Verdure Cafe Tasting Session
1218 Upper Thomson Road
#01-02 Springleaf Nature Park
Opening Hours:
Tue - Fri: 11:30am - 10pm,
Sat - Sun: 9am - 10pm,
Closed Mon
http://verdurecafe.com/
This was an invited media review. I did not pay for the meal during the free hosted tasting session.
Attended with representatives from HungryGoWhere, and The Arctic Star.
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| Salted Egg Chicken Burger (SGD $14.90) |
Chill Amidst Nature
(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 7
Ambience & Setting: 9
Food & Beverage: 6
Service: 8
Value for Money: 7
Budget about SGD $25 per person.
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Located at the entrance of the tranquil Springleaf Nature Park adjacent to Nee Soon Road, Verdure Cafe is a casual, relaxing cafe serving down-to-earth Modern European and Modern Singaporean dishes. Founded in October 2015, Verdure Cafe is animal-friendly, offering a haven for dog lovers to bring their furry friends (on a leash). In particular, they have a wide range of speciality loose leaf teas.
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| Verdure Cafe Signage |
Ambience at Verdure Cafe is a highlight. Surrounded by the natural greenery of the area, fronted by the spacious park, the outdoor al-fresco seating is particularly attractive, especially on cool and dry days. The indoor seating is slightly limited by the small floor space, but the sturdy wooden and metal furniture is comfortable enough. Warm lights cast a soft glow, lending an intimate feel. Casual and relaxing vibes.
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| Verdure Cafe Exterior |
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| Verdure Cafe Interior |
Service at Verdure Cafe is personal and attentive. The mostly young staff appear enthusiastic, acting on requests quickly. They're efficient in clearing away empty / dirty tables when diners leave, but only display basic product knowledge on the menu. Don't expect much interaction, however, they will engage if you speak with them. Generally, acceptable and efficient standards of service, functional and decent enough to get by.
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| Facade |
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| Seating Outdoors |
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| Seating Indoors |
Food at Verdure Cafe is casual, focused on Modern European and Modern Singaporean cuisine. Generally, dishes are decently executed and tasty enough, and at least during our visit, the snacks were of marginally better quality than elsewhere. Their local flavours are familiar and comfortable, and will appeal to most. Portions are nicely sized for individuals. Prices are reflective of most cafes, budget about SGD $25 per person for a meal here.
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| Kitchen |
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| Tea Leaves Display |
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| Water With Lemon & Lime |
The Salted Caramel Latte (SGD $5.90) is decent, good amount of strength in the coffee, with a balanced sweet salty lacing of salted caramel. Alright.
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| Salted Caramel Latte (SGD $5.90) |
The Organic Peppermint Leaf Tea (SGD $5.90) has a lovely bright and refreshing feel. Said to aid digestion, it's served with honey in the cup and brown sugar on the side. I love the overall presentation, with a uniquely crafted and beautifully patterned teapot. However, I did feel they could have served the honey on the side as well.
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| Organic Peppermint Leaf Tea (SGD $5.90) |
The Organic Hibiscus Flower & Orange Tea (SGD $6.90) has bright, fruity floral notes. Rather interesting, you get the delicate hibiscus taste at the front, followed by the zesty orange at the back. Slight earthy bitter flavours linger on the palate.
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| Organic Hibiscus Flower & Orange Tea (SGD $6.90) |
The Iced Honey Lemon (SGD $4.90) is nicely balanced, not overly sweet, with a light zesty citrus flavour from the lemon. Underpinned by the fruity notes of the lychee, lending a new layer of flavour.
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| Iced Honey Lemon (SGD $4.90) |
The aptly named Zucchini Refresher (SGD $4.90) is bright and refreshing, a perfect thirst quencher. The light vegetal sweet juicy notes of the zucchini, and zesty citrus sour notes of the lemon, is infused into the beverage, making it delightful. Good!
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| Zucchini Refresher (SGD $4.90) |
The Rose Dale (SGD $6.50) is a new beverage on the menu, just launched this month. Floral notes of rose with a milky creamy texture, so smooth and light. Yet, it manages to be distinct enough in taste, and I believe it will appeal to most.
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| Rose Dale (SGD $6.50) |
A straightforward Truffle Fries (SGD $8.90), piping hot and medium cut, with a slightly crisp exterior and a fluffy interior, holding good potato flavour. The truffle oil is lightly applied, lending a tinge of earthy flavour, and the garnish of parmesan cheese lends a salty savoury note. Worth ordering!
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| Truffle Fries (SGD $8.90) |
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| Truffle Fries |
The Mixed Platter For 4 (SGD $18.90) features 5 snack items, all of which I find to be better executed than elsewhere (at least for our visit). The Calamari Rings are tightly breaded with a bouncy texture and a sweet savoury flavour from the squid. The Royal Fingers (Tempura Prawns) was the best snack item, the prawns having a sweet fresh meaty flavour, and the crumb batter being golden brown and crisp. The Chicken Winglets & Drumlets were alright, and the Potato Wedges were hot and fluffy, with good potato flavour. Not too greasy as well. The Sausages Wrapped With Bacon Strips were decent, the crisp bacon lending a salty savoury taste to the more mild chicken cocktail sausage.
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| Mixed Platter For 4 (SGD $18.90) |
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| Calamari Rings |
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| Royal Fingers (Tempura Prawns) |
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| Chicken Winglets & Drumlets, Potato Wedges |
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| Sausages Wrapped With Bacon Strips |
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| Mixed Platter For 4 |
The Chili Crab Pasta (SGD $16.90) features spaghetti pasta noodles, done soft, tossed in a house recipe chili crab gravy, garnished with shredded crab meat and egg. This is wholly different from what I usually expect from a chili crab, the gravy is mild instead of spicy, and more creamy eggy in texture. I like the fresh deshelled crab meat, which came in a generous portion. However, the rest of the dish is below average, because it doesn't meet the expected taste.
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| Chili Crab Pasta (SGD $16.90) |
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| Chili Crab Pasta |
The Black Pepper Smoked Duck Aglio Olio (SGD $14.90) is very good. The spaghetti pasta noodles here are al-dente, with some bite, tossed in olive oil, herbs, garlic, and chili flakes. Garnished with bits of earthy button mushrooms, and tender slices of black pepper smoked duck. The duck is the star here, having a light meaty chew, a bright peppery flavour at the front, followed by a savoury salty flavour at the back. Highly recommended!
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| Black Pepper Smoked Duck Aglio Olio (SGD $14.90) |
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| Black Pepper Smoked Duck Aglio Olio |
Loved the Salted Egg Chicken Burger (SGD $14.90), with its juicy chicken thigh, perfectly cooked and tender, with light sweet savoury taste, sandwiched between fluffy charcoal infused sesame seed burger buns, along with fresh crunchy lettuce and juicy tomato. The housemade salted egg sauce is righteous, robust in flavour, a proper Zi Char style version. Delicious and satisfiying. Highly recommended!
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| Salted Egg Chicken Burger (SGD $14.90) |
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| Salted Egg Chicken Burger |
The unique nature of this Baked Fragrant Rice (SGD $12.90) is the bed of brown rice used, and the medley of vegetables (carrots, onions, button mushrooms). Topped with cream, sliced chicken thigh or bacon strips, and gooey mozzarella cheese, this dish is much lighter on the stomach, and healthier, than other baked rice versions elsewhere. Lovely and warm, with earthy savoury salty sweet flavours. Good!
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| Baked Fragrant Rice (SGD $12.90) |
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| Baked Fragrant Rice |
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| Baked Fragrant Rice |
The weakest dish was the House Chicken Chop (SGD $14.90). While I like the juicy tender chicken chop, large in portion with nice sweet savoury flavour, the mushroom and black pepper sauce coating it was overly salty. At least correcting this is relatively easy, either reduce the salt used or serve it on the side. Served with a salad and potato wedges, which were decently executed.
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| House Chicken Chop (SGD $14.90) |
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| House Chicken Chop |
The Salted Caramel Lava Cake (SGD $7.90) dessert differs in presentation from elsewhere. The sticky, dense, moist caramel sponge cake features a small hollow on the top, where gooey rich salted caramel is placed. No matter how you cut it, the molten salted caramel will flow down and coat the cake. Novel idea, though it's cheating in presentation. Flavour is spot on, rich and decadent with sweet salty notes. The creamy milky vanilla ice cream complete this. Good!
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| Salted Caramel Lava Cake (SGD $7.90) |
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| Salted Caramel Lava Cake |
Overall, Verdure Cafe is a relaxing, comfortable place that lends well to lingering, surrounded by ample natural greenery. The service and quality of food is decent enough to make a visit worthwhile, and with the proliferation of private car hires, Verdure Cafe is even more accessible these days.
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CONVERSATION