Serenity Restaurant & Bistro
#01-98/99 VivoCity
6376 8185

Lunch was with Mom at this mere week old Mediterranean restaurant which I discovered on my last visit to VivoCity. Mediterranean food is one of my favourite cuisines since a liberal amount of olives and nuts (both of which I like!) is usually used.





We started with a small Caesar Oriental Salad ($6++) which was really good. This is a twist of the classic caesar salad with achar, salted fish, julienne omelette, wolfberries and cos leaves. If you are wondering, to julienne means to cut into thin and narrow matchstick size. The mixture of flavors was wonderful! The salted fish was cleverly fried together with the egg and the sweet wolfberries gave a nice balance to the savory egg. Note to self: Ask for less dressing on the next visit.

Our next appetizer was Hoi Sin Chicken Quesadillas ($12++)—a tapa which is a kind of hors' d'oeuvres in Spanish cuisine. Chicken juliennes are roasted with the Chinese barbecue sauce, capsicums, onions and mozzarella. These are then baked between flour tortillas and served with tomato salsa.

This is very good too! The sweet sauce balances the tangy salsa very well. I like the salsa so much that the waiter gave me more upon my request. My only complaint is that this is a little pricey for four quesadillas.

Mom and I decided to order just one main course to share since we were not very hungry. The Dory Athenian ($16++) turns out to be a wonderful choice! The dory fillet is pan sizzled with creamy garlic and pepper sauce, served with green onion mash potato and ratatouille. The fish was cooked perfectly—soft and tender in the middle with crispy sides.

The mash potato had small cubes of potatoes embedded in it and the ratatouille was awesome too! This humble farmer’s dish (made famous by the self titled movie) is a kind of French seasoned vegetables stew. The vegetables here were not overly soft and lumpy, but still retaining their original flavors. I almost forgot to mention the little cherry tomatoes! They are brushed with olive oil and grilled—the result being a bursting of sweet flavor when these plump gems are popped into the mouth. Delicious!

Service was excellent here, perhaps due to the lack of customers at this off-peak hour. The waiter always approached with a smile and even volunteered to change our side plates and cutleries. This place is quite huge and has a lovely ambience with floor to ceiling glass paned windows providing a view of the sea.

There is also a stage where I suppose a band will perform when night falls.

The restaurant is very spacious and even houses a well-equipped bar.

Enough said! I will definitely come back here to try their other delectable offerings.

Labels: Mediterranean

4:27 PM