Fine Dining

Chef Jason Tan’s Favourite Vegetable - the prized Cévennes Sweet Onion 🧅 Known for its profound sweetness and unbelievable lack of pungency, this unsung hero of ingredients was explored so thoroughly, revealing so many layers of flavour and possibilities!

🧅They were presented in 4 ‘inspirations’: 🧅
1. Baked Onion Cup - a whole baked onion filled with onion purée and confit, a 62°C soft egg and black truffles. This was an absolute flavour bomb of savoury and sweet flavours, with an air of fragrance between onion and truffle amusing the tastebuds. I took a few bites of the cup too, and indeed the onion was so sweet and had no pungency at all even in such a pure state!

2. Onion Tea - A colossal amount of work goes into this small cup, as 4kg of onions and 2 days of work produce just 200ml of this earl-grey infused onion tea. It is poured into an emulsion of onion purée and cream, creating a dual mix of textures and flavour depth. This was onion soup ultimate EX, and I wish I had a whole pot of it 🥺

3. Onion Chip - Thinly sliced, dehydrated for 24hrs and very lightly salted. This was the chef’s expression of the purity of the Cévennes onion.

4. Onion Tart - Incredibly petite discs of onion confit slow cooked in salted butter for 8 hours, topped with parmesan cheese and extremely crispy!

A stunning dish, which I felt the chef’s passion poured into each component through the painstaking preparation and detail put into each ‘inspiration’. The journey with Cévennes onion was truly memorable, and I can never see onions the same again 🧅

Chef Jason Tan’s Favourite Vegetable - the prized Cévennes Sweet Onion 🧅 Known for its profound sweetness and unbelievable lack of pungency, this unsung hero of ingredients was explored so thoroughly, revealing so many layers of flavour and possibilities!

🧅They were presented in 4 ‘inspirations’: 🧅
1. Baked Onion Cup - a whole baked onion filled with onion purée and confit, a 62°C soft egg and black truffles. This was an absolute flavour bomb of savoury and sweet flavours, with an air of fragrance between onion and truffle amusing the tastebuds. I took a few bites of the cup too, and indeed the onion was so sweet and had no pungency at all even in such a pure state!

2. Onion Tea - A colossal amount of work goes into this small cup, as 4kg of onions and 2 days of work produce just 200ml of this earl-grey infused onion tea. It is poured into an emulsion of onion purée and cream, creating a dual mix of textures and flavour depth. This was onion soup ultimate EX, and I wish I had a whole pot of it 🥺

3. Onion Chip - Thinly sliced, dehydrated for 24hrs and very lightly salted. This was the chef’s expression of the purity of the Cévennes onion.

4. Onion Tart - Incredibly petite discs of onion confit slow cooked in salted butter for 8 hours, topped with parmesan cheese and extremely crispy!

A stunning dish, which I felt the chef’s passion poured into each component through the painstaking preparation and detail put into each ‘inspiration’. The journey with Cévennes onion was truly memorable, and I can never see onions the same again 🧅

The iconic Duck Neck and Foie Gras Sausage from Pollen at Gardens by the Bay! This was made from stuffings of duck leg, pork and cubes of foie gras into the neck of a duck.

The entire neck is presented before being cut into generous portions. Best part of this was the skin, which was so thin and caramelised just nicely. Same goes for the 15-day dry aged duck breast on the side, beautifully thin skin that wasn’t fatty at all and the meat contained an intense duck gamey flavour which I love.

It was like walking through a garden, some new some familiar, each beautifully and vibrantly plated with different flowers and plants. These were some of the amuse bouches served at La Dame de Pic Singapore 🌺

Most stunning was the Yuzu Bon Bon, served cold on a carved block of ice. One bite through, and the flavours and gazpacho just exploded from within, such a delightful texture!

Part of the Experience Tasting Menu ($248++)

Part of the tasting menu ($118++).

Really enjoyed Esquina’s Spanish Breakfast, featuring scrambled eggs, mushroom ketchup, chorizo and baked potato foam, all packed inside an egg shell! One scoop and the full flavours of a hearty Spanish breakfast can be tasted 😋

Sucrine Lettuce - also called the little gem lettuce, is a breed which aces both of the 2 most important features among lettuces, crispy and sweet. In Esquina, they grill it to give it a smokey char without overcooking or softening the lettuce. Complemented with a punch of flavour from the minty herb yoghurt, and macadamia nuts for the extra crunchiness.
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I really enjoyed this, and was amazed at how Chef Carlos managed to transform the simple lettuce into such a memorable and appetising dish!

Second time I’ve visited Esquina and I’m still in love with their flavourful and meaty Canelones!

A classic dish that is made during the festive period at Chef Carlos’ hometown Catalonia. This version is filled with wagyu beef, pork and foie gras, making it a very rich and smooth filling with a satisfying meaty taste 🤤

The canelone is drizzled with bechamel sauce and crowned with black truffles, giving an uplifting dazzle to this wonderful dish! Yummy!!

Part of the 9-course tasting menu at @esquinasg ($118++). One of the most worth it tasting menus I’ve had to date!

Part of the tasting menu ($238++).

Meta is short for metamorphosis and has a strong philosophy of change and evolution. Headed by Chef Sun , food here reflects this philosophy with perfect intersections between not 2, but 3 different cultures: Korean, Japanese and French!

Pictured is the Aged Sawara, served as the first dish after amuse bouche. Sawara is a top grade Japanese Mackerel, best during the winter when it’s fattest, very sweet and rich in flavour. It was aged to give it an aromatic smoky flavour.

Not only was it served with a really generous amount of caviar 😍 the yellow sauce beneath was very special, and the most memorable component to this dish, a ponzu sauce made with egg yolk. Ponzu usually goes well with sashimi, and the use of egg yolk gave this sauce an amazing silky texture that just coats the fish perfectly. What a genius!

Truffle game strong at @pollenrestaurantsg !! I loved their dishes which highlighted different truffles of the season, wonderfully paired with the Chef’s creations.

This other truffle dish used the highly prized white truffle, which is only harvested once a year! Shaved generously on top of a bed of egg, polenta and chicken jus. This dish came out quite filling, but the fragrance of the white truffles shined right through so elegantly. What a special experience to be able to try such valuable ingredients 🙏🏼😌
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All part of the tasting menu ($168++) at Pollen Restaurant, beautifully located inside the Flower Dome of Gardens by the Bay. The white truffles were seasonal and were added as a top up, do ask which is in season now 😉

Truffle game strong at @pollenrestaurantsg !! I loved their dishes which highlighted different truffles of the season, wonderfully paired with the Chef’s creations.

My favourite dish at Pollen, the Wild Mushroom Tart, was an exciting combination of flavours with the caramelised celeriac, vinegared chanterelle and umbrian autumn truffles. Each element contributed a distinct flavour, some new, some familiar, resulting in a vibrant and yet earthy flavour that was so unique to me!!
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All part of the tasting menu ($168++) at Pollen Restaurant, beautifully located inside the Flower Dome of Gardens by the Bay.