Henri Charpentier

After a picnic at Singapore Botanic Gardens on a weekend evening, we decided to go Dempsey Hill for a cuppa coffee and/or desserts. In the end, we settled on Henri Charpentier – a renowned French-inspired Japanese patisserie since 1969. Run by Suzette Corporation, this is its first foray outside Japan where there are 82 branches. Opened last year, the 4,400 sq ft place restaurant was quiet when we visited. Walking down a covered walkway with fuschia carpet, we stepped into an extravagantly furnished place decked in royalty purple and more fuschia. Chandeliers and drapery hanging from the ceiling, together with comfortable armchairs and couches on heavily carpeted floor, screamed lavish opulence. I started with Blend Coffee while the rest mostly had Royal Milk Tea.

Halia

Halia means ginger in Malay and is aptly located in the one-hectare Ginger Garden of the Singapore Botanic Gardens where over 250 species of gingers with their stunning foliage and colourful flowers thrive. According to the website, its construction was carried out at the same time that the Ginger Garden was developed in 2000. So architecture could be conformed to the contours of the land, dignity of mature trees such as decades-old majestic palm trees and preservation of heritage. The restaurant officially opened the following year with various forms of ginger and its related family creatively introduced into some dishes and beverage creations such as Halia Infusion (hot or chilled), a house-specialty of sun-dried ginger and wild mountain honey. In 2008, its first and only overseas branch opened at Westlake, Hanoi.

Food For Thought

Used to have family outings to Singapore Botanic Gardens where we would breathe in fresh air, walk and run in the park. Once, I was offered a chocolate but my initial happiness upon receiving one as a child soon turned to disappointment as it had melted. Have always been a fussy eater since young and eat neither melted chocolate nor ice-cream. At a tender age when I did not know they could be re-frozen, I gave away the chocolate. I did not care that it was safe-kept for me in the cooler box, which I thought was just a container to store and carry the drinks, until it was later returned to me. My eyes lit up and I happily ate the no-longer-melted chocolate. A childhood memory deeply etched in my mind and fondly recalled during my recent visit to the tourist attraction I have not been to in ages.