The Greenhouse

Tuesday, March 23, 2010 - My first course of beef tartare was a nice surprise - more a delicately-dressed beef carpaccio than the lump of mince I'd expected. The black truffle sauce added a rich, earthy dimension to the light and zingy slices of beef. A second course of mackerel was sliced and plated to look like sardines, which was visually entertaining. The apple puree and crunchy nuts under the mackerel added lightness and texture to the otherwise-meaty fish...Overall, I had a wonderful time at the Greenhouse - much better than my dinner last month at two-starred Hibiscus.

Monday, November 10, 2008 - I must admit I was disappointed by my Greenhouse experience. The food, although flawless in execution - ingredients were all cooked to the correct and desired degree of rareness, nicely caramelised on the outside - seemed to lack a certain je ne sais quoi; combinations were creative, but did not always come off; and there was a general dullness in the power of the different flavours. I liked the velouté, foie gras (though I thought the spherification superfluous) and pigeon, but the meal would have been an almost abject anti-climax had it not been for a truly terrific round of desserts - I tip my hat to the chef de patisserie.