It has been more than a couple of months since I wrote a blog post. I have been posting quite a lot on my Facebook Page, but did not have the luxury of time to convert them into a blog post. Around 50 posts from Singapore over the last 2-3 months would have been quite a content for a blog! Anyways, today’s visit to Pumpkin Tales gave me an option to keep my blog alive, and write a slightly detailed note about my experience!
After a movie at Express Avenue, we were driving back home and decided to have a vegetarian dinner either at Eating Circles or Sree Akshayam, on C P Ramaswamy Road, when it suddenly occurred to me that I could tick off a place which has been on my to-do list for quite long! My last and the only visit to Pumpkin Tales was in 2021 when I dropped in for a breakfast with a friend. Since then it was on my to-do list to bring family along for a meal!
We entered around 10PM and we understood the last order was at 10:30PM. Fair enough, we knew it wasn’t going to be a relaxed dinner, we ordered quite quickly.
We were told that the soups were half-size, and they don’t do a ‘one by two’. Ordered just a Pumpkin soup and a Cream of Mushroom Soup for the four of us to share. Felt it was good enough as we didn’t have too much time either. Cream of Mushroom soup was wonderful, more like Puree of mushroom, very tasty! Pumpkin soup was good too. I got a bit of a Keralite feel in it, whether there was coconut oil used somewhere, not sure. Tasted good though.
Ordered Sesame Chicken Bits and Chimichurri Prawns for starters. We liked the Sesame Chicken Bits, with a slight sweet touch from the honey, tossed in soy sauce, ginger and garlic, and coated with sesame, it did have a subtle similarity to the Teriyaki chicken, minus the orange juice, of course! Family however had a mixed opinion on the prawns. It wasn’t spicy at all and was too bland for the family’s palate. My bad, remembered the Prawns Olivetti from Gossip Bistro which the family totally loved, and ordered this one, quite obviously it wasn’t the same experience!
Racing against time, we did place the order for the main course midway while having the starters.
Chicken Parmigiana Pizza was good, except that it lacked salt. After adding some, it was perfect! The crust had a nice crunch, grilled chicken was good, and it was quite a cheesy affair!
Spaghetti Aglio Olio with Mushrooms was pretty good too. The pasta was perfectly al-dente and ticked off all the right checkboxes.
Thai Green Curry with Chicken and Jasmine Rice was good too, right balance of flavor from lemongrass, kaffir lime and basil leaves. Mistook the peas for turkey berry served in most places. Again, not sure if it was by design, it needed a little more salt. Normally, I am okay with slightly less salt and not very picky about it. I definitely felt this dish needed more salt.
Overall, the food was good, and the place, pricey! It is an upscale restaurant and that seemed quite justified for an upscale dining experience!
Not a complaint, but just wishful thinking – We knew last order was at 10:30, we cooperated quite well too, did not even bother ordering desserts, and were on the verge of completing the meal at most by 10:45PM. Meanwhile, in the last 5-10 minutes we were there, the AC was turned off and it became quite uncomfortable. Would have liked a little more consideration from the service staff. In most places, there is a decent time window after the last order to complete the meal. Given that we had anyway skipped desserts, that would have ended the dinner on a sweet note! 🙂 Paid 3.2K in all, and at that price point, one would certainly expect that much!
Nevertheless, there is a lot on the menu to explore, and I would certainly come back for a relaxed dining experience and not in a hurry like what we did today.
