Helio Cafe

Arranged to meet up with Lea at Helio Cafe to check out the place. During my previous visits for their massage and facial services, i did notice they had some tables outside the shop but it didnt dawn on me that its actually a cafe. Its only after reading about it and checking with Lea that i realised it is a cafe and food there is apparently supposed to be yummy and very healthy (fat free).

We met up at around 2.30 pm at Helio Cafe....



I arrived first and i saw for about 5 - 10 minutes but no one came to attend to me.

Meanwhile, i took some pictures. Helio Cafe is right outside the spa Prestige Helio Asia...



The entrance of the cafe...



The seats.....







and theres a fish on every table...



I sat for quite a while and was not very happy that no one actually bothered to come out to serve me even though the receptionist did see me sitting down. So i walked in asking for a menu. The only menu i saw on the table was a small little booklet with barely a few food items on it. The receptionist came out and insisted that it is the menu which really surprised me when she said she's not sure where the person-in-charge is because she's only working for the spa. I felt that that was not being very professional.

Nevertheless, after a short while, she managed to find the person-in-charge to speak to me. His name is Albert...



He's also one of the chef there. Before we went down, Tricia actually did inform us that the original chef, Clement is not around today. Anyway, Albert was a pretty polite person. He explained that over there, they do not exactly have a menu for their items. They basically cook whatever is in their fridge according to what their guests feels like having. This concept is rather different from what we expected.

Lea and myself were just not very comfortable with the idea but we went ahead and placed our orders after a slight discussion with Albert.

As Albert was kinda running a one man show kinda thing, it took quite awhile to get our items ready.

First to arrive was the tea that Albert recommended. Its called Uplift...



Details of the tea...



It includes rose, lemon grass, verbena and linden.

I personally didn't really like the taste... its not not nice but just not what i'll like. Maybe i generally prefer iced drinks and i find the price very steep at $9 per pot although the hot water is refillable.

First dish to arrive was the pork wraps...



Albert did try to inform us the leaves are some thai leaves and the syrup in the middle, if i heard him correctly, was palm sugar syrup (im not quite sure if i heard him correctly)...



But i'm pretty sure the syrup is a sweet tasting syrup.

And on the other dish was the pork, lettuce, dried shrimps, chopped peanuts and lime....



Details of the pork....



The pork when eaten on its own is abit tasteless.

And the 3 other components...



The lime is served with the skin... the chopped peanuts is mild in taste, the dried shrimp adds the dash of saltyness to the dish..

to wrap the pork in the leaves...



I like eating things like these.. as in those in wraps etc coz i think its fun to eat like that. Taste wise its not too bad but i probably expected better. Price is at $18.90. I think for a starter like dish to be priced at $18.90, its a tad bit too expensive.

Albert was also very nice to have cooked a whole big plate of orchid pasta for us as a side....



Seriously, its probably too big a plate to be considered a side. ahaha.. but i see it as a nice gesture on Albert's part.

The pasta had real orchids on it.

Anyway, the pasta had the mild tomato taste. Its a very light tasting pasta with very mild flower taste as well. I found it quite alright, but Lea didn't quite like the taste. She found it very weird.

We also ordered salmon with mushrooms....



Its cooked with some cream sauce but it totally didn't taste gerlard. Not quite sure what cream sauce that is (forgot to ask) but this salmon dish is Lea's favourite dish today.

Details of the salmon...



Portion was pretty good. Taste was pretty good and felt healthy. Price was at $18.90 as well. Because of the portion, pricing was still acceptable.

Next was the honey mustard chicken which Albert said was quite popular with its guests....



Couldnt quite make out how the sauce tasted like honey mustard but the sauce tasted alright. The chicken was very very bouncy! We could practically feel the chicken go BOOooing BOOOiiiingg in our mouth! Taste was alright though. Price was at $18.90 for half a chicken.

Actually we were already having problems finishing our meal but i insisted on trying their dessert. Tricia had recommended Chocolate Eureka but we went for the raspberry cheesecake that Albert recommended. We were kinda shocked at the portion...



But looking at the price, it explains the portion. Its $12.90. Still a little expensive in my view considering this place isnt exactly very reknowned for its food items. Would have appreciated if they had it in smaller portions at a lower price. The taste was pretty good though. The cheesecake was pretty light and the raspberry being sour blended well with the cheesecake.

Overall, the meal was not bad and felt quite healthy. Will wana go back to try again when Chef Clement is back. Chef Albert had been really nice and friendly overall.