JAAN is located on the 70th floor of Swissotel the Stamford and at any time of day you get gorgeous views of Singapore. Try and make reservations for the window seats - you won't be disappointed!
Although their menu changes seasonally, some signature items remain, and rightfully so if I may add. These are a mumbo jumbo from 3 visits so some of these items are no longer on their current menu.
Bread...glorious bread!
One of each please!
I could eat these all day and be contented. I had a walnut and raisin bread, truffle brioche and a mini sourdough. On each occasion we had second servings! With that gorgeous French butter and a sprinkling of salt..mmm. My favourite would have to be the black truffle brioche. Phenomenal indeed.
Mise en bouche
Smoked eel with kombu jelly, crispy chicken skin with tandoori mayo, cheese croquette and hummus with multigrain spiced crackers. Each a delight on it's own.
"My hummus"
If I had to choose my least favourite item from the mise en bouche platter, it would have to be the hummus. Don't get me wrong though, it isn't because it wasn't good, it's because everything else was stunning. The cheese croquette were absolutely moreish. The smoked eel with kombu jelly was a very well thought out concept, but my favourite?
Chicken skin with tandoori mayo
Wafer thin crispy chicken skin. After devouring this you're left wishing they sell this in huge containers. Such a pity it was such a small piece! You get the flavour of roast chicken skin except the flavour is so amplified that it's like having crispy chicken fat (;
Smoked mushroom foam tea
To call this mushroom soup would be wrong. To call it mushroom tea would be to do it injustice. This was an explosion of umami flavours in the mouth! We were left wishing that the waiter would just leave that plunger on the table so we could have more.
Cep sabayon, wild mushrooms, walnut and lovage
A sip from this and you'll be mind blown. It's served warm, with bits of mushroom at the bottom, as well as walnuts and little buckwheat puffs for a crunch. The lovage gives it a nice sweet celery-like flavour without being too overpowering.
Pine scented Scottish salmon heart
This was served with some toasted bread with truffle butter. Can it get anymore decadent? The Aquitaine caviar provided the little bursts of saltiness and little balls of cucumber gave it the freshness it needed. Another well thought out dish!
'Bresse' Chicken, confit oxtail and foie gras 'presse'
I remember feeling a bit sad for this - all it's "predecessors" has been mind blowing and life changing kind of good, so much so that this was left trying to fight for the spotlight...
55' Rosemary Smoked Organic Egg
This has got to be JAAN's signature dish so much so that it stays on the menu every time. Even the presentation itself is so theatrical and many a times you'll find diners frantically whipping out their phones trying to snap a picture before the smoke from the dry ice dissipates.
Smoked rattes (fingerling potato), autumn mushrooms, chorizo, buckwheat puffs
The egg is poured onto a little glass bowl on your table and it is perfect every time - custardy white and yolk. I noticed that the ingredients changes time to time but whatever they decide to pair the egg with, it is granted to have textures and flavours that go so well you wish this was breakfast every morning.
Pumpkin veloute with foie gras
This was actually offered on the menu as part of an extra dish with supplement costs. If you noticed the smoked egg picture above, there was only one egg - that's because my dining companion refuses to eat "eggy stuff" as he puts it. We asked if we could swap out the egg dish for something else and they very kindly substituted it for this - without any supplement charge!
I dream of this till today...it tasted as if a 1000 pumpkins have given up their souls for this. Velvety, creamy and so decadent. Topped with pieces of seared foie gras...very hearty indeed. French cuisine at it's best.
Crispy Skinned Atlantic Mackerel
There are many ways for a fish dish to go wrong. If you claim for it to be crispy skinned, it has to be crispy. And especially not fishy. Unfortunately not many places do it right but JAAN never fails to impress. This was served with sautéed young squid, sweet corn puree, and 'dolce forte'. Dolce forte is actually a chocolate and red wine reduction - just in a fancy French name. Despite what sounds like such a heavy and rich sauce this was very clean tasting. The mackerel had a very delicate flavour and was perfectly cooked and the sweet corn puree gave it that extra sweetness. Very good indeed.
Line caught dory
Up close
Another fish dish done well! This time served with grilled romanesco, crayfish and mussels.
Venison saddle
Perfectly cooked saddle of venison with blood orange, celeriac and Grand Veneur (huntsman's sauce). Grand Veneur is usually served with game meat and has the sweet-sour flavour of red currant jelly. JAAN's version was saltier than other Grand Veneurs I've tried but the blood orange made up for it - giving it that citrusy tang, lifting the whole dish to another level.
36 hours Kurobuta pork, forgotten vegetables and autumn broth
If there is one dish I'd like to forget, it would be this. Such a pity really, because the broth that came with it was amazing. They served this with only a fork and knife, and we were a bit embarassed to ask for a spoon. We would have gladly slurped this from the bowl if we weren't in a fine dining restaurant! So why did we dislike this dish so much? The pork had this foul taste - very porky and a put off to be honest.
Palate cleanser
I love being served a palate cleanser. To me it isn't about "clear" tastes in between food, but it's more of signifying the start of another great chapter - dessert! (: This was calamansi sorbet, freeze dried banana and coconut foam. I would have loved for the sorbet to be a little more tart but it was great nonetheless.
Christmas Choconuts
Another item which stays on the menu quite regularly - just in different forms. Sable breton, textures of white, milk and dark chocolate.
Choconuts
Another version (: Sable breton, Tanariva chocolate, tonka bean ice cream, macadamia and pecan nut, and walnut snow. To be honest I wasn't very impressed by their Choconut desserts. My dining companion however have been having dreams about it till this very day - to each his own I guess. He claims that if he has the money, he would return and pay for the whole dego course but change every item on the menu to this. That's saying something!
Mignardises (small desserts)
And another one!
Their mignardises (not quite petits fours), while similar in concept, varies from time to time. The chocolate smoked rosemary ice cream would have to be my favourite among the lot.
Menu and pricing varies all the time, so it would be best for you to check out their website for their latest offerings. I've found that emailing works best for me as they would also email you a copy of their PDF menu should it be unavailable on their website. It might also be good to note that items on the day itself may vary slightly from their menu on the website.
I must also add that both their lunch and dinner degustations are worth trying. Unlike most fine dining places where it's only best to go for their full dinner degustation, JAAN's lunch dego is equally as amazing as their dinner seating!
Excellent views, excellent service, excellent food. A rare combination these days.
JAAN Restaurant
2 Stamford Road, Level 70, Equinox Complex, Swissotel the Stamford
+65 68373322
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