Novus, National Museum

This is most uncharacteristic of our statutory boards. How often do you see them hand the deeds of an esteemed national monument to a bunch of twenty-plus year olds and say, "Here, chic up this place..."



As Fatboy Slim sang, "We've come a long long way together. through the hard times and the good." Forget "Huayu Cool!", it's "Gah-ment Cool!". Don't mind me I'm just dabbling in patriotism since it's National Day tomorrow.



Latin for new, Novus the restaurant has garnered significant PR value in the press and for good reason. At helm, sister and brother Ying and Yung Ong have created a voguish eatery high on Euro debonair: oversized mirrors on the walls magnify the 48-seater restaurant's space (a trick I learnt from Discovery Travel and Living) and the interior (quilted seats that resemble a giant Chanel 2.55) provide visual feast.


Bread Basket



Starter was a tuna nicoise salad, which featured a gob of sundried tomato pate-look-alike (too sour for my liking), soft boiled quail egg, tuna carpaccio (overwhelmed by the pesto) and herb-crusted seared tuna (the size of a fifty-cent coin).



There was a choice between the sea bass or lamb rack for the main course. Ooo what a no-brainer. The lamb rack, perched on potato gratin, was raunchy with fat but the tasting portion was too little to sustain gratification.



The dessert for lunch du jour was bread and butter pudding, a stogy cake, drizzled with creamy custardy sauce, served with vanilla-pod ice cream and a crescent wafer crisp for arty-farty effect. Pity we weren't presented with more choices for dessert.



The seared scallops, with four times cooked pork belly, chestnut puree and red wine reduction was a starter from the ala carte menu. Pairing scallop and pork belly may seem grisly to a casual observer but result was beguiling. The subtle sweetness of 2 plump scallops stood firm against the robust pork belly flavour and the chestnut puree was marvellous. That being said, don't you think cooking the pork belly four times sounds a little excessive?

Normally I like tasting menus but I found the portions at Novus too small to provide sufficient bang for your buck. While today's lunch may not be gush-worthy, the overall ambiance (rivaling schmaltzy Marmalde Pantry) warrants visits by those who prefer to be seen and heard.