Food For Thought @ Singapore Botanical Gardens – Fallin’ in Love Once More

Food For Thought: Think before you eat. Eat before think.

Tucked away in a serene and beautiful garden, Food for Thought is one of the best places to have a hearty brunch over a cuppa with family or friends after a long stroll through the park. This cafeteria which looks pretty much like a huge food court or canteen from the outside is actually located right next to the Botany Centre, in the basement right next to the car park. Because it’s somewhat hidden, it might be difficult locate where it actually is but once you found it, you will be in for a surprise. Especially if you have kids, this is where you could bring them for a great family bonding time after exercising at Singapore Botanical Gardens.You’re gonna fall in love with good food again.

Food for Thought@SBG is much bigger than the one located near the Singapore Art museum. Instead of queuing for a seat at the outlet there, why not head down here? Bigger capacity, tastier and cheaper food.

There’s also another Food for Thought cafe along Queens Street but before you cheer and shout hooray, you might want to know that the two cafes are somewhat different in terms of their concepts and menu. Even their pricing is slightly different. The one at Singapore Botanical Garden (SBG), unlike the cafe along Queens Street,has a self-service kiosk where you have to place order for the food,pay directly at the counter and wait for your food to be served. Prices printed on the menu here are slightly cheaper and in addition to that, there is no service charge. Moreover, the menu here offers a wider variety of choices for customers to choose from. More importantly, the seating capacity here is about four times bigger than the one located along Queens Street. Having that said, it means you probably don’t have to join the long queues outside Food for Thought @ 8Q ! There’s always this long strung of people waiting outside the cafe.

It’s not only Eco-friendly but family-friendly too. I love such restaurants/cafes that has their own unique theme, missions and values. It makes it more meaningful to dine at such places when you know that you can also support a good cause as you indulge in good food.

Giant Croissant. Ahh…Paris…France…I miss you dearly!

Kitchen. This is where all the magic happens.The “magician” take his/her props , assemble them together and perform a couple of tricks and Voila. Everyone is left in awed. Maybe I’ve not dined at 5-Star Michelin restaurant before to know how Heavenly food taste like but the food here, at Food for Thought, rocks my socks off! I’m impressed with the food I’ve tasted here and I just can’t wait to rave about it!

Right at end of the cafeteria, towards the left-hand side of the kitchen, you will see a little pretty corner with colouring papers, crayons and condiments like sugar and creamer for your latte. I would love to bring my kids here if I have one! There’s also a playground right outside the cafeteria where it’s a great place for active kids to move and roam about if they just can’t sit still at the dining table with Dad and Mom.

Sauces, sugars and creamers are all found here! Self-service!

This is where my friends and I were seated!

Plain Linguine Alio Ogio ( $8 )

Pretty much like what it says in its title, “plain” is really simple and uninteresting.  I like the taste of the herbs and garlic that is infused into the pasta but I find the linguine a little too tough and uncooked.

Grilled Barramundi Fillet  Served with creamy mashed potato and Ratatouille with Basil Almond and Pesto sauce. $20 ( Chef’s recommendation)

I was totally blown away by the fresh grilled fillet that is nice and evenly cooked to perfection. When paired with the sauce (which tasted more like Rosemary to me than Basil), it just whets your appetite further and refreshes your palates. There’s just something really European about this dish.

The next exciting side which my friends got hooked on is its creamy smashed potato that is something I’ve never tasted quite like it before. It’s like potato puree that has a light milky and creamy after taste. And last but not least, the ratatouille adds crunch and texture to the overall dish and it’s best eaten with the smashed potato. The cost of the dish, to me, is a little tight on my budget but it’s really worth-trying. If it gets tight on your purse strings, share this dish and split the cost with your friends!

It’s a lovely combination, the fish, the potato and ratatouille. I’m quite motivated to learn how to cook ratatouille after eating this.

We couldn’t get enough of the creamy smash potato so we ordered more! ($4 for additional sides)

Food for thought. Think before you eat.  Before you slice that piece of meat with your knife and popped it right into your mouth, be thankful that God has blessed us with food that keeps us suriving. Think about the people living in poverty who are starving while you’re eating.

Old fashioned Southern Red Velvet Cake ($5)

There seems to be this fad or trend about Red velvet cakes. Because the whole of Singapore is indulging this type of cake. The first time I’ve tasted Red velvet was at Jones The Grocer which I was so disappointed after trying it. The ones sold at Jones The Grocer was too overly sweet and tasted almost too bland. It just made me not want to eat another Red velvet cake, ever.

I was a little hesitant about having red velvet cake for desserts after that “traumatic” experience. But I tried it anyway because many customers in the caferia were ordering it. Truth be told, this old fashioned Southern Red Velvet cake was a total knock-out for me! It tasted so exquisite, refine and sensational. Tasted sensational? Yes! I mean it, totally! The cream cheese frosting and white chocolate toppings…oh my goodness…something that tasted this good is memorable. If you have not tried Red velvet, please do  not make the same mistake of eating red velvet cake elsewhere. Have your first red velvet here.

At just $5 per slice, who would want to miss this good deal?

Warmed cranberry scones ($3)

This mouth-watering scones almost made me fell off my chair. I just can’t stop telling my friends how great this scones tasted as I savour the scones in small bites, dipping a morcel of it into the fresh cream and dragonfruit sauce.

Scones served with fresh cream and homemade purple dragon fruit sauce.