Lunch in the Botanic Gardens

On the last day of our quick jaunt to Singapore, the Boyfriend and I went to lunch in the Botanic Gardens. It was a great suggestion from our friend D whom we had seen the night before. In fact, he had suggested a night time walk in the gardens. Coming from New York, the idea of park and night seemed a not-so-great. I remember walking through the Central Park as darkness descended. It was a little sinister. Of course, I highly doubt there would be anything remotely sinister in the Botanic Gardens at night - we were in Singapore, after all. A night time walk in a garden could be romantic even. Except for mosquitoes. Lots of them. They seem to like me a lot. So we spent the last evening at Dempsey Hill - more of that in a later post.

D had suggested that we go to lunch at Halia restaurant and then take a leisurely walk through the gardens before getting our bags and going to the airport. As it turned out, we had a lovely, albeit brisk, walk to the restaurant in the gardens and a longer meander after lunch. Here are some highlights of the walk:

It was relatively overcast and I was blown away by the beauty and tranquility of the lovely, vast green space smack in the middle of a very bustling city. The rainforest part of the gardens bordered one side of the path we walked along. So on our right, we had gorgeous open gardens and on our left, what looked like a thick rainforest.

When we got to Halia, I asked for the glassed-in air-conditioned room. The covered outdoor area looked lovely, but even a short walk on an overcast day could induce perspiring in the tropics. We opted for the two-course set lunch, the highlight of which was the Spaghetti with Chilli Crab, the restaurant's take on the popular local dish. I was thrilled we got to cross that off our foods-to-try list and that it was done without my having to excavate the crab meat out of crab shells. I loved the sharp spices and heat of the dish. The soft and smooth textures of the crab meat and pasta contrasted so well with the vivid sauce. I also have to make a special note of the standard breakfast tea they served at the end of the meal. I imagine it probably came from a supermarket standard teabag, but it was so strong! My after school mugs of tea came back to me instantly. (Of course, again, I inhaled lunch before I even looked at my camera on the table.)

Lunch over, with some time on our hands, we decided to explore a bit of the gardens. We went to the National Orchid Garden next to the restaurant. The varieties of orchids were pretty staggering - small, large, bright, pale. Everywhere we turned there was another gorgeous orchid species:

We had to skip the covered enclosure - with even more orchids - because I could feel the mosquitoes within two steps into the shade.

The sun had come out and I was reminded of Noel Coward's song about Mad Dogs and Englishmen. It was clearly time to return to the hotel for a rest before the twenty-odd-hour journey back to New York.

More images from the Botanic Gardens:

One of the things I love about Singapore, is proximity of nature in its incredible beauty.

Halia Restaurant

1 Cluny Road, Ginger Garden

(enter via Tyersall Road)

Singapore

(6476 6711)

Singapore Botanic Gardens

1 Cluny Road

Singapore

(6471 7361)