Wild Honey @ Pavilion

Wild Honey @ Pavilion, a popular Singapore chain of restaurants, opened in Pavilion in the later part of last year, serving all-day breakfast.

This wave of new brunch cafes opening up in Pavilion (and Pavilion Elite) of late is a welcome delight to many (shoppers or otherwise).  Brunch is my happiest meal time, after all! ^_~

Loved the very modern feel of the place with its diverse range of colours, decor and interior furnishings from wood to rattan to the plush velvety sofas and chairs that's both welcoming and comforting.

The outside seating looks so comfy you'll want to sit there for hours :)

The menu comes in sections to cover meat, fish, vegetarian, breads/cereals/fruits, sandwiches & tarts, salads, sweet breakfast options, desserts, drinks and a children's menu.

This was what I had.....over two visits.  The first time, I was alone and I had the Norwegian @ RM54(!)...and yes, the price is expensive but, before you judge, please pop your eyeballs back into their sockets and let me explain what was on the plate first.

From the name, it was quite obvious that this is a dish featuring Norwegian salmon.  You have two poached eggs wrapped in Norwegian smoked salmon, filled with Hollandaise sauce and salmon pearls, on top of wholewheat brioche with grilled asparagus spears and avocado.

This was a well executed dish...the eggs were perfectly runny and the brioche toasted nicely with a crust that's just crisp and lovely to eat.  I usually shun away from eating the crust as I find them to be unduly hard but not this one...I love the bread here :)

I also loved the inclusion of crunchy yet soft grilled asparagus spears, slices of avocado and the burst of juiciness from the ikura to bring a bit of freshness to the otherwise rich Hollandaise sauce and creamy eggs. ^o^  However, I still felt it needed more acidity to cut through the richness of the Hollandaise...perhaps some juicy vine tomatoes or peppery arugula? ^_*

As for the expensive price, I have this to say.  The portion is really generous and I found it tremendously trying to finish the plate of two thick slices of bread with two long slices of smoked salmon and two creamy eggs in a rich sauce on my own.  Besides that, note that it came with quality (and expensive) ingredients like three thick asparagus spears (which I've seen selling at supermarkets at around RM23 for 9 about spears), a whole avocado and smoked salmon.  Now, imagine you're sharing it with someone else or if they serve just half the portion at RM27...now that sound more reasonable, right? ;)

On another visit with friends (after dinner at the same mall), we tried the Canadian @ RM28 made up of a stack of three buttermilk pancakes with chicken sausages and served with a forest berry sauce and 100% pure Canadian maple syrup.

I adored the taste of the chicken sausages although they didn't look very presentable.  I can appreciate that the sausage looked rustic as it was probably house-made but I'm not sure why they had to cut the sausage in half (and make it look so unpresentable with the ends oozing out like that).  To make it seem like there were more sausages on the plate? @_@

The buttermilk pancakes were pleasant, just not quite as good as the ones from Ra.Ft Cafe.  Preferred the maple syrup to the berry sauce which was a bit on the tart side.  I suppose if you eat the pancakes with both sauces together, the sweet maple syrup should balance out the tart berry sauce.

We also shared the Brittany @ RM30 of Panettone french toast topped with thin slices of baby bananas and salted caramel mascarpone and finished with some crunchy toffee'd hazelnuts and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.

Loved the generous slices of fresh, sweet bananas with the thick, fluffy and pillow soft french toast.

Definitely preferred the french toast to the earlier buttermilk pancakes.

I've tried the Cappuccino @ RM12 and Flat White @ RM12 here.  They serve good coffees since they're the same ones as Common Man Coffee Roasters which I've enjoyed having before.  As you can see, the coffee (he)art was like night and day...or should I say day and night.  The left one was when I dined alone in the morning and the one on the right was after dinner hours....the barista's shift ended?  Kekeke! :D

The Mandarin Wilderness @ RM20, a good relief for a hot afternoon, is a mix of ice blended raspberry, banana, mandarin orange and Royal honey garnished with a stick of fresh raspberries.  For some reason, I tasted a tinge of bitterness in this icy treat which I wasn't very fond of.  I'm not sure what it was but if I were to guess, I'd probably say the pith of the mandarin oranges?

The Wild Iced Tea @ RM14 is their own blend of unsweetened peppermint, lemon verbena, rosehip and hibiscus.  Drinks that are red/pink coloured or purple (berry) flavoured always attracts me.  I guess I like to drink with my 'eyes' but this one didn't cut it :P

The Queen Bee @ RM14 is a concoction of ruby red grapefruit, elderflower and Royal honey.  Unfortunately, everything else besides the coffees weren't as endearing for its slight bitter after taste.  Maybe I don't have a thing for grapefruit, elderflower, hibiscus or peppermint.

I'm not sure if they serve complimentary water here (I wasn't offered any) as there's still or sparkling mineral water on their menu.

My Personal Opinion

Expect to pay top dollar here as the prices are on the high side when compared to what most cafes offer with a breakfast dish costing north of RM30 and some even more than RM50.  Plus it didn't help when prices increased between RM2 - RM10 for most of their dishes and drinks (when comparing the prices I paid from the ones I saw on a blog 3 months ago).  Probably because of the high prices, I think many come with higher-than-usual expectations hoping to be wowed by the food.  So, my suggestion would be to keep your expectations in check when you dine here so that you won't be gravely disappointed.

For me, the food was decent...maybe not wow (for the prices charged) but, if I judge the components separately, they certainly do compensate with the use of top-notch ingredients, generous portions and competently prepared food.

And yes, I can see myself returning...but probably sparingly because of the prices.  And next time, I'll choose a lighter option (if I'm dining alone) or make sure I bring a plus one to share a heftier dish! ^_*

Wild Honey
#06-645 Level 6
Pavilion Kuala Lumpur
168 Jalan Bukit Bintang
55100 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: 03-2110 1626