Joie by Dozo
Have you heard of Joie by Dozo before? If you have not, read on. This will completely change your opinion on vegetarian food (for the good of course).
Joie (pronounced as ‘joy’) by Dozo specialises in modern meatless cuisine, that are prepared with fresh vegetables, fruits and herbs in an interesting and creative way. They provide an original and refined 6-course lunch or 7-course dinner, which will bring you through an unforgettable experience on meatless cuisine.
Ambience
Situated on the 12th floor of Orchard Central, away from the busy and noisy Somerset and Orchard areas, Joie is a nice place to sit around with your significant other, or small group of friends and enjoy the peaceful meal.
Additionally, the interior design, with the bronze-grey walls, velvet armchairs, and plush leather-quilted banquette, gives the restaurant an elegant feels to it. If you are intending to have a group dinner, you can also choose one of the five private rooms, which seats four to sixteen people.
Food – 6-course set lunch
We went for the 6-course set lunch at Joie by Dozo. There is a great selection of food that we can choose for each course, and you can browse them on their website.
Starter – Chef’s Selection of Assorted Platter
The seaweed cracker tasted really airy and crispy on its own. With the fruit puree, it tasted slightly sweet. The wasabi mayo was light and goes well with the seaweed cracker. And if you pop in the whole cracker with both the fruit puree and wasabi mayo, it taste really distinct and delicious as well!
The carrot sashimi really looks like fresh salmon rolled up, like those you will see on a sushi conveyor belt. The texture is slightly similar to jelly or konjac, and there’s a light sweetness to it. It definitely does not taste like salmon sashimi, but I think the dish is well done on its own. I do love the texture though!
For the raspberry sphere, the waitress recommended us to have it in one go as it ‘explodes’ in your mouth. I tried it. And… it’s true! It really ‘exploded’ in my mouth once I bit into it, The sourness from the raspberry balanced out with the salty pistachio cracker, giving it a really interesting and unique experience.
Side Dish
I absolutely love this dish!
The button mushrooms were juicy and chewy, and the sweetness from the mushroom is balanced well with the stretchy and chewy savoury mozzarella cheese, making it a perfect match! I also love digging the crispy parts of the mozzarella cheese and eating as it is.
would advise getting the mushrooms or maybe trying other side dishes!
Soup – Infusion of Cepes and Truffle
The soup has bits of mushrooms in it, making the texture slightly grainy. I love how strong the mushroom taste in the soup is, though I think the truffle taste can be stronger. The waitress suggested we put the small piece of black truffle in our mouth for 10s, without chewing on it, to fully absorb its fragrance and taste before eating it.
That was an amazing experience and you should not miss this!
Main
As much as this dish tasted delicious, I think it did pale in comparison as compared to the Grill Summer Mushroom Steak!
This dish was heavenly!
When it was served, the waitress suggested Kayden cut up the mushroom in small pieces and let it grill longer on this special leaf from Japan, to let the mushroom absorb the fragrance from the leaf as it continues to be grilled by the hot stone beneath it.
The mushroom steak was really flavourful, packed with the sweetness from the mushroom, coupled with the fragrance and savory sauce. It makes you have 1 bite after another. The unique texture of the mushroom also adds points to the overall taste of the mushroom steak!
Other than the really awesome mushroom steak, there is a side of truffled mashed potato, which tasted wonderful and balanced well with the mushrooms as well!
We both highly recommend getting this dish in Joie.
Dessert
I was, unfortunately, slightly disappointed with this dish. The pear was lacking in the red wine flavour and its own natural sweetness was lacking as well. The lime sorbet did not go that well with the poach pear, and it melted too quickly. Overall, I think this is a dish that can be missed.
This dessert is decent, just like how any other chocolate lava cake would be.
The chocolate tasted strong, yet not too bitter for our liking. The warm chocolate cake, paired with the cold vanilla ice cream, makes a really heavenly combination in your mouth.
Drink
I like how refreshing and light this drink is. It cleansed the palette, especially after tasting the strong-flavored mushroom steak from the main course.
It washed down the savoury taste that lingered in your mouth after those main dishes and prepped your taste bud for the desserts.
This drink will be a great choice after a strong-flavored dish!
This drink is a house mocktail of lychee and blueberry. It sounded like it would be an interesting mix.
However, the drink tasted like medicine and with a perfume-fragrance and syrup-like sweetness to it.
Sadly, this is not recommended at all.
Service
The service at Joie by Dozo is extraordinary!
Firstly, we were offered hot green tea immediately after sitting down. It was also replenished every now and then throughout the whole meal.
The waitresses are really attentive and friendly.
If you have not been to Joie by Dozo, fret not. The waitresses will be there right for you, asking if you have been there. If not, they would immediately bring you through the extensive menu they offer, offering different suggestions for your different requirements.
Our diet requirements were also asked promptly after getting our orders.
The waitresses also made the effort to explain each course when they are served. They even offered different suggestions to make sure we enjoy the delicate meal to the full extent.
They are also attentive enough to make sure that you are enjoying the meal you have ordered, and quick enough to make changes if there are any things you are unhappy about. There was a lady sitting beside our table, who pointed out that she did not like the rice dish she ordered. Immediately, the waitress offered a replacement with something else she might fancy better. We were really impressed by their service!
At the end of the meal, the waitresses came up to ask if we were there to celebrate any sort of events – birthday or anniversary. A couple beside us were there to celebrate their anniversary. When the waitress knew that, they presented them with a cake, with a nice handwritten chocolate decoration that wrote “Happy Anniversary!”. I thought that was really thoughtful and nice of the restaurant to do that!
Price: $$$
Overall Rating: 4.5/5
To conclude, our dining experience at Joie by Dozo, it was amazing! The waitresses were so attentive to our needs and really friendly.
The quality of the food and the innovative and well-executed dishes really amazed us!
Generally, I dislike any vegetarian dishes that simply make use of flour or tries to mimic “meat”. Joie by Dozo did not do that. They look into bringing out the best and natural flavours from each of their ingredients, and I really appreciate that.
It was a truly ‘Joie’-ful experience in Joie, and I highly recommend you to give it a try!
Joie by Dozo
Address: 181 Orchard Road #12-01 Orchard Central Singapore 238896
Opening hours: Daily 12pm-2pm, 6pm-9pm
