If you a frequent visitor of Sengkang Swimming Complex, you may have seen or even visited Citrus Bistro standing prominently at its entrance. If you are like me, who has last visited it 5 years ago, you may have not even heard of it. That was why when I was invited for a media tasting there, I just had to go especially for nostalgia and ahem... food.
Citrus Bistro, the sister outlet of Citrus By The Pool (Woodlands swimming complex) opened in December 2016. It is Halal certified and despite its industrial themed al-fresco theme, it is very cosy and relaxing. I especially enjoyed the faux grass. I found myself constantly slipping my feet off my slippers to let the grass run through my toes and feet.
I digress. Let's talk about the food! Oh my lordy! Where do I start? The team was kind enough to let me bring my family along, so naturally, I brought Jhon, Sarah and Mak. We had a little bit of this and a little bit of that but to be honest, Jhon and Mak had their personal favorite to a point I barely had a taste, hokay!? More on that later.
Tom Yum Seafood Pasta has been around for 5 years and I got to say this is the star of the show. Mak had been eyeing it as soon as she saw the menu. Now, Mak is picky when it comes to tastes, sometimes it's hard to please her pallet. How do I know she enjoyed the dish? She said "Mmmm! Sedap!“ with a pleased facial expression and just quietly ate.
This meant, Do not disturb, The number you've dialed is not available, please try again later. She was in the zone! I didn't think I would get a taste if I didn't take it upon myself to try. Haha The Tom Yum Seafood Pasta has the perfect balance of sour and spicy. Spicy level also is just nice; not too overpowering but still give you a kick in your taste buds. The prawns, mussels and squid was well cooked with satisfying portions. You won't feel "jelak" or surfeited with this dish at all. I would greatly recommend this dish to everyone.
Baked Salmon is one of their signature dishes, I ordered it because I tend to get obsessed with salmon ever since I had Sarah. (Salmon is a good booster for breastfeeding moms not to mention overall good for you). Salmon was cooked well but the herb cream sauce, oh my goodness, I want to drench the salmon with the sauce until you can't tell there's a salmon underneath. The seasonal vegetables were delicious too. It has a bite to it and rather addictive to eat. There were also mashed potatoes which were not that great as it is BUT easily solved by mixing in with the sauce.
This was recommended to us as it is a one of Citrus Bistro's new dishes from the burger category. The name truly matches the look of the burger. It may look rather overwhelming but it looked so yummy! Served with potato wedges, BIG Boss Burger a double patty; beef and mutton, with caramelized onions, sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and purple cabbage slaw. It is smothered with satay sauce and placed in between a charcoal toasted bun.
There were 2 camps in this. Mak didn't count as she was busy with the Tom Yum Seafood Pasta. Hahaha So it was between Jhon and I. Jhon ravished the burger all by himself and only offered after I pointed it out that I haven't tasted the burger. He basically ate 95% of the burger. Come on people, as much as I love to see you enjoying the food, I need to taste to share my input too! He absolutely enjoyed the burger. He loves the toasty bun and that the handmade meat patties were juicy. The satay sauce to him was not overpowering which made the big burger palatable to him.
As for me, I agree with him except for the satay sauce. I would prefer a more flavorful. This boils down to personal preference so it depends on your pallet. It is definitely worth a try though. The meat patties were so juicy.
We ordered this mostly for Sarah and to be shared with Jhon. (FYI, there is a Kid's Meal but we always share meals with her and this is before the Big Boss burger came and Jhon totally abandoned the dish). Unfortunately, Sarah is at a picky-remove-food-from-mouth phase so she didn't eat much. I had to eat her share which I really didn't mind. I thoroughly enjoyed the tangy tomato based pasta. I normally don't like tomato-y tastes but the great proportion of Parmesan cheese in the pasta compliments it. The teriyaki chicken was mediocre to me but Jhon likes it and finished it for us.
Dessert Time!
Citrus Bistro has several desserts and the dessert you have to try NO MATTER WHAT is the Molten Chocolate Lava Cake. It is served with vanilla ice cream and all I can say is don't spend too much time trying to get the Instaworthy shot because while it's still warm, the yummy chocolate inside simply oozes out ready to be eaten. I really don't know how to explain it. The warmth of the cake, the perfect sweetness of chocolate, the vanilla compliments it all.
Citrus Bistro also released an array of milkshakes to choose from, six to be exact.
Since there were only 3 adults, we got to try (from left to right in the photo) Snickerhead, Strawberry Gem, Caramel Popcorn and Cookie Crush milkshakes. Technically, we only order 3 but Strawberry Gem was recommended to us. Not in the photo are Classic Vanilla and Double Chocolate.
Snickerhead is perfect for chocolate lovers and it packs a punch with the wholesome chocolaty flavor. Understanding why Strawberry Gem was recommended to try, it gave us a nostalgic strawberry flavor. It tasted refreshing and made me feel all good and fuzzy inside. Caramel Popcorn was Mak's personal favorite for its caramel flavor but not overly sweet so you can go on and on drinking it without feeling bloated. Lastly, Cookie crush was Jhon's favorite as it was cookies and cream! I also enjoyed drinking it as it tasted so rich in flavor. I couldn't guess it has low fat milk in it. The milkshakes may be on a pricey side but 1 tall drink can be shared among 2 people and it's really worth it!
Overall, we totally enjoyed our dining experience at Citrus Bistro. If you are feeling guilty from all that delicious milkshake, you could always take a dip in the swimming pool. Just make sure you wait 1 hour before, ya? Despite the rainy and cold weather, Jhon and Sarah managed to get a quick dip in the pool. Sarah had been great and patient waiting for us and it paid off for her. Look at that face.
Anyways, there are plenty of other dishes in Citrus Bistro which also includes sandwiches, salads, appetizers, among an array of hot and cold drinks. They also have plenty of promotions that maybe to your liking if you want to get sweet deals for delicious meals.
If you wish to just dine and not use the swimming pool facilities, you may call Citrus Bistro and you may enter without paying the swimming pool entrance fee. I also want to add that this is a family restaurant within the swimming pool complex so the environment tends to get noisy. If you have a family, this is just normal background noise though. Haha
For more information, you can always browse Citrus Bistro's website at https://www.citrusbythepool.com/ for both their outlets at Woodlands and Sengkang.
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