon with Mozzarella

Close-up of Gratinated Champignon with Mozzarella

After cleaning our appetizers off, we were served our soups. Consuming the Infusion of Cepes and Truffle is a multi-sensory experience - the unique delicious taste of cepes mushroom, the woody scent of truffle oil and the subtle earthy taste of black truffle that grows on you as you savour a slice of it for 10 seconds. No, we aren't joking about the 10 seconds; the black truffle taste is very subtle. Probably one of the best mushroom soups we have had so far.

Infusion of Cepes and Truffle

The Snow Pear and Napa Cabbage Consumme is reminiscent of a Zen-like painting with a Western touch. Within a gold-rimmed white plate, a baby snow pear stands out within a moat of double-boiled vegetable stock as pieces of almond swim around in the stock. The baby snow pear is cooked to the point of incredible softness such that the seeds were easy to remove. The stock tastes delicately sweet, compared to the thick savoury taste of the cepes mushroom soup.

Snow Pear and Napa Cabbage Consumme

After slurping every bit of our soups, we chomped on more pasta strips while patiently waiting for our mains. The pause between courses allowed for proper food digestion and more meaningful conversations.

The Grilled Bai-Ling Steak on "Pu-Ye" Hot Stone is succulent and tastes even better than beef steak. The Bai-Ling mushroom steak is also equally resistant to the cutting knife as well. The tempura fan is really crispy and the potato mash goes well with the juicy mushroom steak. Definitely a must-try!

Grilled Bai-Ling Steak on "Pu-Ye" Hot Stone

The Polenta Castle consists of pan-seared polenta cake with silken tofu, tomato, broccolini, blobs of red capsicum sauce, and a whole asparagus stalk. The polenta cake is reminiscent of omelette without eggs, has a slight corn taste and is best eaten with the other ingredients.

Polenta Castle

What better way than to end off our lunch with two pots of cold refreshing fruity tea and desserts! The Ice Rose Lemon Tea has a subtle scent of rose even when cold, while the Ice Fruity Refresher lives up to its name of refreshing the diner for desserts. We enjoyed picking up the fruit chunks in the Ice Fruity Refresher.

Top: Ice Fruity Refresher, Bottom: Ice Rose Lemon Tea

The Red Wine Poached Pear with Vanilla Ice-Cream is a quintessentially French dessert which leaves us craving for more, as the poached pear is better than most French poached pear desserts we had so far. We could taste the natural sweetness and slight crunchiness of the pear with a touch of spices. The poached pear goes tremendously well with the vanilla ice-cream. The poached pear is served in layered cross-sections, which makes sharing possible. 

Red Wine Poached Pear with Vanilla Ice-Cream

The Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice-Cream would be perfect if the chocolate cake had more molten chocolate inside. The vanilla ice-cream (which is made of real vanilla pods) goes well with the warm chocolate cake and moisten the texture of the cake; then again, one can't go wrong with warm chocolate cake and vanilla ice-cream.

Warm Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice-Cream

We felt surprisingly full towards the end of our meal. Our 6-course meal felt more like an experience as the attention to detail is prevalent, from the meticulous artwork-like plating to the personalized service according to our dietary needs. Service is excellent - our pasta crisps and cups of hot floral tea were promptly refilled and the service staff put us at ease throughout with their friendly demeanour. At S$38.80++ per person, the 6-course meatless set lunch at Joie is value for money and perfect for a date or a special occasion.

Joie Restaurant by Dozo
181 Orchard Road
#12-01 Orchard Central
Singapore 238896

Opening Hours:
Daily 12pm - 3pm (Last order: 2pm), 6pm - 10pm (Last order: 9pm)

Jeun VirtueFarm

What comes to your mind when someone mentions Chinese vegetarian food in Singapore food centres? Run-of-the-mill vegetarian beehoon, oil-laden vegetables, or maybe the colouring-laden gluten passing off as mock char siew. It does get pretty boring, especially when you are on a vegetarian diet and crave for tasty vegetarian versions of typical hawker fare.

Jeun VirtueFarm 浚德田 is a relatively new stall at 79A Circuit Road Food Centre which sells vegan renditions of local noodles stall favourites. The stall is run by young hawkerpreneurs who treat their trade as an art form - instrumentals could be heard from the background as the young noodle chef cooks the noodles with skilled precision. The menu is simple and clear: shiitake minced meat noodles and Fuzhou fishball noodles (update: they now serve shrimp and squid ball noodles too!). The serving trays look quintessentially modern Japanese.

Fuzhou fishball noodles

The Fuzhou fishball noodles (S$4.50) is taste-wise very close to its non-vegan cousin. The noodles are thin and springy like la mian, while the Fuzhou fishball is stuffed with finer "bak chor" ("minced meat") fillings that produce a pleasant umami taste. The chilli sauce tastes surprisingly savoury - it's not just one-dimensionally spicy. Yum.

Shiitake minced meat noodles

The shiitake minced meat noodles (S$4.50) has a more refined texture and taste compared to the typical non-vegan bak chor mee that are commonly served in Singapore. The "bak chor" is similar to the Fuzhou fishball fillings, with a more minced and less fatty texture compared to minced meat. The shiitake mushrooms are deliciously seasoned with thick brown savoury sauce, which is not too salty and balances the taste of the springy noodles.

There is also the option of upsizing your noodles (option of +S$0.50 and +S$1.00) and adding fried wantons (S$1.00 for 3 pieces) to your choice of noodles. The fried wantons do not seem to have much "minced meat" fillings, but the fried wanton skins are pretty crispy. Pretty good, considering these are vegan-friendly snacks.

The folks at Jeun VirtueFarm impress us with their delicious vegan-friendly versions of local noodles at fairly affordable prices. In fact, the noodles taste even better than their non-vegan counterparts. Bak chor mee at food centres is never going to be the same again.

Jeun VirtueFarm 浚德田 

Jeun VirtueFarm 浚德田
79A Circuit Road Food Centre
#01-84
Singapore 371079

Opening Hours:
Mondays - Saturdays: 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm

Hweecat's Tomato Challenge

Hweecat meow.

Apologies for the month-long hiatus as we have been busy with various projects these days. Firstly, I shall write about a personal project of mine involving my favourite fruit - tomatoes!

Heard of Movember, the annual event which involves men growing moustaches during November? It's a campaign to raise awareness on men's health issues, such as prostate and testicular cancer.

(Aye aye, mo bros!)

Do you know that tomatoes are associated with cancer prevention, notably prostate cancer? Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a carotene (plant antioxidant) which blocks the action of free radical, reactive oxygen molecules that can damage cells. And we know that cancer is caused by uncontrolled tissue growth due to a series of mutations in the genes which regulate cell growth and differentiation. Added incentive for the bros to eat tomatoes, eh? :D

Look at these juicy red fellas, bros?

I like tomatoes, because tomatoes are bright red in colour and taste juicy. Cat used to not like tomatoes because the taste of conventionally-grown tomatoes offend his taste buds; he usually consumes them for health benefits (until he tasted his first grilled organic tomato and fell in love with it). Now he only consumes homegrown or organic tomatoes.

With the organic vs conventional food debate ongoing, I am curious to find out for myself how organic tomatoes fare with their conventional cousins - and why Cat finds the latter offensive in taste. Moreover, tomatoes = good for men against prostate cancer, so why not maintain my tomato diet while the men maintain their moustaches? :P

While the mo bros were growing their moustache, I embarked on my own Tomato Challenge: to consume tomatoes as often as 5 times a day for the month of November.

Real Food at The Central

I have a confession to make: I am a sucker for anything related to healthy eating. While I love eating a wide variety of food, I prefer indulging in healthy and wholesome meals which are delicious and guilt-free on the stomach. I'm also interested in non-conventional menus as well as food which involve minimal chemical processing. (:

One major qualm I have about conventional food is that I don't know the food source and how the plants and animals are treated and fed in farms. On the other hand, food that are healthy/vegan/organic/gluten-free/non-conventional tend to be more expensive compared to conventional food. ):

Is organic/vegan food always = more pricey?

Let's compare with cafes, for a start.