The amusing thing about meeting fellow floggers is that we know each other by blog address, rather than by name or face, thus it was enlightening to finally be able to attach a face to the pseudonym. What a relief to know that noone batters half an eyelash as cameras were whipped out! Mind you, even the service staff looked like they have been through many dinners of such and were versant to the savoir-faire of floggers. But alas, my canon proved defenseless against the warm dim lighting and with limited knowledge of camera tricks, I gave up trying to snap decent pictures.
Coversation flowed as freely as the Limoncello and Grappa (thanks to ivan and umami) on our table and the five courses dinner was enterwined with memorable moments and a couple fleeting glitches. we had, in order of ascending preference,
Baked fillet of sea bass topped with tiger prawn mousse, braised fennel and a lemon-basil emulsion. The braised fennel had a bit of welcomed crunch to it but that was pretty much what i enjoyed this dish. I guessed overall the preparation methods were intended to inject a novel twist to the otherwise conventional ingredients but loose grasp of the flavours resulted in a 'neither-here-nor-there' experience. On top of that, the texture of the fish was unimpressive, which was a real pity considering how much i would have enjoyed a fish dish.
Dessert arrived in the form of panna cotta where fromage blanc panna cotta was topped with candied strawberries, Champagne jelly and a strawberry sorbet. Who could hold anything against sorbet? NYE, definitely! On top of that, the creamy fromage blanc had me digging in with such gusto, i had trouble pacing myself. My only gripe was the champagne jelly which cause my tongue to semi-recoil in repluse but overall, it was an enjoyable treat.
One of our appetizers was the fricasse of burgundy escargot with lentil du puy and field mushrooms, poached egg and italian parsley foam. Due the monotone filiing of this dish, i got to admt i had to keep referring to the menu to identify whatever that was in my mouth. Not cool at all.. But any-ho, the stewed escargots were rather sizable and squigly in texture..
The downside was that i am not a poached-egg fan. In fact, i care naught for it and it wouldn't make difference in my life if poached egg never existed. haha.. Overlooking the egg-misadventure, I say this was an interesting first course.
OOO, we are on a uphill now..
The featured entree was US corn fed shortribs braised in red wine topped with slices of foie gras and borrow marrow, glazed root vegetables and a mousseline of butternut pumpkin. I was surprised by how easily my shortrib disintegrated with a prod of my fork. The tenderness of the shortribs had me thinking, "hmm, if i were rich enough, i would want to buy a cow farm and feed my cows corn so that i would have a ready supply of corn fed beef." Imagine my dining companions would be shocked by my train of thought.. boy am i glad, speech bubbles don't exist in real life!
The butternut pumpkin mousseline was heavenly, plate-scrapping-worthy of my unrequited love. I think I might have found a penchant for mousseline.
The chestnut mousseline with oxtail consomme and truffle oil was MY FAVOURITE DISH OF THE NIGHT. Notable for its unique presentation (in a transparent coffee cup) and outstanding taste, who would have thought that this little wonder could contain a variety of flavours. Though we were adviced to mix the fillings, most of us felt it was best not to overstir the layers so that each ingredient stood a chance of outshining it predecessor.
Although the truffle oil was missable, shreds of oxtail was best accompanied by the OTT chestnut mousseline. Believe me, the inssipid-looking chestnut mousseline packed a savoury punch and you could orchestrate an acapella with our harmonious tones of pleasure.. from my side of the table at least.
As it was colin's 21st birthday, we had cake! And just how amazing was it? I snucked ivan's portion because he was too stuffed. Chocolate truffles from Colin's friend, Julius caught my attention.. I visited the website and GUESS WHAT! I know that guy from acjc! Haha, he was known to us by another name of course but it is amazing to know that he is pursuing his endorphins-riddled dream.. Que It's a small world after all
Now i am going to recommend you visit two blogs by mia, the really skinny epicurean and ivan from recent runes for great write-ups and pictures.
Incredible thanks to IVAN for beautiful pictures!
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