Critically acclaimed Taiwanese chef André Chiang has enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top since opening his Mediterranean-fusion Restaurant André in Singapore in 2010. He is currently ranked number 38 on Pellegrino's list of the best restaurants in the world. We had the fortune to visit his restaurant and enjoy an amazing dinner. Chef Chiang has a very specific perspective when it comes to cooking that he calls Octaphilosophy. He describes it this way: "The hypothesis of eight characteristics that attempt to discover through cuisine; the nature and significance of ordinary and scientific beliefs while investigating the simplicity of concepts by means of rational argument concerning their presumptions, implications, and interrelationships. The pure and unique hues of nature’s gifts from the land together with scientific research are juxtaposed alongside with the intuitions of the South, where primal aromas and texture evoke the endless trail of memories." Arriving at André, you immediately feel that you are in for something special. The restaurant is at the edge of Chinatown in one of a row of beautifully restored colonial shop houses. Outside the restaurant there is a small olive tree, that Chef Chiang had brought in from the south of France as a reminder of where he started his cooking. The restaurant itself is elegant and modern with quirky little designs everywhere. When we visited the restaurant Chef Chiang served a tasting menu consisting of11 courses. We started with some fun Amuse Bouches. It is great way to start the menu, the flavors are rich, especially the earthiness of the Porcini Crispy but the Lobster Sandwich is also delicate and very good. The problems with snacks like these, is that you just want more of them. After the Amuse Bouches, the menu kick off with an amazing course, Seafood on arrival. The point of this course is to emphasize the seafood, and to do this without the use of any seasoning. The plate consists of mussels, abalone, sweet prawn, some wild herbs, kelp and legumes. It is an excellent course. We move forward with an oyster course and a wonderful braised aubergine. I have never been a real fan of aubergine but this one was really good, paired with cockscomb and duck tongues. The oyster course is another home run. The apple foam is a semi-solid disc sheltering the tartar, with Granny Smith apple matchsticks, olive oil spherification and oscietra caviar. Surrounding the dish are seaweed and an emulsion of oyster juices. Chef Chiang doesn't use any seasoning or salt in this course either, instead let the saltiness of the seaweed and the caviar be the seasoning. The next two courses is Chiang’s personal tribute to the South of France, where his formative years were spent under the tutelage of Jacques and Laurent Pourcel. A wonderful Sea Urchin risotto, where the umami flavor really comes through and a very nice Homard Bleu, a blue European lobster cooked to perfection. The next two courses was mixed bag, first we were served a some artichokes which compared to all the other amazing courses served throughout the dinner fell a little flat. Good flavors but nothing special. After that, we were served my favorite course of that night. It was actually so good, i immediately order another one. Kudos to the waiting staff that was able to quickly accommodate this request. Chiang invented this dish back in the 90s, and it has been on his menus ever since in some shape or form. It is a delicate foie gras jelly topped with a perigord truffle coulis, Think of it as a decadent creme brulee, but 50 times better. the foie gras jelly is wam and the truffle has to be Perigord according to the chef. Simply wonderful, I will go back to this restaurant every single time I am in Singapore just for this course. We finish the savory part of the menu with a Tri-tip. Very flavorful and a nice pairing with garlic, berries and beets. An excellent way to move into dessert. Service here is professional and knowledgeable, Maître d’ Stepan Marhoul, sommelier Ken Hasegawa and co-owner Pam (Mrs André), was running the floor. Mr Marhoul especially, was extremely service-oriented, he showed me the kitchen and made sure that we got a cab after our dinner. He waited outside for 8 minutes to make sure that we got one. Very impressive. The sweet parts of the dinner was equally impressive. A nice variety of courses, with interesting flavor combinations and presented in inventive ways. Restaurant Andre is expensive but this is a genuine global player in the finest dining stakes and the experience was worth every cent. Chef Andre is a great chef and he is supported by a wonderful staff. I highly recommend a visit to this restaurant for a special night out.
4 Comments
|
Eating out
In this section you will find blogs about restaurants all over the world. Maybe you will find your new favorite?? Archives
October 2017
Categories
All
|
Eating out |
Web Hosting by FatCow