JOIE BY DOZO… ENOUGH REASON TO GO VEGETARIAN

Again, I was not disappointed by my meat-free dinner at Joie. They truly deserve a shout out! Joie is a pleasure the moment you step through the doors of the rooftop restaurant at Orchard Central Singapore. The quiet elegance of the restaurant is comely and comfy whether you choose to dine in one of their many private rooms or sit in the main hall. Privacy and space between diners are ensured. Service staff are polite, efficient, friendly and helpful with deciphering the menu and offering suggestions.

Joie offers a 7-course dinner, where one gets to pick from a choice of 3 to 6 dishes off each category. Thinking back, everything we had impressed despite the absence of a juicy Mignon or a sweet lobster!We started with a complimentary lemon sorbet slushy shot to “cleanse the palate“. Then, another complimentary platter of small bites comprising carrot sashimi, seaweed crackers and raspberry on biscuit. The sashimi has a little gummy crunch that’s absolutely delightful. And it was quite the dead ringer to a Salmon sashimi, aesthetics wise! The seaweed cracker was really light and melts on immediate contact with the tongue. Pop the entire raspberry tart in your mouth to experience an explosion of sweet tangy juice amidst crunchy biscuit! Hot starter, Gratinated Champignon with Mozzarella is a mimic of Escargots à la Bourguignonne. Baked in the same snail casserole, little round button mushrooms sit in a sea of melted gooey mozzarella. Now who doesn’t love a gooey cheese! Not to mention the piping hot juicy mushrooms were much easier to handle than snails in shells! No awkward Pretty Woman in the house!Tartare Platter Au Naturel was essentially a throw-together of an assortment of finely diced ingredients. Frankly, I wasn’t impressed with their rendition of a tartare when the platter was placed before me. “Just pour everything into the glass and enjoy!” said our chirpy server. As I dumped each tiny bowl of ingredients into the glass that held a thin wafer cracker, I scrutinized hard to find the effort and essence of this creation. On the bright side, I do like the selection of corn, avocado, pomegranate, pine nuts, tomatoes and rice puffs. So in they went, with a pinch of sea salt and a twist of lime juice. Give that a good mix whilst crushing up the thin wafer. Honestly, I am likely to pull that same rendition for my next salad! Yes.. I was so wrong about this! As I took spoonfuls of this vegetarian tartare which was one juicy, crunchy, refreshing bite after another, it reminded me how the clever use of basic ingredients with different tastes and textures totally work! Sometimes less is more, and one really needn’t get too fancy at all 👍🏻👍🏻 !The Vegetable Sashimi on Ice with Sea Grapes Shooter Glass does not try to be fish despite looking suspiciously so! The “Salmon Sashimi”, made with carrot and konjac did not quite achieve the consistency of raw salmon (which I believe isn’t the aim here anyway), but totally nailed it in looks! The taste, albeit, un-sashimi like, was toothsome and flavorful! The Coconut meat, sliced and torched to resemble squid, was smokey, sweet and crunchy. The spongy Aloe Vera didn’t resemble any sashimi I’ve had, but it was good too. The thinly sliced radish was in fact Nagaimo in disguise! Fact is, they could have simply used radish but what’s the fun in that? Nicely done!Infusion of Cepes and Truffles is technically mushroom soup with truffle. Rich, creamy and robust with fresh mushroom blended to fine specks, and a hint of truffle, just enough to taste, not overwhelm.The Japanese Kunbu Broth with Hand Carved Tofu is perfect for the light eater. A clear soup to warm the tummy. I’ve seen truly exquisite tofu carving… and Joie’s was certainly a good attempt!Main course, Lime Tofu with Green Curry Emulsion consists of a brick of soft tofu with vegetable bits encased, lightly fried and served in a herbal sauce resembling green curry. Soft to the bite with bits of crunch from the pine nuts. The flavor is all tofu, and even the green sauce is mild and light. Nothing curry about it despite the name, but nonetheless a wonderful dish! Another main, the Grilled Summer Mushroom Steak on Pu-Ye Hot Stones is a large Monkey head mushroom, grilled tender and smokey and served over a fragrant magnolia leaf with a dollop of truffle mash. The mushroom tears into shreds and packs a sweet earthy flavor. Hot lava stones underneath continues to smoke the leaf and warm the mushroom. It is no beef, but calling this humble mushroom a steak isn’t quite over rating it either. I think it was a superb execution!Desserts included the Red Wine Poached Pear with Lime Sorbet. The soft grainy Pear had an intense and sweet wine flavor. Went perfectly with the zesty lime Sorbet. The seemingly simple combination worked beautifully!Layers of Red Bean and Yam with Rose Glass was equally delicious. Red bean and yam have been mashed into a smooth mousse and sandwiched between layers of semi sweet crisps. A scoop of ice cream adds that chilly sensation between bites.

A beverage of your choice to wrap up the meal. Choose from an interesting array of fruit teas, coffee or tea. Admittedly, unless you’re a vegetarian, Joie may not be on everyone’s must-go list of restaurants. But I would definitely recommend it if you’re game for something different. It certainly hadn’t disappointed me and everyone I’ve brought here.