• BOTANICO AT THE GARAGE

• Where: 50, Cluny Park Road (Singapore Botanic Gardens)
  Opening hours: Open Wednesdays to Sundays, 6pm to 10pm
  Tel: 9831-1106

Like The Summerhouse, The Garage also houses two restaurants. On the ground floor is the casual cafe Bee's Knees.

It does not matter how sweaty you are, if you are jogging by and get struck with a sudden desire for a cup of coffee, you will be welcomed.

Just as casual - but please do not turn up in cycling tights for dinner - is Botanico, which serves simple and casual dishes that are easy on the eyes and easier still on the palate.

Take the Instagram-perfect Smoked Sardines ($20).

The Japanese sardines are smoked in-house, with a delicious cream and croutons - fried in Iberico fat - lifting the experience.

Because the menu is based on the seasons, you might end up with mackerel instead. But that will not change your experience.

If you are into sheep's cheese, the Idiazabal Croquettes ($14) is perfect for you. Idiazabal is a raw unpasteurised sheep's milk cheese from the Basque Country. It is creamy and the aroma is heavenly.

The Calamarito ($12) is a simple dish that works. The squid is not marinated, just coated in tempura flour and deep fried.

The sauce, a seaweed aoli, is full of umami flavours.

The Chargrilled Carabinero ($28) is my favourite dish here.

Carabinero is a red Spanish prawn and may be in the name of the dish, but it is the diced pork trotters in the accompanying mellow rice that makes this special. The rice is perfumed by saffron and the pork trotters add smoothness.

Although I am a fan of scallops, the Japanese Scallops ($27) was merely competent for me.

In a menu full of amazing dishes, this lacked personality, even though Iberico lard was used to heighten the flavour of the scallops.

I could still finish a bowl of the Jerusalem artichoke chips that came with it though.