Takazawa - Eating ART

Takazawa is known for his innovative and imaginative ways with food. Just google “Takazawa” and you’ll get multiple links to pictures and descriptions of his signature 15 vegetable ratatouille that is an exquisitely crafted vegetable terrine that represents his Japanese influenced take on a classically French dish. Other than the stylish plates of food that he presented through the night, what I learnt and really respect about Takazawa and his wife is the passion that they have for what they do and the incredible humility in the way that they perform their craft.

Takazawa’s food celebrates life. His menu is all about imagining and celebrating nature, the seasons and Japanese culture. From his amuse of roasted soy beans which was part of the celebration of Spring Setsubun where it is customary to eat your age equating number of roasted soya beans to sake lee based sauce in his MONOTONE dish. The stories that he plates are simple and they keep pointing back to the seasons and nature through the selected seasonal ingredients and the inspired imaginative plating.The meal had a good progression, the first courses were light and more vegetable centric and it then progressed to the heavier tasting dishes –goat, foie gras, lamb. All in all it was a magnificent meal where I appreciated the high level of culinary technique that was required to execute the dishes, the clean and interesting flavor combinations and the whimsical plating.

Amuse 
roasted soya beans and baby sardines

In celebration of Setsubun (bean throwing festival). And according to tradition, you are also supposed the same number f soya beans that corresponds to your age.

curry and milk
Liquid Japanese curry in milk film. A good show of technique and it tasted as described - japanese curry and milk, but just as a personal preference I like my curries hot and spicy.


seasonal vegetables - tempura of sansai (mountain vegetables) and "snow" carrot
This was a fun amuse. We were instructed to first eat the tempura of wild vegetables (seasonal vegetable), then to forage through the ice for a hidden treasure. The foraged treasure under the ice was a piece of raw japanese seasonal winter carrot - the carrot is cultivated in a particular way where it matures under the snow during winter that enhances the natural flavour and sweetness of the carrot.

Ratatouille (2005)


Sesame and charcoal bread with pork pate
 
Seriously yummy!

The crackle of a Snow-hidden ice-skin (NEW)

Raw pieces of himemasu (hokkaido river trout) in ice cold water and a liquid nitrogen created ice covering. To eat, you have to go ice fishing with your spoon - crack the ice and enjoy the trout with the garnishes and salt, much like what you need to do when fishing for this trout in the Hokkaido river. A very mild tasting fish with firm flesh.

Vegetable Parfait (2011)

A cornucopia of ingredients and textures - tomato jelly, tomato water, cucumber jelly, paprika, basil, parmesan foam, crispy black cabbage, caviar, edible flowers and sprouts - that came together for a very refreshing gazpacho-like dish.
[GREEN] tea (NEW)

A two part dish.
Part one - green vegetable consomme made from steeping cabbage, fava beans, asparagas, garden peas, snow peas, edamame, mizuna and radish to form a very fresh, green vegetable taste.
Part two - the green vegetables that still retained their structural interity and taste that we enjoyed with a squirt of sudachi and matcha salt. 

Carpaccio (NEW)

Smoked young hokkaido goat carpaccio with rabe, pistachio, pistachio oil. I've never had smoked goat. It was smoky and salty and it wasn't too gamey and tasted close to beef.

Candleholder (2007)

Foie gras creme brulee, mango and kamquat jam with raisin and walnut bread. The foie gras that was buttery and the sweetness from mango and kamquat jam helped to cut through the richness to give the dish a good balance. One of our favourite dishes of the night.

Potato and Butter (2012)

A fluffy mashed potato ball (very gourmet pomme noisettes) that the chef hand split at the table and then topped it with shaved truffles on a "soil" made from miso, gorgonzola and walnut. Cute and tasty.

 

MONOTONE (NEW)

Shiro amadai (white tile fish) from Nagasaki with turnip on sake sediment and truffle sauce. The fish had a smoky tasting skin and sake sediment sauce was very good. It has a complexity that was probably developed during the sake fermentation process and when used in the sauce, the sauce had many dimensions - sweetish, efferversant and zing. Another one of our favourite dishes of the night.

 HIDE and SEEK (NEW)

 

Roasted duck breast and gobo (burdock) with hazelnut oil and pink peppercorns. Instructions to eat - the duck is hiding, we have to look through the forrest and to shake off the 'snow' (hazelnut oil) off the leaves to seek out the duck. Very well cooked duck with the bite of peppercorns. The gobo however stole the show from the duck on this one.

Grated Cheese ? (2009)

Shaved frozen apple with cinnamon and vanilla. Too airy to get some solid apple taste for me.

Ice CHOCOLATE Needles (NEW)

Chocolate mousse and vanilla ice cream with sugar glass shards. The main play on the dish was the sugar shards that look like ice needles during the Japan winter. I've haven't had that many winters and sugar isn't my thing, so this dessert was a little lost on me.

Petit fours

chilli chocolate, miso cookie, matcha cake and meringue.

After the multi-course tasting menu, I emerged with a smile having being a part of the theatre for that day. 

Takazawa
Sanyo Akasaka Bldg. 2
3-5-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Tel: +81 (03) 3505-5052

Trolley Service Lunch at Robuchon, Macau

Far from airplane lunch trolley service that only offers a chicken or fish option, that’s not what I’m referring to. Instead, I’m reminiscing about a Lunch back in February in Robuchon a Gelara, Macau that involved multiple trolleys and trolley service that I adore.

I don't think I've ever seen so many trolleys during one lunch. I really liked it. With every trolley rolled and stop at our table that makes the whole idea of dining entertaining and also about celebrating the time spent around the table through the spectacle of service.



Once we were tucked into our seats, the champagne trolley came, along with the admirable but rather ridiculous wine folder, which thanks to technology and perhaps through popular vote has been condensed into 10 pdf pages in an ipad. Once the bottle was decided and the bottle retrieved, on to our next trolley.

The butter trolley, this is my favourite of them all. Say no more, the only question that really matters is - salted or unsalted?




Bread Basket

The set lunch was classic, technical and well refined – everything that I expected from a Robuchon establishment. The fine tarte of mushrooms with foie gras was exceptionally yummy and his legendary pomme puree was really silky smooth and perfection.


oyster with seaweed buttered toast


Crab with Couscous


Fine Tarte of mushrooms with Foie Gras


artichoke veloute with duck breast and truffle infused floating island


scallop, squid farci and pearl vegetables


Seabass with truffle butter


Quail stuffed with foie gras


Pork with blood sausage

The dessert trolley, the ice cream trolley and then the cheese trolley, where there is the element of choice and opportunity cost. Should I have dessert, cheese, or both? And if I only have dessert, what should I have? I think that there is a big difference when the dessert menu comes on a piece of paper and when it is laid in front of you like with ceremony. It is almost like you need a different set of skills in making a choice – as opposed to deciding off a piece of paper and imagining how it would turn out. From all our choices from the trolley, the winner for me was the lemon tart.











I really enjoyed the service and food during my lunch here, it was value for money and a great treat. I think this will be on my eat list on my return trip to Macau.

Robuchon a Galera
Hotel Lisboa
3/F, Lisboa Tower
Tel: +853-8803-7878

My first brush with Gagnaire

Pierre
25/F Mandarin Oriental
2 Connaught Road
Central, Hong Kong
Tel: 852-2825-4001



Gagnaire, famed for his clever and delicious fusion of unexpected flavours and layers of textures does justice to the idea of molecular gastronomy and the idea of fusion cooking. He has a way of seducing and dazzling you with his food. His food is fun and emphasises flavour that is sensually engaging.

I've never been to Pierre Gagnaire in Paris, so a visit to this Asian outpost of this gastro temple seemed like a necessary stop.



I started with a popcorn soup that was highly recommended by the waiter. Seriously, how could you resist ordering something that sounds so silly. In all its seriousness, it was a rich silky corn soup playfully garnished with popcorn.



That was followed by a duck foie gras and oyster that was pan seared with cabbage, Morteau sausage, baby artichoke and shiitake. Bathed in the natural jus of foie gras and oyster this dynamic duo was surprisingly light and hit all the right flavour notes.

I substituted an entrée of beef tartare served with a soft boiled egg, tomato melon kuice and potato fondant and other main courses that we ordered included roasted veal loin with carrot and almond paste and wild mushrooms, all very good.



Dessert was the talk of lunch. We split a Guanja chocolate soufflé served with condiments of blackcurrant sorbet, parfait and chardonnay cheese cream and a request from the dinner a la carte menu of an arugula and pistachio dessert. For the lack of a more eloquent word, the arugula and pistachio dessert was green. On top of a bed of arugula sat pistachio and arugula and pistachio flavoured cream with super thin crisp sugar coins and topped with a pistachio sponge, and it was all green. Thankfully, it did not taste green, in fact it was surprisingly delicious and refreshing.

My lunch at Pierre was seductive. The view is fabulous, my lunch company was funny and the food was whimsical, classic and edgy. I enjoyed lunch, smart and stylish it was good for the stomach as it was for the mind. I would like to return for lunch or dinner.

*See the whole set of photos here.

Finding Wow at Le Papillon

I dine out quite a lot. Thankfully, for the high proportion of my pay check that I plough back into the economy through meals, I usually have good meals. Occasionally, after walking out of a restaurant I feel that I overpaid and the worst case scenario is when I simply feel that I was cheated of my time, money and calories, in those cases I'm usually really pissed and will whinge. But most of the time I’m satisfied, and every once in a while there are moments when the only appropriate reaction I can muster is ‘wow!’ The greatest thing about these ‘wow’ moments is that you never really forget it.



One of those moments happened when I was at Anderson Ho’s restaurant Le Papillon. It was my third visit there, and I was dining with a close friend and fan of Anderson’s who always has a special chef’s menu planned for him. Amongst the seven courses that were planned for the night was a pasta course of prawn oil penne with arugula salad, parmesan and bottaga and it was a showstopper. Not just I, but all four of us around the table at one point or another (probably after about two bites) uttered ‘w-o-w’. It was divine – annoucing its arrival with enticing aromas and depth of flavour that hit many notes and remained well composed. Enchanted, I emailed chef the next day and gushed about it and he very kindly assured me that it was going to be in the next menu and it still remains there today (yay!). Since that day, I’ve become a fan.

My last meal there, the delicious pasta, as I have discovered, currently has evolved and now takes the form of rigatoni with crustacean and seaweed, bottaga, arugula and parmesan. But this time we had a slightly varied form, substituting the bottaga with grilled mentaiko, a hand-carried gift from Japan from Sam to me, and it was still absolutely divine. That was still my favourite dish, but it was also surrounded by other great tasting courses such as its prelude of fresh mud crab salad with tomato gelée and gazpacho espuma appetiser that was had gentle breezy flavours and a good lift from the Tabasco, refined and refreshing. The main courses of skate with lobster emulsion and morels , smoked chicken with onion gratin and braised beef shin were good but I generally prefer appetisers to main courses.

When Le Papillon first opened in 2006, most foodies and culinary critics who had frequented Fig Leaf were excited about the return of Anderson after his ‘sabbatical’ from the culinary scence at SATS. Whilst it opened to positive feedback and reviews, there was a general consensus and I agree, many felt that it had not reached its potential. In addition with many new places, it has it teething problems and a fair share of on and off day, but it is now coming into its form, finding its definitive voice and slowly reaching its potential. At the moment it serves great food and some absolutely brilliant dishes that have developed into signature dishes and found a permanent spot on the menu such as the pesto and feta on watermelon, arugula salad and pedro ximenez reduction, and I think its only going to get better. For me, I feel that in him I have found something that I really relate to in terms of taste. Anderson is grounded in classic French techniques, he understands the local ingredients and he has this wonderful ability of combining flavours that evoke feelings of familiarity and nouvelle in me.

Le Papillon
Red Dot Traffic Building
28 Maxwell Road
#01-02
Tel: 6327-4177
www.le-papillon.com.sg

* See the whole set of photos here.

My Dining Room

My Dining Room
81 Club Street
Tel: 6327-4990
www.mydiningroom.com.sg

There are some places that I think are slightly underrated in Singapore and it would take someone to say something good about it to someone for that someone to tell someone else for them to tell someone else that might get people to visit or to talk more about it. For My Dining Room, let me try to get the ball rolling. I recently attended a private dinner at My Dining Room and for that night the third floor of the building was our dining room. For our private function, we had the entire third floor that was comfortably furnished with a cushy couch that was great to lounge around for aperitifs and to slouch against for digestives.

Whilst the food was generally closely linked with chef Vincent Teng, he has left and is now the executive chef of Scarlet Hotel. Nonetheless, the food served that night still had its moments of greatness. There was nothing too extraordinary, but it delivered what it promised on the menu and it was cooked with accuracy with no surprises.

The Menu

Freshly shucked oysters three-ways: hollandaise sauce, shooter and ume jelly
Neptune cocktail: tiger prawn with tuna and squid served with avocado and homemade sauce Seared goose foie gras served on brioche with exotic fresh fruits and balsamico jelly
Blood orange sorbet
Fillet of chateaubriand with potato gratin, foie gras butter and veal jus
Cheese platter
Signature warm chocolate cake with callebaut chocolate & rum lava with hazelnut ice cream

My favourite? The oysters, they were fresh and fun. Starting with the a plump oyster topped with a sweet Japanese plum jelly and then moving on to shoot back a bright yuzu marinated oyster and feeling the sensation of the oyster sliding down my throat and then finally biting into an oyster that is topped with a warm and rich but not overwhelming hollandaise.

My other dining companions favoured the seared foie gras, which was well cooked with a preserved creamy centre. Understandably so, my only greedy complain is that the piece was too small and I was craving for seconds.

My Dining Room is currently nestled along the row of shophouses at Club Street but will be moving when their lease is up at the end of March. It is undecided where they are relocating to, so indulge whilst it last … and we hope to see them again.

* See the whole set of photos here .

Posh Nosh

Delicatessen
UE Square, #01-22
Tel: 6235-1778



I’ve always liked sandwiches for its simplicity and potential for its endless possibilities. Stacked and stuffed with multiple ingredients or a clean clear taste of cheese on crusty bread, I’ll eat them all. So it is needless to say I was thrilled when I found another sandwich shop option in our predominately rice eating culture city state.

At Delicatessen, the food philosophy is concise and clear: we are dedicated to quality ingredients and food. This gourmet deli has a small selection of sandwiches and salads that have been designed by the owner, with the end purpose of taste and textural experience. The sandwiches, a country bread with parma ham, parmesan cheese, diced tomatoes, char grilled mushrooms, rocket, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and a brioche, with foie gras, apples and truffles, we had did incite such a reaction--a crunch/squish (depending on your bread) and mmm…yummy! Its one of those places that I feel I could have lunch here almost every other day.

Lionel Textier’s, the proprietor, passion for fine foods is endless. His sandwiches are a good place to start, but once you’ve moved beyond the first page of his menu, the other pages of his menu exposes more culinary gems such as artisanal cheeses by Ceneri (a family-owned cheese producer) and exquisite Balik Salmon (exquisite smoked salmon, which recipe originates from the court of the Russian Tsar) and quality Valrhona hot chocolate. I’m slowly trying to taste my way through the menu and to learn about these intriguing products.

Buy Local: Plug for the New Kid on the Block

I was going keep silent about this place until Wong Ah Yoke, our island food reviewer, lets the cat out of the bag (and food mob invades) about Anderson Ho's new restaurant. However, since our very up-to-date and savvy food blogger, Chubby Hubby has already made a plug for this new kid on the black, i figured i don't think i would do much damage if i added my two cents worth.

Chef Anderson Ho, as his book Asia Dégustation testifies, makes gorgeous and powerful flavoured foods. He used to be part of the dynamic duo at Fig Leaf along side Jimmy Chok, but that was quite a while back and how he is flying solo after several years at SATS. I dined at this restaurant on Day 2 of its opening, and like how most restaurant face teething problems in the first month or so, Chef Anderson seemed to be slowly finding his groove in his kitchen as he sent a series of 5 delicious courses to our lunch table. In any case, it is very promising.

The building where it is located is easy to find, but the restaurant itself requires some earnest seeking. Tucked away in the corner of this potentially sore-eye causing, blood red-coloured building, you probably would not spot this place if you didn't purpose to find it. The set up is intimate with a chef's table that will sit 6 and a private room that will host 8.

Our lunch intended 3 course set lunch expanded to a 5 course (thanks chef!): Warm Caesar Salad, Butternut Squash Soup with Parmesan Reggiano, Pan-seared Baby Sea Bass with Garlic Chips and Tapenade, Braised Beef Shin with Risotto and Duo of Créme Brulée. The food exhibited good technique—warm melted cheese with crisp and fresh lettuce leaves and perfectly braised beef shin with gelatinous tendons and an al dente risotto—was satisfying and more importantly showed great potential. In any case, here's our chance to support our chefs. Buy local!

le papillon
28 Maxwell Road
#01-02 Reddot Traffic Building
Singapore 069120
Tel: 63274177

Les Saisons

7 Magazine Road
Central Mall, #01-03
Tel: (65) 6557 0080

The overall ambeince of the place is chic casual, the collection of primary colored chairs at each table with the warm lighting makes the place inviting and laid back but the chandelier gave it a touch of class. We were the first to arrive in the restaurant so while we dined and talked, we did so with a caution, not wanting to be too loud or rude, so as the gradually filled with diners and their bottles of wine, we were more at ease.

I think first impressions are important. We were welcomed at the entrance and we were served warm and crusty sliced of bread. I feel that there is a certain importance of the bread that people serve, when warm and crusty, it shows a sense of attention to detail and consideration, and it seems to proclaim, “Welcome!” Hard rolls have the potential of hurting my teeth, and so needless to say I do not approve of those.

While I was flipping through the menu, I could not figure out the prices of the dish and it was later that I realized that Les Saisons cheekily or chauvinistically only serve the menus with the prices the males and the ladies dining at the table get the menus without the prices. I found that highly amusing, since that has never happened before, and the last time I was here, we were a party of two girls and so, we the independent women, had to pay for our own lunches.


oven roasted pigeon with a fondue of savoy cabbage and bacon with a Xerex vinegar jus

Nosh: We started with an amuse bouche of potato and leek soup and for starters, we ordered the open ravioli of escargot capsicum butter with confit tomato, parmentier of crepe, Tasmanian ocean trout with Sevruga caviar light lemon butter, and the pan fried foie gras, caramelised apple with aged balsamic vinegar. The escargots made me feel like a snail (in a good way), the resulting combination of the flavours on the plate was mellow and woody, making me feel like I was in the woods and close to nature, a little like a snail crawling on the ground. The foie gras was luxurious and beautifully paired with the sweet and tangy revered aged balsamic vinegar. When I saw the ocean trout, I thought salmon, but when I tasted it, it registered trout. The flavour was richer with minerals and the caviar added salty bubbles that burst in my mouth.

The first courses were good and eagerly awaited for our second course. The main courses took too long to arrive so much so that you lose the rhythm in eating. Nonetheless, they did arrive, and we were presented with the braised beef cheek in “Châteaux Notton” served with sauté asparagus and truffle potato, and the rack of lamb marinated and roasted with green asparagus and poivrade artichoke and sweet garlic, oven roasted pigeon with a fondue of savoy cabbage and bacon with a Xerex vinegar jus. Everything was perfectly cooked to their subliminal state of medium rare and the sides were rich enough to stand up to the meats that they were served with. My favourite was the fondue of savoy cabbage with bacon and Xerex vinegar jus. It was smooth from the cheese and the smokey flavour from the bacon permeated the cabbage, that I would have been content with a plate of the fondue of savoy cabbage, the pigeon was a bonus.

We debated over getting dessert since the kitchen seemed busy and judging from the time they took for our main courses, we were potentially looking at a long wait for our dessert, but we decided to dive in anyway since we were not in much of a hurry. The cheese platter got my eye, but I was in a chocolate mood and hence elected with the ubiquitous chocolate fondant cake. The fondant was produced lava chocolate as it should, and served with a scoop of passion fruit ice cream, but I think at the moment I’m feeling a little too jaded with chocolate fondant, such that other that it being chocolate, it was not too memorable. Along with that, we had a serving of the pistachio panna cotta with fresh raspberry and coulis. Despite the richness of panna cotta, it felt light and the raspberries provided some tartness that was balanced off by the sweetness from the coulis.

It has been two weeks since that dinner, and the first thing that pops to my mind when I think about that dinner is the cabbage. The food was good, but nothing too memorable that begs me to come back. They should work on the timing of dishes, because I almost lost interest in finishing dinner from the waiting time after my appetizer.

Pay: About $80 for 3 courses. Dégustation menu available for a choice of 5,6 or 7 courses, prices are $85+++, $95+++, $105+++ respectively.

Service: Mackie does a commendable job heading the team on the floor and provides attentive and friendly service.