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2012-03-02
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Birthday celebration venue. Expensive, nice atmosphere, but where we sat there was a bit of cigar smoke floating our way. But we couldn't see anyone inhaling cigar. Oh well. Environment:Quite elegant and comfortable. Plane mirrors everywhere - even on the ceilings. Sofas up against the wall. Mainly 2-seaters. There's a little function room I think for parties of 6+. The ceiling is low so conversations can easily be overheard. Service:Impeccable! The manager came around to explain the menu to us
Environment:
Quite elegant and comfortable. Plane mirrors everywhere - even on the ceilings. Sofas up against the wall. Mainly 2-seaters. There's a little function room I think for parties of 6+. The ceiling is low so conversations can easily be overheard. Service:
Impeccable! The manager came around to explain the menu to us and was professional. Thorough briefing but could work on pronunciation (nitpicking here).
Food:
Regrettably I cannot document all the dishes we had in photos. There is an upload limit of 12 photos per post...
Bread basket
A very interesting bread basket. There are around 5 types of bread to pick from - bread stick coated in diced boiled egg white and mayo blend - hot, crunchy and yummy. Brioche delicious and sweet. A kind of wheat bread - my favorite - crisp exterior shell and soft center. Tomato foccacia and olive sourdough also available - light and fluffy inside, with a crisp top layer. The EVOO was fragrant, vinegar was quite sweet and thick mm that's what i'm looking for. But a word of warning for ladies don't eat too much or else you won't have room for the actual meal!!
Amuse bouche - foie gras creme brulee (picture not shown here)
It was smooth, slighlty savoury topped with caramelized brown sugar. The balance was right because I could taste the egg yolk as well. A nice balance between foie gras and egg yolk. Not a personal favorite in terms of flavour but the combination was interesting! Not hot. Just lukewarm. room temperature.
Wine list was impressive and extensive. There were wines from all over the world. Had a few reds from Napa Valley . You can only order by-the-glass from a certain list, which isn't as extensive, but it serves the purpose. The manager recommended a red to us - it was full-bodied and fruity, quite enjoyable.
Crab salad with tomato gelatin, datterino tomatoes and caviar $240
I'm not a fan of seafood at all but I must compliment the crab salad. It's shredded crab meat with finely chopped chives. Palate didn't itch after eating it. It was cold, fresh, and mixed with just the right amount of mayo-like binding agent. The caviar sitting at the top was creamy and briny. The tomato gelatin was cold, effortless to eat and refreshing. It's doesn't have the sourness some tomatoes have, which is good, or else the sourness would overpower the delicate crab flavour. I can only say it tastes very tomato. Pan-fried quail and foie gras with hazelnut and cherries $240
Very thin and nicely crisped skin, juicy and tasty flesh, served hot. It was a bit salty but if you eat if with the other things on the plate it is okay. Slow cooked egg with bluefin tuna belly tartare and cardoon $240The egg was almost like a poached egg but the inside was super runny and they made the egg white holding the egg super thin. You bust the egg and then everything's covered in yolk!
Scampi cappuccino
Intense seafood flavour. Very fresh, not my cup of...coffee. The waiter served the scampi in a mug first, then slowly poured the frothy cappuccino at the table. We were saying there must've been a lot of shrimp heads in the soup because all the flavour is in the head. It wasn't a consomme so there should be some cream too.
>> And I must say, although we were less than halfway into the meal, and I was already quite full. Could've stopped after the next course!
Homemade tagliolini with lobster and tomatoes $260
Again, I am surprised at myself for having picked this dish - i consider it an accomplishment! ...I should rephrase - i consider ordering this dish a step forward because I actually handed out most of the lobster to everyone else (heh). But the flavour was quite acceptable. The tomato sauce was not devoid of lobster taste. Cooked al dente and tossed in a liberal (yet not excessive) amount of tomato sauce - yum. Intense tomato flavour, probably some sun-dried tomato went into the paste. The pasta was home made. Braised wagyu beef cheek with potatoes maxim $360
Braised beef cheek was the right texture: cooked till super soft, chew with minimal effort; very sticky (deliciously coated the my palate) because of the huge amount of collagen in beef cheek -> producing a thick braising liquid. Wagyu beef adds another substantial percentage of fat. Regrettably, I don't think it was flavourful enough. Sufficiently salty but not beefy enough. Potatoes maxim is a deluxe version of hash brown. I think it's in the way the potatoes were prepared - hash brown is made from potato strings or finely diced potato, potatoes maxim = thinly sliced, scalloped and thinly layered. was crispy and delicious. Not too salty. Trio of wagyu short rib, wagyu beef tenderloin and ox tongue with potato gratin $360
R ordered this. Looks like a terrifically small portion but at that point of the meal you really don't want anything more than that. Not too convenient for sharing, true. I only managed to secure a bit of rib for tasting. It was yummier than my beef cheek. Had more flavour. Roast cod fish with seafood minestrone $360
The cod was extremely fresh and the skin was not slimy at all (GOOD!). However, it became soggy after being soaked in the minestrone for a while. So its' best to keep the liquid off the skin surface. Dark chocolate tart with raspberries and whipped cream $90
My pick! Most of this dessert was a dark chocolate ganache which is intense and satisfying, yet guilt-inducing at the same time. The raspberries and sweet cream helped cut the bitterness. Texture smooth and solid. A chocolate disc sits on the ganache, underneath which lies a thin layer of mousse. Rich, decadent, delightful chocolate dessert. Pan fried brioche with ice cream $90
Supposedly this is one of the specialties recommended by the manager but we found nothing outstanding about the brioche...again, like a deluxe french toast. The vanilla ice cream was pretty good though, home made, you can see the vanilla seeds! Apple tart with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream
Maybe I'm prejudiced but i prefer a thick tart with chunky apples. I don't like apple strudel that much. Apple tart...it's not very tart-like without a shell...I love pie/cookie crust! It wasn't too sweet, which is good. Among the three desserts we rated the chocolate tart highest, and then vanilla ice cream. Cheese board
D ordered this, I don't share D's affiliation with cheese. D: Especially goat cheese. I munched on the grapes and crackers happily though. Conclusion:
All in all, a satisfactory experience. Great venue for celebrating birthdays. It's not very intimate because the tables are kind of close to each other such that you don't get a lot of personal space...but there is a private dining room you can book i think. Recommended if you've never been.
Other Info. :
Olive oil and balsamic vinegar with bread: should the 2 liquids be mixed together on a plate, or should they be poured into 2 separate compartments in a bowl with a divider..What's the traditional way?
(The above review is the personal opinion of a user which does not represent OpenRice's point of view.)
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