#02-01 Cluny Court (next to Serene Centre)
501 Bukit Timah Road
Singapore 259760
Teased the Relish website teased.
The first 2008 event held by SMU Gourmet Club took us to Wilin Low's new hideaway 'Relish' at Cluny Court.
While I didn't get to meet the chef himself, the restaurant's interior was symbolic of the chef's rumoured good nature. Blessed with a high ceiling, a soothing blend of seemingly-nondescript furniture melded to create an inviting space fit for relaxed-chic get-together.
Referencing the usual cheese-and-wine-pairing, Relish scores points for novelty for introducing a a burger-and-beer-pairing concept. Nudging the meter up slightly, the onion rings spotted a hodgepodge of oddly-shapped onions and crisp flaky batter, instead of the usual machine-cut-and-breadcrumbed-in-factory versions.
Onion Rings
I chose the weirdest sounding burger, the garam masala lamb and mint hummus pita burger, crossing my fingers that everyone around me would order something different. The small comprehensive menu offered something to the traditionalists and more to those hoping to hone their adventurous side. All burgers were served with hearty fries that were well-acquainted with the deep fryer.
On one camp, the signature wild rocket burger with sarawak pepper cream and sun-dried tomato relish and classic bacon and cheese burger with emmental cheese would have appealed to the no-nonsense.
Apart from those two, the other items on the menu evoked comments that ranged from 'OOO sounds interesting' to 'Are you suuuuuuuuure...' or in my case, 'You shouldn't order that... because I want to share with you and I don't like the sound of what you are ordering'. Among the "We are Different" (ha! sorry couldn't resist) options, I had a bite-full of the BBQ charsiew soft-bone pork open foccacia burger, Ram Lee Beef Burger and portebello tofu burger with eggplant salsa.
The Lamb Pita Burger
I chose the lamb burger because
a. aside from beef, it was the 'other' red meat. To me, there's a strong inexcusable bond between red meat and burger, like cheese and pizza, fried egg and kecap manis... You got to have one with the another, otherwise it just doesn't quite work.
b. for some strange unexplainable-by-rationale reason, the word 'hummus' just called out to me. Hummus... Getcha Hummas
I liked my My Big Fat Greek Burger enough to er- blog about it. I think the other burgers met with mixed reviews and since I was the only one who ordered the lamb, I didn't have differing opinions to compare notes with.
The Char Siew Burger
I think the other burgers met with identity crisis. Whether it was the East-Meets-West or Gourmet-Versus-Street-Grub problem, the burgers battled with an innate sense of lost identity as they grappled to find a balance between their street roots and newfound highbrow status.
Stuck at the culture-status crossroads, the burgers were confused and in the process of figuring out what they stood for, lost the ultimate goal of satisfying diners' palates.
The Ram Lee Burger
If the char siew was a living person, people would labelled it 'jiak kentang' behind his back. It would have fared better if it just called itself "Roast Pork," instead of trying to play the fusion game. The Ram Lee beef patty was in dire need of a good shake-up of seasoning and in the process of atahs-sation, the burger had lost its authentic greasefest flavour. Never thought I would say this but it appears the dingier the eatery, the tastier the Ramly.
To me, the word "relish" conjures images of forgoing table manners, devoting unwarranted attention on your food and at the end of your meal, you pat your belly and say, "it was worth it." Relish's burgers were too sterile and 'restrained', like the censored version of 'Lust Caution'. Though the restaurant seems to have filled the consumer-segmentation void, appealing to those Raoul-Zara clad yuppies, I found my meal (sadly) anti-climax.
3 comments:
Now that's a bummer..! i had expected the ramly to fair better.. ;)
Your point on the "sterilised" feel to Relish pretty much describes how I feel about them despite the fact that I haven't actually patronised. It nails that feeling that I haven't been able to articulate about the place. But still, I'll probably head down someday. No better experience than having to go there yourself and finding out.
Hey try it out and let me know what you think of it.
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