Symmetry, Singapore

If you're looking for a place for a first date where you can slurp squid ink pasta and not let your date see your gorgeous black stained teeth, Symmetry is the place to go. Nestled right at the edge of Kampong Glam area - stone throw away from Arab Street and Bugis, it's a place which sets off this vibe which I can't quite put my finger on. Indie? Hippy? Rusic, yet charming. 

Window decorations

What I love about this place is that it serves up 3 different menus - brunch, lunch and dinner. I love that the menu is so inspiring, not any plain Jane. Cafe by day, bar and restaurant by night. We popped by on a Thursday evening for dinner and I must say I was surprised by how packed the place got by the end of the night. 

 Tomatoes ($21)

The most amazing tomato salad I've ever had to date. I don't even like tomatoes to start with. It's the kind of dish you wished you didn't have to share (; Heirloom tomatoes, burrata cheese, basil, olive soil, honey & lemon emulsion...this makes tomatoes, basil and mozzarella cheese so yesterday.

Sometimes you wish that the chef didn't mess with the classics. At first thought - olive soil. Is that necessary? But it adds to the texture - crumbly and somewhat buttery. I would have this salad everyday.  Seriously, everyday.

Squid ($16)

Deep fried whole baby squid served with a squid ink black pepper aioli. Can't fault this, I'd imagine it'll go down a treat with ice cold beer!

Scallops ($32)

Perfectly seared scallops with squid, chorizo, mashed potato, piquillo pepper, kelp, almond and garlic. I had a dish somewhat similar once at Daniel Boulud's DB Bistro Moderne and this gives him a run for his money. 

Risotto ($34)

In the menu, this dish is supposedly a duck leg and foie gras risotto. Little confession - we had connections (pays to know the chef) so he very kindly changed it to a foie gras and mushroom risotto for us. We would gladly have ordered the original had it not been for the food coma we all had earlier on in the day - oops! This was mind blowing. So many places don't get their risottos right. This was perfectly al dente and oozy - not a pile of gunk and starch on a plate. The foie gras seemed to be deep fried - crispy on the outside and buttery on the inside, reminded me of deep fried luncheon meat (does that turn you off?) The sautéed mushrooms added an earthiness making this so decadent you feel somewhat sinful after having it! 

Beef short ribs ($37)

58 hour braised ribs served with creamy mashed potato, water cress and a brown butter emulsion. If you've not had beef short ribs before, you're missing out on something big. BIG. When cooked right, it becomes a cut which is so delectable and flavourful, it soaks up everything it's braised in and breaks down to be this sticky and meaty piece of goodness.

Opening hours

I wouldn't say it's cheap, but for a somewhat more composed and decently executed menu, Symmetry gets my vote. Then again, we had the tip of exactly what to order, and what not to (;

Symmetry

9 Jalan Kubor, #01-01

+65 62919901

JAAN, Singapore

Recently ranked #22 and the "one to watch" in Asia's Best 50 Restaurants 2013, JAAN has got to be one of the most underrated restaurants last year. JAAN, derived from the ancient Sanskrit word for 'bowl', is helmed by Chef Julien Royer who was previously chef de cuisine of Brasserie Les Saveurs at St Regis Singapore. JAAN serves up one of the most innovative and imaginative modern French cuisine I've ever came across, so much so that I've been back to JAAN three times for their ever changing degustation menu and I haven't been let down at all.

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

Saint Pierre, Singapore

Saint Pierre has recently closed its doors at Central Mall but like they say, when one door shuts, another opens.

Chef Emmanuel Stroobant, along with his very capable team has reopened last Wednesday at the Quayside Isle in Sentosa and I had the privilege of visiting them during the weekend. If you've never been to QI in Sentosa, picture this. A dazzling amount of yachts, stretched over the waters with gorgeous (multi million dollar) houses and condos in the background. Just for awhile, you could escape to what feels like Australia. 

A dining experience at the new Saint Pierre gets you all this and dare I say it's prettier during the day than the night! 

So we were there for Saturday brunch...surprisingly the place was quite empty, perhaps only because it's been opened for 4 days. 

 Homemade Assorted Breads ($15)

Absolutely famished, we ordered a "bread basket" which literally came in a basket. We were given a croissant, a pains au chocolat (chocolate croissant) and some bread. Served with homemade jam and farmed butter. This was nothing to shout about. Croissants were buttery and good, just not great. Unfortunately the butter wasn't salted...a sprinkling or a little pile of salt would have been greatly appreciated.

 Eggs Benedict ($24)

The simplest things are the hardest to get right, right? (; And so I ordered the Eggs Benny, which was probably the most expensive item on their brunch menu, if you don't count the cheese platter. 2 slices of perfectly toasted brioche, 2 perfectly poached eggs, shavings of melt in your mouth not overly salty iberico bellota ham, and....champagne hollandaise.

Now, the hollandaise. I couldn't quite decide if I liked the hollandaise sauce. It was velvety, rich, buttery and thick - with the texture of stiff whipped cream. Perhaps a little too thick? Yet as I sit here tonight typing this post, perhaps it was best described as thick yet airy, and the acidity from the champagne cut through it just nice. Love hate relationship, really.

 Beef Parmentier ($18)

If you're thinking about the generous shavings of truffles in this dish for the $18 you pay, I need to stop you there. We had a little hiccup with this dish. My dining companion found a strand of hair in it (thick and curly, just incase you wanted to know), and they so very kindly replaced the dish and took the liberty of taking it off our bill. What was supposed to be a brunoise of truffles came back as large shavings of truffles. It was a lovely gesture and the waiter was very apologetic! The second time, we found a little piece of plastic in it but we decided to let it go and didn't want to be painful customers!

Waffles ($18)

I would return to eat this. Any day! Crispy sides, fluffy in the middle, topped with apple compote and foie gras mousse. Apple and foie gras? Classic. Put it on a perfectly cooked waffle? Heaven. My only gripe is that the table next to us had micro herbs on hers and ours didn't. Perhaps she was a popular blogger and we weren't. But still. We eat with our eyes first! 

Goats Cheese ($16)

When the waiter heard that we were going to share this, he very thoughtfully arranged for it to be plated individually. This is half a serving. Crisp, buttery arlette, topped with goats cheese, drizzled with chestnut tree honey and a sprinkling of pine nuts. I could eat this and die happily...everyday. I mean, think about it. Sweet and sour, sweet and spicy, sweet and nutty, sweet and creamy...why wouldn't this work? Buy a bottle of good quality varietal honey like lavender or infuse a plain one with herbs and drizzle it over cheese and suddenly the day becomes so much better. $16 though, for two portions of this seems ridiculous, would have been justified with the addition of a few slices of figs or pear. Just saying. 

A note worth mentioning is that you could opt for a set brunch menu for $38 which include a choice of fresh juices, some assorted bread, a main, and a coffee/tea of your choice. 

So will I return? Definitely. Word is that they serve an excellent semi-buffet Sunday roast for $68 per person. I had the privilege of meeting Chef Stroobant himself and the when he spoke about the menu you could tell he was oozing with passion and sincerity about his food. Nothing pretentious, just pure heartiness. 

It's also been a while since I came across such level of hospitality and service when dining out. There were 2 waiters that afternoon, Kelvin and another whom we didn't get the name of. They didn't rush us when ordering, but made sure that we weren't forgotten, quick on their toes, and very thoughtful throughout our entire brunch experience. 

Saint Pierre Singapore 

31 Ocean Way, #01-15 Quayside Isle

+65 64380887