no lah. where got?

restaurant ember
28 May 2009 - 17:11

(feb 13 2009)

restaurant ember at hotel 1929, 50 keong saik road. reservations are a must! very crowded even on weekdays.

sundried tomato focaccia. sweeter than your average. heated to order. crispy on the outside without being crusty. steaming hot on the inside! extras on request. sabrina (the head waitress + wife of executive chef/owner) is a really nice lady. 100 points!

all tables are set the same way. the restaurant is too busy to change the cutlery according to the order. everyone gets a nice weighty dinner knife. as odd as this sounds it's really comfortable. (i can't believe i just said something like this about cutlery.) they serve set lunches and dinners ONLY. i suppose a-la carte is available upon request. choice is plentiful under each section ("appetizer", "main", "dessert"). $38++ per pax for lunch. coffee/tea not included.

pan-seared foie gras with caramelised apple, clove port and raspberry glaze. (extra $6 for foie gras appetizer.) generous portion of foie gras. just a thin glaze (crispy!) on the outside. very rich and creamy on the inside. complimented very well with the firm caramelised apples. thought the red smear across the plate was... not quite right. but y'know, that's just me. the raspberry glaze was more for decoration than of any use to the palate. it sort of dried up on the plate. mother had roasted and poached foie gras with mirin, shoyu and shiitake mushrooms and said hers was better -- whatever la.

restaurant ember serves fusion food. so here we are: char-grilled US beef tenderloin (medium rare) with fricasse of mushroom and merlot reduction. bok choy and bacon on the top left, whipped butter and mustard -- i think -- in the cute mug on the top right, "fricasse of mushroom" on the bottom right, and the main star on the bottom left -- topped with grilled garlic, surrounded by "merlot reduction" which i thought was more of the jus reduced with soy sauce and some sugar.

the bok choy and bacon was a very interesting combination and a bit too salty for me. the whipped mustard was excellent, very light and did not overpower any of the accompanying dishes. the mushroom fricasse thingy was meaty and flavourful. the main course was well-planned, portion size was good (though it looks very small in the picture) and the flavours complemented very well with one another. :D the beef gets cold very fast though. :(

mother's spiced fig cake with Grand Marnier ice-cream. did not try this. i think it wasn't Grand Marnier ice cream but vanilla. the dish was garnished with Grand Marnier and chopped pistachio.

personal coffee service! cute. <3

personal tea service. check out tiny strainer and mini-biscotti.

warm Valrhona chocolate cake with vanilla bean ice cream

...

:')

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