“Shall we try Eden Restaurant at Pullman Hotel, opposite Takashimaya? You know, the former Grand Park Orchard?”
“You mean, Crown Prince Hotel? The one that used to have great Teochew-styled flaky mooncakes?”
Well, depending on which era you are from, Pullman Hotel Orchard is located where the two above-mentioned hotels used to be, behind the Adidas Brand Centre and Apple Store in Orchard Road. (And yes, Crown Prince had really good flaky mooncakes way back then!)
Pullman Orchard’s entrance faces Paragon’s taxi-stand and you have to take the elevator in the lobby to the fourth floor to get to Eden, which serves Asian delicacies with modern interpretations.
The interiors of Eden Restaurant is very stylish and pleasant. Designed like a glasshouse, it has greenery lining the sides with natural light lighting the dining area which faces the outdoor swimming pool at one end.
The menu is relatively simple, with just a few differences between the lunch and dinner menus. There are appetizers (“The Beginning”), mains (“The Journey”), sides (“On the Side”) and desserts (“The Sweet Memories”), while chef’s choices are the boxed items such as the Satay Lamb Rack ($40, dinner only), Eden Crab Cakes ($26, 3 pcs) and White Sesame Hokkaido Milk Puffs ($16).
For weekday lunch, there’s a 2-course set for $35 and a 3-course set for $45. My dear friend and I though decided to share a la carte dishes in order to try more items.
Our choice of mains was this Lime Ribeye Steak ($38), which is charred New Zealand grass-fed ribeye with watercress and fennel “waterfall” salad. We requested for medium but it was more medium rare when served which was okay for me, but my friend had to resort to just eating the “more cooked” ones at the ends. Nonetheless, the steak was tender and delicious, and on hindsight, we probably should have ordered a plate each rather than sharing!
We decided to order this side dish ‘cos it looked rather good on the table next to us. The lady diner told us it was “sweet potato” but it was actually Kentang Penyet ($12) which is fried red skin potato with homemade sweet soy sauce. The big chunks were deliciously scrumptious but the best bits were actually the small fried charred bits that are not unlike the lovely stray bits that you get from black carrot cake!
Our other side dish is the “starter” Roasted Mushroom and Yuba ($16), which is assorted wild mushrooms roasted with beancurd skin with soy dressing. All food items were served at the same time like Chinese dining so this complemented our steak as well as the potato dish.
For lunch, beverages range from homemade iced teas ($12) to wines and champagnes ($18-$29), but we were attracted immediately to the Fresh Thai Coconut ($8). Good choice it was too ‘cos the coconut water was refreshing and the meat meaty and yummy enough for us to have it as our dessert!
With its cosy ambience, Eden is truly a nice place to hang out over food and/or drinks. Our bill came up to about $100—would be more if we ordered two mains—which is quite decent for a hotel restaurant in Orchard. Certainly a place that one can come back to for future gatherings with friends and associates alike.
Eden Restaurant is at Level 4, Pullman Singapore Orchard, 270 Orchard Road, Singapore 238857. Tel: (65) 6603 8888. Opens daily 6.30am-11pm.
Musings on the M49 