Now, who in the right mind would prepare dinner for a group of floggers? He would have to be
a. extremely naive
b. extremely courageous
I would rate Chef Anderson Ho as the latter and by hosting our Floggers Dinner, he has knowingly subjected the restaurant's name to more than a dozen know-it-alls, who feel the power of pen is only second to that of the cane.
aMUSE bOUCHE!
I was almost famished by the time the dinner rolls made their rounds and my fingetips longed to make contact with the multigrain roll. My heart sang with joy as I tore open the warm crusty roll and slathered butter over . How was it that others can exhibit such remarkable self-restraint when I was on the verge of asking for seconds and thirds?
Must control self. Image, honey.
Our 7 course tasting menu demonstrated the kitchen's dedication to forward-thinking cuisine but personally, I found some of the dishes too avant garde for my liking. Hang on, bumpy road ahead!
Our cold appetiser, Hokkaido Scallop Carpaccio and Barracuda Fish Mousse with Miso Cream, arrived shortly thereafter. Although the scallop carpaccio was plain fishy business, I rationed every bit of the barracuda fish mousse, a miniature puck brimming with flavour.
The soup, Jasmine Tea Perfumed Duck Consomme with Foie Gras Tortellini, sounded ethereal in print but the eventual result reminded me of a relationship gone awry. The jasmine and duck each possessed strong characters and clashed in union. Proving that good things do arrive in small packages, the foie gras tortellini was swoonworthy. Sigh, just imagine Link Larkin's wink.
Moving along, our hot appetiser, Escargot with Herb-garlic Crust on Button Mushroom Gratinee parsley oil and arugula salad, kept up the momentum going. Mini teeny-weeny deforested gripe: one puny arugula leaf does not constitute a "salad".
Undeniably, the Rigatoni Pasta Tossed in Crustacean Oil, Tiger Prawn, Shaved Bottarga and Parmesan cheese received rave reviews for its well-balanced performance. I'm sure given the chance, many would have requested for an encore.
Unfortunately, our fish dish, Char-Grilled King George Whiting Fillet with Toasted Mustard Seeds and Saffron-Tomato Sauce sank as the weak saffron-tomato sauce barely lifted the bland fillet.
My tastebuds received an impromptu wakeup call from the tangy Blood Orange Sorbet- never underestimate the appeal of frozen fruit puree.
Our main course, Slow-Cooked Oxtail in Feuile de Brik Parcel with Truffle butter and Jus Gras, provided a gateway to heaven.
Dessert danced to a merry tune, courtesy of Passion Fruit Symphony, which consisted of a souffle, crème brulee and macaron-sandwich. The souffle was so light, it could have moonlit as foam dessert. The creme brulee was the star of the trio: resembling a a semi-frozen pond in winter, I cracked through the thin layer of crunch only to find a rich luscious refinement hiding beneath.
Meeting the Chef in person made this experience harder to review. While one applauds his -gulp- courage, the evening's rocky ride serve as a reminder that Less Could Be More.
Singapore is also ridiculously 'small', for lack of a better word. Last year, I realised Colin was a friend of a friend (hi zhu!) and this year, turns out Sook's dad and my dad play golf together just about every other weekend and Lina from Yum.sg is an ex-St Nicks girl, ex-primary school classmate to my elder sister. It was like Friendster Live at Le Papilion (yea yea Facebook is the "new Friendster" and I'm a dinosaur).
I might not have won anything from the lucky draw -again- but I had a terrific terrific time. A few of us caught Ratatouille after dinner. French food movie after floggers dinner? How cliche! At least it wasn't along the lines of 'No Reservations'- chick movie about food and LO-VE -shudder-
There were plans for a potluck affair for next year's event and because it would be travesty to bring something ready-made, I'm giving myself a year to brush up on my cooking skills- hope the rest of you have insurance.
Photos from Ivan!
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