Few years back we were amazed by the food and service we had at Dozo River Valley but it was closed subsequently. It was recently that we found Joie by Dozo. It's now a vegetarian restaurant. Same as many people, we got the impression that it was not worth the same price as their predecessor who served meat in their courses. However, we were blown away with this vegetarian experience!
Service was great as usual, the service staff takes pride in explaining each course served. Free flow flower tea were served once we sat.
Hubby and I chose different dishes on the menu for each course so that we can have more varieties.
For a start, we were served complimentary pre-meal drink - passion fruit and plum ice blended. The waiter explained that this can help to clear our palette for the several courses later.
Starter: chef selection of assorted platter
The waitress advised that we eat the middle first, then the right one and finally the left one.
Middle one is sliced carrot with shredded radish and sauce on top. Oh my, the texture was so alike to salmon sashimi! I seriously dunno how they did it.
The right one is crackers with truffle and wasabi mayo, it's not much a surprise as compared to the middle one but it still tasted great.
The left one is Raspberry on a cracker. The waitress advised not to open the mouth while chewing it. Okay so I put it in my mouth and bite. BOMB! It bursts and Raspberry juice filled my mouth. Another surprise for us!
Side dish: I ordered gratinated champignon with mozzarella while hubby ordered Bailing mushroom on paper hotpot.
The gratinated champignon looks like escargot, the taste dun really taste like escargot but got the feel haha, u can still taste that it's mushroom.
Bailing mushroom on paper hotpot looks like those ah yat abalone with some vegetables on the sides and the abalone sauce. The crispy seaweed surprises us, it has a very special feel when we chewed it.
Both tasted really great!
Soup: I ordered infusion with cepes and truffle, while hubby ordered Japanese kunbu broth with handcraft tofu.
For the cepes and truffle, the waitress advised that I put the piece of truffle in my mouth for 5 to 10 seconds before savouring the soup. Ohh! The fragrance of the truffle when I put it in my mouth is indescribable! U really have to try it yourself. The soup so smooth and it's not very creamy unlike mushroom soup that we had in other places.
Hubby's kunbu soup is very light and sweet, not for people who like strong taste I would say. And the exquisite handcrafted tofu, the chef must have skills in order to craft a tofu that define. We also read that the soup was boiled with vegetables and fruits, no meat or bones were used so it's less greasy and sweeter.
For the cepes and truffle, the waitress advised that I put the piece of truffle in my mouth for 5 to 10 seconds before savouring the soup. Ohh! The fragrance of the truffle when I put it in my mouth is indescribable! U really have to try it yourself. The soup so smooth and it's not very creamy unlike mushroom soup that we had in other places.
Hubby's kunbu soup is very light and sweet, not for people who like strong taste I would say. And the exquisite handcrafted tofu, the chef must have skills in order to craft a tofu that define. We also read that the soup was boiled with vegetables and fruits, no meat or bones were used so it's less greasy and sweeter.
Main course: I ordered truffle risotto while hubby ordered grilled summer mushroom steak on 'pu-ye' hot stone.
My truffle risotto does not have the creamy cheesy feel like other risotto i have eaten else where, it's light and a bit salty when I first taste it. However, After I mixed the special sweet tar tar look alike enoki mushroom sauce, it tasted heavenly! There was a piece of enoki mushroom, corn croquette to go with the risotto too. I finish the whole plate without feeling 'gelard' which I usually will when having risotto due to the creamy and cheesy taste. This risotto felt refreshing instead.
Hubby's mushroom steak is even more interesting, the mushroom steak was monkey head mushroom and as we sliced one piece to put in our mouth, the texture actually felt like we were chewing meat and it tasted like ngoh hiang. We were pleasantly surprised! Not to mention there's a mustard grape sauce which helps to reduce any greasiness u might feel as u would when having steak. But of course, since this is a mushroom steak, it's already not much of a greasy feel.
For drinks, I ordered Hawaiian blue which is a mixed of lychee and blueberries, while hubby ordered iced mallow Apple melody which is a blend of mallow flowers, Apple and guava juice. Both were certainly refreshing! I remember few years back when we went Dozo, we were also pleasantly surprised by their drinks. We were not disappointed this time too! See how pretty it was!
Dessert: I ordered warm chocolate lava cake with vanilla ice cream while hubby ordered layers of red bean and yam with rose glass. I cannot forget their chocolate lava cake ever since I tried Dozo few years back, their choco lava cake is easily the nicest I had! And yes! It's the same taste that I've been drooling for! Hubby's dessert was special as well but I was too engrossed with my chocolate lava cake, so I didn't really take notice of his hahaha.
And oh, thumbs up for their service recovery, the waitress actually served the red wine poached pear with lime sorbet to me instead of my choco lava cake. But instead of taking the wrong dessert back, they gave that to us for free and thereafter served another portion of my chocolate lava cake! Excellent service recovery!
And finally, a complimentary birthday cake for me! Make a wish. Make a wish!
Joie is now listed in fave at a discounted price at about 30% but it's only valid for dinner. We find the lunch pricing more value for money. You can take a look and compare if you are interested! I'll be back for sure!
Comments
Post a Comment