The Garden Slug

Menu, pasta, hot chocolate, iced latte - http://phuachiuyen.blogspot.com/2012/04/garden-slug-home-club-tcccr-handlebar.html

My first visit to the garden slug. It's a bit out of the way so please do drive, cab or if you don't mind, take a bus and walk in.

I didn't know what to try so I just thought maybe pasta, since they have nice descriptions for their pastas. D***, they were so good!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very unique taste. I was too full from the awesome pasta so I will definitely return for the other main courses and desserts.

NO SERVICE CHARGE!

Sorry guys.  I am really not sure what is good about this place after seeing all the great reviews and decided to try it but regretted.  Had a Bangers & Mash which was simple a messed up potatos with sauce and two over-grilled cracked brats.  The greek salad was nothing special and frankly i can do better.  Pasta Meatball was the same and the Seafood pasta had no personality.  I have to say though the portions are rather big.  Perhaps that is why there is a perception of value for money?  Also service and the time take for food to arrive is as the name implies...for the slug too.  

For more pictures and reviews, visit ms-skinnyfat.blogspot.com

We were greeted by the cute garden slug and sleepy cats chilling out on the benches and tables. Adorable much! 



The setting is very casual and relaxing. There was a old za2 huo4 dian4 (neighborhood grocery shop) just further down. It was almost like eating at a coffee shop at the old housing estates. The good weather calls for some alfresco dining, Also, i noticed that the seats inside do kinda smell of food but the diners don't seem to mind. 

Very spacious interior with lotsa seats to accommodate the crowd (not that it was particularly crowded at 12pm on a Sunday). 





The first thing that caught my eye was obviously "All Day Breakfasts". However, all the breakfast eating the past week has gotten to me so i ordered a pasta instead. I was secretly hoping that S would order from the breakfast menu so that i could steal some and he did! Worm in my tummy he is!

The fatty boy started lunch with a sundae of all things. Such a monster. Knickerbooker Glory Sunday ($12.50)- Vanilla gelato with Peach Melba, almond stracciatella, sea-salt dulce de leche & jaffa truffle bar. This is a very interesting eat. Every mouthful is a burst of flavors and the mixture was absolutely exhilarating and surprising. Some orange, then chocolate then REAL vanilla ice cream (with vanilla beans!) followed by the taste of sea salt caramel and then hitting the sweet notes with the Peach Melba again. This is a must try. 

Then came our mains. His Runny Salmon Scramble-Up ($12.50)- Creamy scrambled eggs topped with lots of smoked salmon, warm toast by side. This was heavenly. The eggs were runny as promised and had a rich creamy texture to it. Z would love this for sure! The salmon provided the slight saltiness that the dish required. Only downside is that the salmon didn't seem very fresh? Didn't have a very nice bite to it? Not chewy enough i guess.



My Juicy Shrimp & Roast Pumpkin ($14.90)- A rich pink sauce of tender baked pumpkin, shrimp and whole oven-roasted garlic cloves. The linguine was more on the cooked side but the plus point is that it makes it really easy to swallow (trust me that's a good thing). I was basically gobbling mouth after mouth of pasta. The sauce was light and not too sour, perfect base for a pasta marathon. I could go on eating this forever (ok i exaggerate.)

Look at the size of the dishes. It's twice the size of my stomach!

Obviously the pasta was too much even for 2 of us! 

In all, The Garden Slug provides high quality hearty meals. The service was also excellent, the servers extremely attentive to the guests and anticipated every need the diners may have. Serving plates were served without being asked because they knew we would be sharing. Quick, polite and warm service staff always helps in retaining and attracting new customers. This i feel TGS has done extremely well. I would certainly be back. :)

For the full review, pics and more interesting reads visit http://cinnamonsin.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/the-garden-slug/

Rach: What a quirky name for a cafe! I'm really drawn to eateries with these cute names because you'll never know what you'll get! Surprise me please, just not with slimy slugs :) The day before i was already craving for something i never had before. An 'All day breakfast'. My fellow food buddy, Simmie, took up my signal quickly and we confirmed our food hunt within seconds on Facebook!

In a quiet street of Telok Kurau is where TGS is neatly tucked in Bright Centre, beside some pet shops... No funky smell don't worry. Unless some irresponsible owner decides to bring his/her smelly furry friend to dine there... because i heard TGS is a pet-friendly cafe. A good place for dog owners to unite!

Don't expect ravishing and chic furnishings. When we got there, we were greeted with a very humble layout. I guess in these kind of places, it's just all about the food and company eh?

So we slowly combed through their extensive menu. It was then i think i have made a crucial mistake, a mistake that would leave me in regrets till today! (heck we just went there yesterday :p) ... My attention was steered off course and i didn't end up with an 'all day breakfast' meal :( I chose pasta instead.

Buttery Garlic Glaze topped with Grilled Chicken Strips - S$14.90

Needless to say, i was rather disappointed with my selection... ok make it very disappointed instead since it was actually a 'Recommended' item on the menu.... so i thought i was safe even though i didn't go along with my gut feeling. I was expecting a savoury, buttery, garlicy meal but instead, it was not only bland, but the spices (i'm assuming it's the lime leaf even though it constantly reminded me of coconut oil -_-) were too over whelming. So much that i had to suppress it by topping lots of Parmesan cheese on top. The chicken strips were fine and done well. They used raw cherry tomatoes which is questionable.

Oh, i had the Lychee Fruit Soda - S$4.80 (picture above)... i only wished they added a little syrup to it. Because when i first took a sip of it, the taste i got was very similar to 白花蛇草水 (Oldenlandia Sparkling Water/i like to call it the white flower snake grass water) - A Chinese herbal fizzy drink known for its cooling properties... not very pleasant either.

I think Simmie was one lucky girl yesterday. She stood firm to what she wanted... Unlike me... wishy-washy-indecisive.

Runny Salmon Scramble-Up - S$12.50

Presentation wise was just 'hmm'. But smoked salmon with scrambles, nothing will go wrong with this ultimate combo! Loving the healthy whole grain bread too... And yes, the scramble eggs were really runny and moist! This is making me feel depressed. Her drink was the Orange & Sea Salt Caramel Smoothies blended with Vanilla Gelato - S$9.50... sounds so awesome right... i didn't get it because it was a little pricey. I thought it was a refreshing, zesty and sweet :) They have other flavors like Banana Toffee, Strawberry Chunky Cheesecake, Nutella Gianduja, Double Espresso Macchiato. I would go back to try these... soon.

And then... dessert! WE MUST ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS HAVE OUR DESSERTS AFTER EVERY MEAL. I cannot stress on this enough.

The Sweet Sweet Slug - S$14.90

Funny name huh... but omg a platter of Tiramisu, Brownie Popsicle, Pear William, Berries and a ball of Vanilla Gelato. Dessert platters are my weakness... so bad that i am almost readily to agree to it without checking the price of it first lol! Luckily we were sharing :p

My favorites would be the Pear William and maybe the... Brownie Popsicle. My first poached pear believe it or not! Was never a fan of poached fruits because i thought they would come off too sweet and mushy and the taste is always pretty much expected lol. The pear was nice, warm and juicy with a hint of cinnamon to it. Lovely. The Brownie Popsicle was cool... Frozen chocolate topping all over it. Very very chocolatey. Just, slightly dry on the inside... but still awesome!

The vanilla gelato was not bad, just wished there was more of a vanilla flavor to it. As for the tiramisu, not 'tiramisuy' enough... haha what a word. Pardon my vocab. Something was missing from it, and you know what it was? Coffee liquor and brandy. Sorry but it wasn't flavorful enough, though the texture is good :(

Cons:

1. We were seated right at the back in a corner next to an open storage of tables and chairs, because of the lunch crowd. One small point here to make was that it would have been better if they had a curtain/partition to hide that corner away.

2. Some hit and misses regarding the food. I would say it's so-so and quite disappointing. But i might give TGS another chance because i really wanna try their 'All Day Breakfast'... and also because i love breakfast and it's near where i live!

3. Rough food presentation.

4. Slightly pricey even though there are no GST & Service Charge.

Pros:

1. Friendly and polite staffs.

2. Extensive menu.

3. Dog-friendly cafe :p

4. Average desserts and drinks so if you need your quick fix on sweets, TGS is not bad of an option if you live nearby.

(Note: If you intend to go there, a GPS would come in handy!)

For the full review, pics and more interesting reads visit http://cinnamonsin.wordpress.com/2011/05/18/the-garden-slug/

For the complete post with uploaded pictures; please view:

http://thefoodnomads.wordpress.com/2011/04/16/the-garden-slug-lorong-l-telok-kurau/

The Garden Slug is a simplistic and quiet restaurant with no fanciful furniture or decor. A very laid-back dining experience and a venue recommended for families and friends to have a simple lunch or dinner together. My group wanted to avoid the sweltering heat, and so we decided to dine within the restaurant, to discover that the tables and chairs were lined up rather near to one another and that we were seated directly under the air-conditioner, which did cause our dishes to turn rather cold in an instance.

Let's Dig In Platter; an assortment of five different kinds of appetizers to be chosen from the menu; the petite portions were sufficient enough for sampling the highlights on the list. Anyway, we decided on the Tofu and Zucchini Fingers, Mushroom Munchkins, Battered Crunchy Prawns, Grilled Bratwurst Sausages and Chunky Bruschetta. My friends enjoyed the Mushroom Munchkins most; I took a small bite and felt an explosion of oil in my mouth- too oily for my personal liking. They liked the Tofu and Zucchini Fingers too, in which they found the deep-fried tofu and cucumber in golden batter rather unique and tasty. I preferred the sausages as they were rather thick and juicy , would have ordered more of these instead of the deep-fried items since I have always not been a fan of such dishes.

Light Cream Cabonara with Smoked Ham and Chunky Mushrooms; we were first amazed by the huge serving of pasta on the porcelain bowl. Following the appealing visual appearance, we took a fork each and started digging in. I must say that the pasta was quite good! Generous servings of mushrooms and smoked ham and the pasta was cooked to the right doneness. The cream was light and tasty; quite a pleasant gastronomical experience indeed! A piece of advice though, you might prefer to share the pasta since the portion might be a little too generous for one’s personal liking.

Wagyu Beef Burger; half expecting the Burger to be huge as from what we have seen from the portions of our dishes and those on the other tables, we were quite surprised when our Wagyu Burger turned out to be more petite than what we have experienced in other restaurants. Nonetheless, the melted cheese complemented rather well with the Wagyu patty while the Sesame Bread had a certain crisp to it. As to what my friend had requested which was Medium Rare, the patty was grilled to the right doneness.

Simple Shepherd’s Pie; bluntly put, I will describe this as a creation gone wrong.  The deviation from the traditional Shepherd’s Pie was a bowl of minced beef sauce and cheese, mixed with pasta and real mash; the Garden Slug way was too bland while the layers of mash potato overwhelmed all the other flavors of the entire dish.

Grilled Lamb Loin; if you are rather healthy-conscious, you might consider ordering another dish. A warning though, you are missing out on one of their signature dishes! The fats might appear to be a little too excessive, but the Lamb Loin is definitely worth a try! The Lamb Loin was tender and flavourful; it was well-marinated with wine and Garlic and together with the mint pesto sauce, the unique flavor of the Lamb (which might be too overwhelming for some) is not too apparent here. Definitely our favourite dish of the meal!

My group could have been more adventurous with our choices since The Garden Slug offers a rather extensive variety of exclusive creations; I observed during my visit, that their Salmon Cakes and Greek Salad were quite a hit. More hits than misses; and with monthly specials and so many unique Garden Slug creations awaiting a try, this restaurant is definitely worth another visit! Anyway, the waiters and waitresses were rather attentive and they were quite prompt with our orders. However, I would appreciate it if the management could be a little more cautious with the functioning of the air-conditioner in the restaurant since my group felt rather cold, being seated directly under the air-conditioner.

Good friend highly recommended this place and HGW too. So I brought my family to check this place out. It's a relatively big place with a retro feel to it... :) Not all of us were hungry so we ordered a weird combo of makan: 

1) 'Beef it up' Pizza - it's yumz. Hubby loved this the most. 

2) 'Hickory Chicken' Pizza - not as yumz as the beef pizza but still ok 

3) Mini Fish & Chips - the kids liked the wedges enough but didn't really 'dive' for the fish. I thought the fish was nice and crispy. Oh well, I would never understand my girls' food preference. :P 

4) Ugly Salmon Cakes - the reviews all sang praises of these cakes but I found them 'ok' only. I must say no vampires (or lover for that matter) will come near you after you eat one. It's full of onions and garlic. Don't be mistaken, I'm a fan of onions but this one power sia! 

5) Mash Potato - appreciate that it's made from real potatoes and it's yummy 

6) 'Let's Dig In' Platter - we chose chicken wings, calamari rings, wedges, deep fried mushrooms, all quite good, esp the crispy mushrooms. 

7) Meatball Spaghetti - this one was disappointing as the rest of the food was honestly quite good. 

I can see the draw of this place, above ave food and a relax-one-corner setting, which explains a relatively packed restaurant on a Thurs night. Won't travel to come here specially but if in the area, will return. :)

Call me cranky or pms-ing but I felt this innate desire to put the previous poster in his place after coming across the last review. My husband and I have been frequenting this particular joint since we moved in to the area about a year ago, and The Garden Slug has not failed us on our numerous weekend trips. Granted I may not have ordered the same food the previous guy "who saved us all through his insightful review", but I daresay I had the best Greek Salad I ever had here at the Garden Slug and God knows I hate salads! My husband loves his greens which I proclaim as "dreary rabbit food" but the Greek Salad here is the only salad I am willing to cross forks with my husband. In fact, I would lick the entire salad bowl if I could! The unique honey-tinged dressing with fresh crunchy veggies and olives made for the yummiest salad I ever tasted. And of course, we will always order their yoghurt with fresh fruits for sunday brunch (absolutely thick, creamy and nothing like what you get from those pre-packed stuff), and ugly salmon cakes for me. The same combos always make for such satisfying brunch for us! Oh, and if I have any complaints abt this joint, is WHERE DID THE PARMESAN FISH BITES GO? I have been having delirious dreams about it since my teeth sank in one of these babies, and each time my eyes would scan the blackboard for this special, only to be solely disappointed. And yes, I have ordered battered shrimps here before but they were nothing like the succulent golden nuggets of fresh "melt-in-mouth, fall-apart-when-poked" fish pieces dusted with parmesan powder. Ok, they may not have the best of ambience but I have always lamented to my husband for more restaurants like this in the area where you can just plomb yourself down for a simple meal without paying an arm and leg for decent food. I like the fact that you can sit outdoor which is really, really hard to come by in the area. Why sit in the aircon room on a beautiful Sunday? To tell you the truth, I have always been a rather lazy contributor to HGW but this is probably one of those times I feel grossly unjustified when another contributor accuses all 45 other contributors of falsifying their experience at The Garden Slug and ironically, if I may point out, each and everyone of them has more restaurant reviews than he himself has (which interestingly is his sole and only contribution) Very interesting, indeed.

This was meant to be a quiet lunch on saturday for my sister, mum and I. It turned out to be quite chaotic, and disappointing. 

First of all, the main dining hall has so much reverb and echoing, it sounded more like a market or low end dinning hall. 

Next, the food that we ordered were, the meatball pasta (their signature), veggie burger, and the grilled mushrooms. The much hyped about pasta was blend at most. I use to cook on a regular basis back in college, and the sauce tasted like it came straight out of a prego bottle with little or no seasoning. Meatballs were dense and dry, and overall a very bleak experience. Would not recommend to anyone. Sister's Veggie burger was average, and probably the best of the three we ordered. The grilled mushrooms tasted like boiled mushroom. It was severely lacking the oven/grilled taste as grilled portabello should. It was also not seasons, and had the vinegar and garlic oil on the side. Nothing to write home about. 

The Food was really really average. The value of the meal was not worthy. Ambiance was quite overwhelming. 

I spent time to write a lengthy review to hopefully inform potential customers of this falsely reviewed restaurant. It was a greater disappointment due to the hype from reviews on this site. For the price we paid, there are most definitely more alternatives out there. To be honest, i would not pay to eat such food as home cooked meals probably hold more value. 

I hope I have helped save some disappointed souls!  

This place seemed a little quiet on a Friday night. Perhaps it was because we went there quite late at 830pm (the place closes at 10pm). Indoor and alfresco seats are available.

We ordered "Let's Dig In" which is essentially a platter consisting of 5 items that you can choose from a list. Good for sharing and to sample a little of everything (everything here means just the finger food selection). It's just enough to get a party of 4 pax started. We liked the fried mushrooms.

Besides that, we also ordered wagyu beef burger and dory fillet. The wagyu beef (medium rare) came out looking rather ordinary and tasted a tad mediocre. A mismatched of expectations. But the wedges/chunky fries that came together with the burger, was nicely crisps on the outerside and soft inside. Tasty too. The dory fillet was also a good choice. The portion served is good value for money; two pieces of fish fillet and with mashed potato and salad greens.

Service was quick and we got our food before 9pm. No service charge/GST or whatsoever here. And we still received good service. Well done!

For more pictures, feel free to visit here.

there're not many places where you can sit outside and enjoy an nice al fresco meal. weather here's too hot. and when it's not, in the evenings, the sheer numbers in a crowd radiate too much heat. or the air might be pretty bad due to exhaust fumes. if you choose to sit inside, you'll feel at home in the garden slug. if you choose to sit outside, even better. it's in a nice neighbourhood, along a minor road so there's hardly any traffic.

service was exceptional. attentive staff, polite. they make you feel happy. food's decent, and portions are really generous. some items are a little pricey though, that's my only gripe.

will be going back there soon