The opening of the Bukit Timah Guild House (BTGH) marks historic return to the Bukit Timah campus some three decades after they moved out from the Evans Road Guild House.

Conveniently located in the heart of Singapore, BTGH and its facilities are housed in a quaint, beautifully restored colonial bungalow. While the other 3 guildhouses are only opened to the NUSS alumni members, the bukit timah guildhouse is opened to the Public.

Steeped in rich heritage and nestled amidst the lush foliage of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, BTGH springs a relaxed tranquil atmosphere with an enchanting garden offering members respite from the bustling city.The Guildhouse has a vintage-looking decor, it looks like an old bungalow to me. Seats were available at the restaurant itself or alfresco-dining (magnificiant view at night).

The restaurant introduced set lunch and dinner and the menu changes monthly. The 3 of us were hesistating whether to go for the ala-carte or the set dinner. The set-dinner looks promising, 5 course meal ( cold appetitizers, soup, warm appetitizers, choice of main course, dessert and choice of coffee/tea). The set dinner is priced at $39.80++ which I felt was quite reasonable for the generous portion they served.

The cold appetitizer- Aubergine Parcel with bull tomatoes & mozarella cheese


The greenish liquid is actually Basil pesto sauce which I love it. The black-coloured liquid that surrounds it was the balsamic reduction and I thought it was chocolate syrup. The aubergine slices were nicely grilled and there were tomato slices wrapped in it. Harris was curious why was the dish called aubergine parcel and I explained to him that the tomato slices were wrapped in the aubergine slices and resemble a parcel. The mozarella cheese that was melted at the top of the parcel hardened thus it did not fare well.


Mixed seafood veloute with Tomato

The soup comes with the set menu. The comments was ” Fruity essence and creamy” while . The prawns were unfresh.

The dish serves as a good start, light and refreshing, preparing us for the main course that is to be served soon.

The warm appetitzer- Roasted sea bass on a bed of Crispy Parmesan IntermezzoI was not a fan of sea bass due to the muddy taste but I was quite satisfied with the grilled sea bass that was served. It was nicely-grilled, the texture of the fish is smooth and tender. The fillet is served with some sauce which we could not figure out what was it.

Braised Australian Reg grouper with lemongrass broth & seasonal mixed vegetables

This was my ala-carte order. Since there is only 3 choices of fish on the menu, I decided to have the Grouper fish. The fish requires a longer time to braise thus it was served pretty late. It looks delectable, with the colouful mixes of vegetables and a huge piece of fillet ”sitting ”on top of the mixed vegetables. The fish was over-cooked, resulting a rough and tough texture. Fish normally do not require a long time to cook and since it was braised, it was a wrong method of cooking. However, I love the lemongrass broth and the mixed vegetables. The lemongrass broth taste like tom yam soup minus the spicyness and sourness. It was a little creamy and I can taste a little milky flavour in it. The mixed vegetables include zucchini, squash, aubergines, capsicums…etc. They were diced into little cubes and served together with the lemongrass broth. It was not only colourful but also flavourful! Divine!

Lite Bites Café is a popular breakfast and lunch bar in the Central Business District.
Their mission at Lite Bites Café is to deliver Tasty, Healthy, and Nutritious food and drinks. We maximize the use of whole grains and ingredients low on the Glycemic Index (GI ) in the gourmet sandwiches, so that the customers enjoy great tasting food without an overload of calories.

There are a few selctions of sandwiches and you just have to choose your choice of bread and sandwich of choice.
I had the Falafel (Veg) sandwich, chickpea patty, hummus, lettuce, tomatoes, yoghurt and herb dressing. All served on Kraftcorn Bread.

Falafel is fried ball or patty made from ground chickpeas and/or fava beans. It is an excellent source of protein, fiber, iron and other nutrients. The patty is a little on the grainy side, the patty breaks and crumbles easily. I didnt like it. The kraftcorn bread is soft, full of seeds and nuts and sandwiched with some lettuce leaves and tomatoes slices. It is then spread with theiryoghurt and herb dressing. The dressing taste like mediterrean salsa sauce. The bread wasn’t toasted thus it went soft and I didnt like it.

Oatmeal Raisin cookie

I am not sure whether it is baked in house or they get it from suppliers. The cookie is not too sweet and I think they sweeten it using brown sugar. The cookie is packed with lots of raisins…love it! The oat flakes on top added nutty and chewy texture and extra fibre!

The Service here is generally friendly and effcient. Lite Bites cafe also provides delivery and there are quite a number of people ordering take-away sandwiches and coffee. However, the majority would prefer delivery. A ideal place for breakfast or tea.

Cafe Pralet, have been one of my favourite place for cakes. The cakes are baked freshly by a team of bakers and there is a baking studio beside the cafe. The baking studio is for students who wished to learn baking. The cafe has two dining concepts – a formal area to handle the more challenging dishes on the menu and a cozy patio for coffee, tea, pastries and nibbles. Many of the food here have been awarded by The Health Promotion board, well-suited for a healthy guru like me.

There are daily Asian & Western meal and daily specials which are available on selected days. The mee siam and fish& chips are popular items here. The set menu Includes Main Course + Coffee/Tea/Soft Drinks + Choice of Cake ($3.90).

Tofu Burger

(vegetarian)

pan fried tofu, tempeh, herbs & healthy seasoning are combinedin a delicious patty with caramelized onions, fresh tomato sauce ,crisp lettuce & sandwiched between soft, wholemeal buns baked by in-house chefs.It’s eggless and free of transfat. The wholemeal bun is soft and chewy, it’s also healthy!

The burger is covered with lots of crunchy lettuce ,tomatoes slices and lightly spread with low-fat mayonnaise. The texture patty is nutty and I like the caramelised onions, a little sweet and sour which goes well with the tempeh and tofu patty. The only fault lies with the slightly burnt outer layer which taste bitter. The side salad is drizzled with light citrus dressing, light and refreshing.

I had the privilege to take a picture with Chef Judy Koh, culinary consultant and principal of Creative Culinaire. She has also been featured very frequently in famous food magazines, local press, radio and television and is also a food writer for many magazines such as Wine and Dine, Gourmet Living, Pastry Art and Design, Appetite, CuisineAsia. Although she is quite busy chatting with her friend, she still attended to me. She showed me the baking studio and even handed me the VIP card. Chef Judy is very amicable and I was really delighted when she agreed to take a picture with me.

Vanilla Pod by Chef Peter & Company is the brainchild of Chef Peter, a Singaporean Chef who have worked with 3 * Michelin star chef and he is experienced in European Culinary.

Seats available indoor/ outdoors. If you prefer to sit indoors, choose the seats by the side so that you can admire the orchids which enjoying your food.

* See through glass panals ( sort of romantic)?

During dinner time, choose outdoor seatings as the ambience is really great!
They have a private dining area where you can chit-chat with your friends and munch on bar snacks.

The Menu
They have just revamped their new menu 3 days ago thus the menu reflected on the website is the old menu. The new menu has limited selections of food but the old favourites still remains. However, if you would like to try dishes from the old menu, just inform them and ”everything can be arranged”!

Dishes from the ala-carte menu can be done in ”Kid’s portion” @ 1/2 of the ala-carte price.

Home-made Brioche

Warm & crusty brioche. Normally I didn’t think much about the bread/baguette served in restaurants but this brioche is really good…Fragrant and crusty !

Mimosa Salad ($13.50)

” Named after the yellow mimosa flower because of the color, this cold salad is a combination of finely chopped eggs, grilled squids and tomatoes garnished over French beans, and finally tossed with homemade shallot bacon vinaigrette.”

This salad is on the old menu but I thought that the name” Mimosa salad” sounds interesting and they agreed to prepare this salad for me. Like they mention ” Alright, everything can be arranged”The french beans are served chilled. A mixture of shredded eggs, pamesan cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes and tossed in bacon shallot vinaigrette. The dressing smells fragrant due to the fats from the bacon.The french beans are crunchy and doesn’t like the ”raw” taste . Everything is perfect but it’s just that the bacon are a little fatty .

Oven baked Chilean Seabass topped with shredded egg & caviar, saffron cream($35.80++)

I jumped at joy when I see the Chilean seabass! The portion is generous and I ordered the full ala-carte portion just to enjoy the goodness of this fatty fish.The chilean seabass has got a cripsy skin and a ”melts in your mouth” texture. The presentation is attractive and the caviar and shredded egg paired well with the fish( crunchy carviar + smooth fish meat). Finished off with a touch of saffron cream sauce, it’s fantastic!The vegetables served alongside- romaine lettuce, carrots and brocolli were soft but not mushy.

On a side note: The crispy pork knuckle is ”HIGHLY” recommended. I overheard the people sitting next to them haveing praises for the pork knuckle . They commented that it was ”even” better tha Otto . They also had high praises for the squid ink pasta which they commented as ” authentic” squid ink pasta and one of the best they have tried in Singapore. I am not sure which restaurant they compared it to and the benchmark for squidink pasta. However, having heard raves about about the 2 dishes, I would definitely return again to try them!

Verdict: Great ambience + great food. Prices are a little on the pricey side but it’s the quality that matters. A re-visit is a must for me! The restaurant is well-hidden and it managed to attract people from different places due to the power of ” Word- of -mouth”.

The exact location of Italiannies is well hidden in the sense that you would have to walk right to the end( walked past Imperial Treasure) and the restaurant is pretty small.

Italiannies offers a ‘Never Ending Lunch” which is only available from Mon- Fri (11.30-2.30pm) . It is a semi buffet lunch with never ending pastas, pizzas, desserts, main course + drinks priced at only $15.90nett. It think this is really worth the money and you get to sample all their dishes.

However, I doubt I would have the opportunity to drop by during weekdays thus I settled with their ala-carte.


They offer 2 types of bread- Focaccia and Tuscan which is baked freshly inhouse. They do sell the bread in loaves. Do get them if you enjoy it. I opted for the Focaccia as I prefer them to plain ciabatta.The bread is slightly on the dry side and the flavour of herbs is not that strong.


Caesar Salad with toasted focaccia croutons( $4.90++)

The portion for the salad is pretty generous. Romaine lettuce with their home made focaccia croutons and sprinkled with lots of parmesan cheese. I was not an avid fan of cheese thus I felt that there were too much cheese, making the salad a little heavy.


Parmesan Crusted Fish ($17.90++)



”Oven-baked Fish fillet, served over fried zucchini and red onion rings with white capers sauce”.

The dory fish is crumbed with parmesan and herbs, baked till golden brown. The parmesan crust wasn’t too salty but I thought it was rather bland. The fish itself is also bland (tasteless) , perhaps prior pre-seasoning would salvage .Those who enjoy fried onion rings would be overjoyed. The fried zucchini and red onion rings served along with the fish is addictive , crispy and not too oily. However, for health reasons, best to enjoy in small serving.

Verdict: They are pretty generous with the food portion which I guess it well worth every penny you paid for. The pizzas are pretty popular here and enjoy the freshly baked pizzas from the oven. I was very impressed with the service here. The staff were very prompt, efficient and courteous. I think Singapore needs more such people in the service and F& B industry!