I spent the larger part of my childhood and teenage years on Emerald Hill/Cairnhill Road. So when I read about a little cafe near my alma mater in a restored shophouse with good food to boot, I had to check it out.

Small, cosy, and split-level, the cafe/restaurant seats probably 40 max? Service is exceedingly polite and attentive, with a menu that showcases selected dishes made with what else, basil.

The mushroom soup - earthy, not too creamy, generously filled with small to mid-sized chunks of mushrooms. This wasn't the best I've had but it was certainly wholesome goodness where the flavour of the chicken broth base wasn't masked.

Next up was the bruschetta with a medley of veggies - finely diced, roasted, sweet zucchini, capsicum and eggplant. This had more bite and flavour than the typical tomato bruschetta though one wishes it had a stronger garlic and olive oil flavour and a better quality baguette with a firmer texture was used.

My main of grilled salmon with broccoli and roasted baby potatos and a pepper sauce. The salmon was done just so - cooked and firm on the outside, slightly pink and raw on the inside, just the way I like it. The broccoli accompanying the fish was stir-fried chinese-style with garlic and the baby tots came well roasted with rosemary, salt and black pepper. Thumbs up for a satisfying main course!

But it was the basil-infused dessert that stole the show. The basil lemon sorbet was a very interesting combination of finely chopped basil in a lemon sorbet. First the flavour of the basil hits you, then it morphs into the tangy, refreshing taste of the lemon sorbet. An unusual but good combination!

Blue Basil is really quite an oasis of calm in the heart of Orchard Road and offers a cosy, relaxed ambience with quality food, perfect for a quiet night out.

I wanted to find a place that was open for brunch that was open on a Monday, which is unusual, so Blue Basil was one of the few options. Prices were very reasonable. Service was excellent and prompt, but it being a Monday morning, we were the only customers and so well, the sole waiter didn't have much else to occupy him. The interior design was decent, but I couldn't understand why they had to play very incongruous Indian music (even though the staff was Indian, the food sure wasn't...)

Starters were a Greek salad, and the wild mushroom soup. The salad was the saddest excuse for a Greek salad I have ever seen, and tasted! Large cubed cucumber, tomato and feta cheese with capers and olives drenched in a thick, heavy sauce do not make ends meet. But I have to say for only 9.90 it sufficed for a salad, just not a Greek one (they ought to come light and zesty). I preferred the soup to be thicker, and less salty, but it was at least better than the salad.

Next, the breakfast set of fried eggs, chicken sausages, greens and toast. I wish they had offered thicker sets of sausages, maybe even pork ones instead, but besides that the eggs turned out decently.

My friend had grilled chicken with potatoes and greens which came with the lunch set. It was simply a chicken chop, like the kind served at Western food hawker centre stalls, and just about as oily. The potatoes were delicious, but the greens were done in almost a Chinese stir-fry style, complete with canned baby corn! Fusion is fine by me, but this combination seemed altogether...easy.

Nonetheless, it was cheap and I guess you can't expect much. But for the same price or even less, I'll stick to my usual brunch @ Breko's

After tons of false alarms I FINALLY got to dine at Blue Basil. Thank god i went with CG(who has been there b4) if not i would have spend hours looking for it cos i was convinced it was located opposite the heeren.

I was already very hungry but we took a while to decide what to order. We were informed that their house pours were on promo(i tink happy hour) 1for 1 so we each got ther Archipelago Traders.Cnt remember what we got but i knew CG gor sumthin that has a slight taste of Gula melaka. Mine was quite citrussy and i enjoyed it.

We ordered
Cream of Wild Mushroom soup
CG had this and it looked good. They used real wild mushroom so its not ur cambells or tasteless boring soup

Grilled Chicken Drumlet
I liked this. Not too overly grilled the chicken was tender, juicy and the herbs did it justice.

Lamb Shoulder Rack(me)
i chose the garlic sauce for this and mmmm it was sooo good. the shoulder rack was done just right. so juicy and easy to my teeth. i loved loved loved the garlic sauce cos well i love garlic(vampires beware). the broccoli was well brocoli but retained its greness(so it wasnt cooked too overly long) and the mash was sooooo good. so buttery and a far cry from mash u can get elsewhere. everything complimented each other so well.

Tortelloni stuffed with Spinach and Cheese in the Blue Basil Pesto Sauce(CG)
tried a bit of the pesto sauce. liked it but cnt comment much.

fusilli with cream truffle sauce(bf)
this was alright to me. filled up my tummy though i wish that more sauce was used though.

we were quite stuffed after that so we skipped dessert.

One grouse of mine is that its quite out of the way(esp mrt wise) so after a good filling dinner the thought of walkin to the mrt is quite errking. that only means spendin on a cab..which we did. But all in all it was a good meal.

i loved the decor and the cushion seats and appreciated the service. Waiter was kind enuf to off the airconditioning which was aimed at us(as it was rainin) and aimed another one away from us. Will go back but only if i can get the car and hopefully find a parking spot.

I had very high expectations of blue basil after reading the reviews. Wanted to go on Sunday with the family but it was raining and parking isn't the most convenient thing so decided against it. The same week, two friends were celebrating their belated birthdays and so I suggested blue basil!

We met up at paragon and walked over. The walk wasn't that long so don't worry lazy legs out there!

Ambience: its a really pretty place, in a small cosy shophouse. Great place for cosy dinners and romantic dinners ;)

Food:
A general comment on the food - the portions are rather small and coming from a lady [a greedy lady haha] its really not very big. My girl friend thought it was just nice but she's a real small eater. My guy friends were still very hungry and were thinking of where to go for desserts during dinner. But I guess, if you have appetizers, mains and desserts then it would be fine.

Before dinner I had already decided that I would go for the promfret! [I had looked @ reviews + the online menu]
I had the promfret with the blue basil sauce. The fish was normal, like how my mother steams the promfret. but the sauce was really unique though I wished they gave me more.

I chose baby potatoes as a side and they were only 6 small ones!! [haha, now I sound really greedy] okay sorry, cos my girl friend order the saffron rice side and we were sharing sides. so 3 tiny potatoes didn't seem like the most substantial thing. but they were roasted nicely. the skin was slightly crisp. Though, the saffron rice wasn't as fragrant as I expected it to be.

The boys had - grilled chicken, stuffed chicken and mussels pasta. All of them said it was not bad but all complained that the amounts were too small for them.

Service: They staff were nice and attentive but somehow or other all of us felt they were a bit slow. I don't know how to describe/explain it but just the general vibe. [Maybe cos there's not service charge? haha kidding] But still above average service.

All in all, it was an interesting place to visit. Food was average. If I go back it would probably be to find a quiet place in town to chill out.

I read the reviews and knew this would be THE place to bring my Mum for her birthday lunch - she loves lamb.

First up, parking is a pain. We went on a Sunday afternoon, and parked at the entrance to the construction side next door. When my boyfriend asked where to park 'legally', the guys at Blue Basil didn't know. But they did suggest the construction site. Apparently you can park along the road at night.

Mum had the mushroom soup - totally delicious and value for money at $6.80. Velvety and creamy, with lovely mushroom pieces which gave great mouthfeel. Just lovely. She then went on to the shoulder rack of lamb. Amazingly tender, wonderfully marinated, but not overly so. It was tender, moist and pink inside. There were 2 pieces of rack and they were fairly substantial. The taste of the lamb was still there, and the balance of the marinade and the lamb was perfectly balanced. She really enjoyed that.

I'd whispered to the waiter that we were celebrating Mum's birthday, and asked him if he could get a slice of cake with a candle and serve it to her after she'd eaten. He asked me to choose something from the display - the chef makes some desserts and orders others in. I picked the chocolate banana - being the only chocolate cake there. After Mum's meal, he delivered it, complete with "Happy Birthday" piped with raspberry coulis, and proceeded to lead the restaurant (there was a very raucous groups at the other table) in singing her the happy birthday song!

Later, he brought her a tea and the dessert of the day as well (Dad, Leon and I had the buffet $38.80++ which includes a free flow of appetisers and mains, and dessert and coffee) so that we'd all have it together. I thought that was very nice of them.

As for the buffet, my dad particularly enjoyed the omelette (plain with a little cheese), Leon liked the portabello mushrooms, and I loved loved loved the sweet corn - roasted to corny sweetness with rosemary, a fabulous combination! The mains were not as good. Leon and Dad had the lamb loin which was a little tough and not as flavourful as the rack. I had the snapper, which was dry and not tasty. Also, they seem to smother all the meats (fish and lamb alike) with the same brown/pepper sauce, which was a pity. Oh well.

The total cost was reasonable, they willingly served us tap water instead of the expensive bottled on, and werevery nice not to charge us for Mum's slice of cake.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and would go back again - but maybe on foot...