Dinner at Jaan 11th October 2008
This one is a gem, and if you haven't checked it out, it is highly highly highly recommended. For me, it was THE Best Dinner of 2008 (so far at least.. And it trumped Forlino's hands down!) and it will be quite a feat to beat for the rest of the year. Not just because it was a special dinner with a special someone and not just because its perched high up 70 storeys above everything else in Singapore but it had all the ingredients of a really great restaurant - wonderful ambience, excellent wait-staff and of course the mind-blowingly delicious food served with artistry and flair... ah..
The tall and good-looking chef (dear don't kill me hor?), Andre Chiang, is a Taiwanese who have been plying his trade in France since he was 13 years old. He has been invited to Singapore four times in recent years for various gourmet events, such as the World Gourmet Summit and during the most recent one, caught the palate of the people at Jaan. And when there was a chef vacancy.. you know who they called. Of course the amiable, youngish-30-something-or-so chef said yes and promptly arrived on our shores 4 months ago. Lucky us because we got to try what he could do in the kitchen....mmmmmm....
It was a never-ending parade of gastronomic wonder and art, a constant challenge to my perception of food and redefining culinary art itself!
1st up, they served premium spring water from all over the world from Japan to France! We even kept the bottles - A nice frosted bottle from the Japanese brand "Fine", reminiscent of a sake bottle, and a 2008 collector's edition Evian bottle designed by Christian Lacroix. And the gals was so nice to actually pack the bottles for us!
Then came the breadsticks... only they were so thin and long that we initially thought they were one of those twiggy Zen table centrepieces until my companion whispered "i think we are supposed to eat it!!! the other table's eating it!!" and my my... were they a challenge to the conventional take on bread sticks! I mean parmesan breadstick seems commonplace enough, but squid-ink breadstick!? the faint musk went amazingly well with the unsalted butter and pate of eggplant with ground sesame.
We ordered the Gustation menu - 8 course with 6 pairings of wine! Yum!! The gustation menu had to be ordered by the table for all the food to come out at the same time. I was hoping to try the chef's menu but that mild annoyance evaporated with the first course..
I will let the pictures speak for themselves, because art like this should be a feast for the senses and i don't think it was meant to be constrained by mere mortal words..
Amuse Bouche
Duo of lobster scented with fresh Basil, peach ravioli and green apple tapioca tartar.
wine: Pinot Blanc Reserve, Domaine Weinbach, France, 2007
Roasted sea scallop, vanilla/ Vitelotte "Parmentier" and baby herbs
wine: Case Lapostolle, Cuvee Alexandre, Chardonnay, Chile, 2005 (wonderful buttery and creamy..)
Kaffir lim and scented spices consomme with Alaskan King Crab
at this point, we have abandoned looking at the menu and just threw ourselves giddily into each new gourmet discovery, leaving us to the sweet mercy of our tastebuds..
Perigold foie gras creme brulee with spice bread powder
wine: Sea Ridge, White Zinfandel, Napa Valley, California, 2006 (nose of prunes and honey aftertones.. this is Zinfandel!??! I have new respect for this humble grape)
Foie gras as creme brulee!? how sacrilegious you might say... but don't sweat it till u tried this!
Grilled goby fillet on a bed of oyster tartar with lemon confit, baby sorrel and orange vinaigrette
wine: Basserman-Jordan, Riesling Deidesheimer Kabinett, Pfalz, Germany, 2007 (high-acidic dry Riesling that was the perfect canvas to bring out the brilliant colours of the oyster, lemons and orange...)
Slice of seared wagyu beef, fine puree of green peas, onion marmalade and Laguiole cheese galette (The beef was divine: 3 bites to heaven, 1.. 2.. 3.. meeeeelt! I counted!!)
wine: Cape Mentelle, Cabernet/ Merlot, Margaret River, Australia, 2006 (this time the wine faded into a velvety comfortable background like Laura Fygi crooning gently just now..)
Pre dessert
Grand Desserts du Chef
wine: Tintoralba Dulce, Spain, Non Vintage)
bonus: Beni di Batasiolo, Moscato d'Asti, La Morra, Italy, 2007 (this one was the bonus only because I think the sommelier was really entertained by us and liked us for our enthusiasm for his wine!)
Mignardises
Coffee/ Tea
Ah.... bliss.
Food: 9/10 (so good my palate still tingles...)
Ambience: 9/10 (if only the IR was completed...)
Service: 9.5/10 (they indulged me in everything!!...)
Overall: 9/10
The tall and good-looking chef (dear don't kill me hor?), Andre Chiang, is a Taiwanese who have been plying his trade in France since he was 13 years old. He has been invited to Singapore four times in recent years for various gourmet events, such as the World Gourmet Summit and during the most recent one, caught the palate of the people at Jaan. And when there was a chef vacancy.. you know who they called. Of course the amiable, youngish-30-something-or-so chef said yes and promptly arrived on our shores 4 months ago. Lucky us because we got to try what he could do in the kitchen....mmmmmm....
It was a never-ending parade of gastronomic wonder and art, a constant challenge to my perception of food and redefining culinary art itself!
1st up, they served premium spring water from all over the world from Japan to France! We even kept the bottles - A nice frosted bottle from the Japanese brand "Fine", reminiscent of a sake bottle, and a 2008 collector's edition Evian bottle designed by Christian Lacroix. And the gals was so nice to actually pack the bottles for us!
Then came the breadsticks... only they were so thin and long that we initially thought they were one of those twiggy Zen table centrepieces until my companion whispered "i think we are supposed to eat it!!! the other table's eating it!!" and my my... were they a challenge to the conventional take on bread sticks! I mean parmesan breadstick seems commonplace enough, but squid-ink breadstick!? the faint musk went amazingly well with the unsalted butter and pate of eggplant with ground sesame.
We ordered the Gustation menu - 8 course with 6 pairings of wine! Yum!! The gustation menu had to be ordered by the table for all the food to come out at the same time. I was hoping to try the chef's menu but that mild annoyance evaporated with the first course..
I will let the pictures speak for themselves, because art like this should be a feast for the senses and i don't think it was meant to be constrained by mere mortal words..
Amuse Bouche
Duo of lobster scented with fresh Basil, peach ravioli and green apple tapioca tartar.
wine: Pinot Blanc Reserve, Domaine Weinbach, France, 2007
Roasted sea scallop, vanilla/ Vitelotte "Parmentier" and baby herbs
wine: Case Lapostolle, Cuvee Alexandre, Chardonnay, Chile, 2005 (wonderful buttery and creamy..)
Kaffir lim and scented spices consomme with Alaskan King Crab
at this point, we have abandoned looking at the menu and just threw ourselves giddily into each new gourmet discovery, leaving us to the sweet mercy of our tastebuds..
Perigold foie gras creme brulee with spice bread powder
wine: Sea Ridge, White Zinfandel, Napa Valley, California, 2006 (nose of prunes and honey aftertones.. this is Zinfandel!??! I have new respect for this humble grape)
Foie gras as creme brulee!? how sacrilegious you might say... but don't sweat it till u tried this!
Grilled goby fillet on a bed of oyster tartar with lemon confit, baby sorrel and orange vinaigrette
wine: Basserman-Jordan, Riesling Deidesheimer Kabinett, Pfalz, Germany, 2007 (high-acidic dry Riesling that was the perfect canvas to bring out the brilliant colours of the oyster, lemons and orange...)
Slice of seared wagyu beef, fine puree of green peas, onion marmalade and Laguiole cheese galette (The beef was divine: 3 bites to heaven, 1.. 2.. 3.. meeeeelt! I counted!!)
wine: Cape Mentelle, Cabernet/ Merlot, Margaret River, Australia, 2006 (this time the wine faded into a velvety comfortable background like Laura Fygi crooning gently just now..)
Pre dessert
Grand Desserts du Chef
wine: Tintoralba Dulce, Spain, Non Vintage)
bonus: Beni di Batasiolo, Moscato d'Asti, La Morra, Italy, 2007 (this one was the bonus only because I think the sommelier was really entertained by us and liked us for our enthusiasm for his wine!)
Mignardises
Coffee/ Tea
Ah.... bliss.
Food: 9/10 (so good my palate still tingles...)
Ambience: 9/10 (if only the IR was completed...)
Service: 9.5/10 (they indulged me in everything!!...)
Overall: 9/10