the canopy@Aramsa

I can't believe it took me this long to come to this gem of a restaurant. It's nestled in the heart of Bishan Park II and so very convenient. I read a few bad reviews of this place online but I've also heard some good stuff about this place from friends who have been here so it was with mixed feelings that I came here. I loved it.

For one, the ambience is amazing. Stashed away from the glaring street lights, shrouded beneath the lush green foliage of the park, all within the vicinity of your own home. From the moment you step out of your car, you're greeted by the warm light that beckons you towards the restaurant. You're in the heartlands but it feels nothing like it.

It's so peaceful and quaint; and not in the least bit pretentious that many restaurants in Singapore are like. Even in the restaurant, people were joking and laughing merrily, clinking of glasses and hearty guffaws could be heard from tables all around us. It was very comfortable and yet very elegant. No forced hushed whispers or anything like that. I see joggers and dog-walkers ending their day off here, it is such a fantastic whimsical joint.
Grilled Snapper Fillet with Moroccan flavours served with rice pilaf. The fish was way way way too overdone. It was hard. Normally when I eat fish, I can cut the fillet using just a fork. I had to use my knife for this fish. It was so tough it was more like chicken. Snapper tends to be tougher but this was obviously way too overcooked.

The moroccan sauce was unusual. I quite liked it. It was a very intense tomato-based sauce with roasted red peppers undertones. I liked how tangy it was and the slight spicy punch the peppers gave. It was not fantastic but it was unique. Sharon HATED it. She wanted to gag because she hates hates hates roasted peppers. I guess that means no moroccan food for her in future.

Now, the star of the meal is not the fish, not the sauce but the rice. The rice is amazing. I don't know why but it tastes like chicken rice. It's probably cooked in chicken broth. It is amazingly fragrant and gorgeously savoury. Raisins were sprinkled into the rice and anything with raisins works for me. The raisins gave a nice burst of sweetness when bitten into and that complemented the rice very nicely. It was very refreshing, to say the least. I also liked that they added toasted almond slices to it. The rice was fluffy; the raisins were plump; and the almond's crunch really pepped things up. It brought a fascinating contrast to the already differring textures. The rice is the thing to go for here.

We also ordered Duck Meatballs with Fettucine and fresh herbs.

The pasta was overdone but it was very tasty. It was engaging and sapid, with a faint aftertaste of the duck.

I thought that the meatballs tasted of duck but Sharon thought that they tasted like normal meatballs. I could smell the distinct aroma of duck as I bit into the meatballs. I think this dish is not bad at all. The only thing is that it was a bit oily.

The serving is small and I think deliberately so, because one gets very jelat of the taste after a while.

We wanted to order the flourless chocolate cake but they were out of it so we opted for strawberry shortcake as recommended instead. It's more like apple pie than strawberry shortcake, except that in place of apples they used strawberries. I wouldn't say that it is spectacularly good but it is pretty good. It tastes very homemade, old-fashioned and is exceedinly comforting. The vanilla added a wonderful warm touch to this dessert and I was properly satisfied by it.

All in all, I enjoyed my dinner very much. I guess the bad reviews stemmed from people ordering the wrong dishes (as is the usual case) because the food was really not bad! So the trick, is to order what the restaurant is known to be good for, and not hazard a guess from the descriptions. That's why food reviews are important, so you know what to order and what not to.

The Canopy @ Aramsa
1382 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1

Bishan Park II