Desiree Koh:
I'm far from being a wine connoisseur - not quite fancy enough - but anyone can enjoy a pleasing champagne. This is Varichon & Clerc Cuvee Privee Chardonnay, sparkling and accompanied the two amuse bouches to start.
Desiree Koh:
Chef Yong: Amuse bouche of fresh, juicy, plump oyster on hot mustard with a drizzle of chili. Slurpalicious, gulpworthy.
Desiree Koh:
Chef Mendes: Second amuse bouche of xiaolongbao (Shanghai-style dumpling) filled with lobster and hot broth. Hence, the straw - smart move - but watch your tongue!
Desiree Koh:
Goldwater Wairau Valley sauvignon blanc 2008 (New Zealand) - light, dry, pleasant. Not quite a heavy hitter, but the evening is still young.
Desiree Koh:
Chef Mendes: Marinated sea bass with crispy ponzu, green apple, cucumber and black olive. This was extremely well done - the fish was barely seared so it hovered between rare and cooked, and that applesauce and cucumber were June Carter to the Johnny Cash
Desiree Koh:
Chef Mendes: Onion soup "old and new". I'm not quite sure what the point of this dish was. It was tasty, but it came and went in a flash and felt like a tour of onion fields.
Desiree Koh:
Sherwood Estate sauvignon blanc 2008 (New Zealand). Well, again not being fancyschmancypants, I couldn't quite tell the differences between the sauvignon blancs. I just knew the wine was making me rather cheerful.
Desiree Koh:
Chef Yong: Symphony of Taste, a platter of seafood gussied up in the most crazy-amazing ways. In the forefront, the tuna tataki with caviar. Cool, tender - almost like tuna ice cream.
Desiree Koh:
Chef Yong: Symphony of Taste. Here's the geoduck sashimi on lotus root chips. I think it's great in theory, but I'm just not a fan of geoduck, no matter how it's prepared.
Desiree Koh:
Chef Yong: Symphony of Taste. Scallops skewers with vegetable salsa was smartly grilled on a stick of serai (lemongrass). Really perfect.
Desiree Koh:
Chef Yong: Symphony of Taste. Braised New Zealand abalone was oh-so-divine. This is heavyweight shellfish right here, you have to use a real knife to slice through and all. No fooling.
Desiree Koh:
Chef Yong: Symphony of Taste. Soft shell crab spring roll with creamy lime sauce - gotta love it when regular street food is gastronomized with high-falutin' ingredients, like taking the kid out of the ghetto. In a good way.
Desiree Koh:
Ah! Finally, a red. Sebastiani Vineyards Sonoma County Pinot Noir 2007 - easygoing, didn't weigh too heavy on the conscience.
Desiree Koh:
Chef Mendes: Slow-cooked boneless beef short rib, mushroom caramel, Japanese mushroom with garlic and chili, burnt bread jus and pate de figue sec. Seriously, do I still need to add my comments after all that deliciousness? The meat was amazing. Melt-in-y
Desiree Koh:
Chef Yong: Claypot rice with foie gras and preserved sausages. I thought this was the most brilliant dish of the evening. Decadent foie gras amid delicate rice as tiny pieces of lup cheong (Chinese sausage) aromatized the dish. Packed the most flavor, thi
Desiree Koh:
Sebastiani Vineyards Sonoma County merlot 2005. I'm not a fan of merlots, but after all these glasses of wine, ya know, why not one last hurrah?
Desiree Koh:
Chef Mendes: Pre-dessert. Pre-dessert! What an amazing concept. It was a panna cotta with orange cream, graham crisp and a smear of vanilla.
Desiree Koh:
Chef Yong: Cempedak ice cream. I was wary of this - you could smell the scent of cempedak as soon as the martini-glassed sundae arrived. But it was great - the fruit's consistency really lends itself to a great ice cream texture, and the butter biscuit wa