Set Lunch

For my belated birthday treat from a friend, I chose One MICHELIN Starred Braci because the contemporary Italian restaurant has been on my list for ages.
We loved the housemade bread that was the first thing to arrive on our table. Named “Pane di Altamura”, it’s made using remilled durum wheat from Altamura in Italy’s Alpura region. It even has to pass the strict criteria of having a 3mm crust.
Following that, every one of the courses in the lunch set we had, was impeccable in presentation, freshness and flavours.
Both our appetisers, the raw Scallops dressed in rhubarb and fermented cherries, and the Baby Gem with white sesame and apple chutney, were superb. So too the mains of Veal Cappelletti (handmade pasta stuffed with truffle taleggio cooked in a sauce of 5 peppers jus) and the crisp-of-skin Italian Seabass (plated with pumpkin, radish and chard). Enormously gratifying in their own way they were.
Although the lunch set had only one dessert, it triggered wide-eyed wonder with its masterful combination of white chocolate, blood orange, pineapple and Yamazaki whisky.
Our wonderful meal came to a close with petit fours that were the embodiment of refinement and delectability.

Can you believe One MICHELIN Starred @lerouy_ will turn 3 this August? Time has flown since my first visit where I recall being blown away by Chef-owner Christophe Lerouy’s modern French cuisine.

My most recent meal was just as superb, especially when a favourite dish showed up (who else loves that salted and baked cabbage? 😋😋). Once we sat down, Chef Lerouy got us rolling with a welcome glass of Crémant from his hometown in France and a series of four small but immaculately prepared bites that had me sighing blissfully. They were: a creamy foie gras with apple wasabi and smoked sardine, a delicate parsley root tart with ikura and grated parmesan, whipped Muenster cheese with bacon and cumin, and a tiny tube of Iberico pork and sauerkraut broth.

We then tore into a warm, crusty sourdough, darting between the four flavoured butters of truffle, sumac spice, bamboo charcoal and unsalted as spreads.

Chef @sara_lee1030 presented the appetiser, a light and refreshing creation showcasing Japanese mackerel, tomato, burrata cheese, sorbet of gazpacho and a drizzle of black olive oil.

Then Chef Lerouy reappeared with his long-time signature, the impossibly juicy wedge of cabbage accessorised with anchoiarde, lardo and lime. It’s pure joy to inhale.

If I had to nominate another favourite from that meal, the magnificent Carabinero would be a serious contender. Such extraordinariness of sweet crustacean, quietly confident spices, perky carrot, bright pineapple and slightly sweet, creamy butter milk.

Both TH and I found the large plump Kunihiro oyster wrapped in beef tongue very appealing too. Loved how it came decked out with girolle mushrooms in a lagoon of warm frothiness.

Following that, a course featuring pan-fried foie gras, Korean abalone, shiitake and black garlic in herbal duck tea. I did find the reduction liquid a tad salty to be frank, but tasty nonetheless.

Bringing up the rear for the savoury dishes was a flawlessly cooked Iberico Pork Pluma, plated with pimenton and eggplant purée. I was bowled over by the texture and flavour of the meat, and don’t recall having had pork feel like that in the mouth before. It’s utterly delicious.

Chef @inpikleon did the honours of presenting the dessert, a composition of Chisote strawberries from Cameron Highlands, sorrel sorbet, fromage blanc and light ginger sauce.

We also had some petit fours with our coffee. The raspberry fruit jelly, dark chocolate dome, “cream cheese” chouquette were lovely enough but the one that wow-ed me was the feuilletine “waffle”. I could eat a dozen of it!

Modern European fine dining cuisine is what Chef Andrew Walsh and his team create but fret not, the atmosphere in the restaurant is not the stuffy sort.
We had the Business Set Lunch on our first visit, less than a fortnight into their launch. For our main, we could pick monkfish or quail, while dessert was either a yogurt or chocolate based one. Do note there isn't an a la carte menu so choice is rather limited.
Once we'd ordered, the warm, friendly staff brought out a mini sack containing slices of mixed seed sourdough bread slices with small bowls of whipped bacon butter (this was amazing!) and piquant, crunchy fermented cabbage. All made in-house mind you.
Shortly after, a platter with three types of loveliness arrived: a deepfried cube with lava-like sweet creamed corn within, a leaf on which sat a Galway Bay Oyster, beef tartare and oyster leaf mayo, and last but not least, a piece of crisped teriyaki chicken skin with pickled ginger. This was, not surprisingly, my favourite course of the entire meal.
Next up, a bowl of housemade ricotta dressed with tender asparagus, milkskin and Comte cheese. Lovely but not particularly mind-blowing.
My artistically plated (but quite small-portioned) main course of monkfish had an Asian element of sesame. The sweetness of the accompanying root vegetables was pleasant but other than that, I didn't find the dish as a whole, all that spectacular. Perhaps it's because I prefer robust flavours and had picked the dish designed for someone with a more delicate palette. Oh well...
Fortunately, the chocolate, orange and honeycomb dessert was more up my alley. Besides the playful mix of textures, I also liked how the citrus note contrasted with the richness of the chocolate. Having said that, I stole a bite of my dining partner's dessert--the yogurt--and didn't stop. Admittedly, I fell even harder for that.
I was looking forward to ending my meal with a cappuccino but alas, it was not to be. Cure, rather oddly, does not serve coffee. The reason given was their focus is on aperitifs and wine. I guess there's always the option of popping into The Lokal just around the corner to grab one.
The staff also shared with me their plans to change their menu monthly, so diners can always look forward to something new.

I generally steer clear of Celebrity Chef restaurants in Singers but I'll gladly head back to this anytime. Especially with the well priced weekend lunches at both JR and L'Atelier. Review on www.ms-skinnyfat.com Active link in bio!

Considered to be one of the best sushi restaurants outside Japan, Shinji certainly lives up to its name. Albeit extremely pricey, you get incredibly fresh sushi, and an unparalleled dining experience. Plus, you get to interact with the chefs while enjoying delicately prepared nigiri sushi with very clean flavours. You'll be planning to save for your next visit even before you leave.

🍷🍴 http://jacqsowhat.blogspot.sg

The boxes were beautifully presented, neatly arranged with seafood, largely unadulterated so that you could taste the freshness of its ingredients.

http://danielfooddiary.com/2015/02/23/syun/

Finally, lobster roll at The Naked Finn. Prices have gone up from $29 to $35. Guess we're paying for the reno and ac. Love them buns but more could be done with the seasoning. Meat was a bit rubbery. Still, not a bad way to get over tuesday.

I love beef and prawn!!! to be honest the standards are falling (esp compared to Inagiku days). the beef is of an inferior cut (prob beef rump) and rather chewy. garlic rice is also rather average. but still worth it w Feed At Raffles card!

The degustation dinner version comes with prawns, but the star veggie here is so outstanding on its own in eight different treatments that there really is no need for the protein – this is one of the starter options on the super-value-for-money $38++ set lunch menu.
The standouts are the refreshing cherry tomato marinated in sour plum, the sweet cherry tomato infused with Thai basil and honey, the delicate tomato and red capsicum sorbet, and the acidic tomato "cloud" made from concentrated tomato essence.

During my very recent visit, I was pleased to see that the chef had made some tweaks to the set lunch menu and price. Plating looked a little more casual now but the quality of the food and cooking was still impressive for what you pay.
There're two options for each of the three courses. For $25++, you get an appetiser and a main, while the $33++ gets you dessert too. Being greedy, I chose the latter and started with the "pumpkin soup with poached egg and croutons". For my main course, I picked the "seared scallops with mash and spinach" over the "beef brochette with truffle mash and bordelaise sauce" although it was a close fight. Closing my meal on a sweet note was the "mille feuille with strawberries and creme patisserie".
All in all, it was a masterfully executed lunch that left me happily full.

So. Good. #yummydieme