L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon @ Resorts World Sentosa

After months of waiting, the world's most-decorated Michelin star (24 to be exact) - Chef Joël Robuchon, has finally landed in Singapore. And he has opened not one, but two of his signature restaurant. One is fine dining, and the other is a more casual restaurant.



Both are located side by side at Hotel Michael. Their entrance is next to the Lake of Dreams in Resorts World Sentosa. As it is always full every night (they don't serve lunch for the time being), it is highly recommended you book about 1 week in advance.



Diners here consists of 50% tourists from western countries, and another 50% from Asia including locals. This just show how powerful the branding of the name "Joël Robuchon" is. In fact, a German tourist couple who have just returned from L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Paris was here at the Singapore outpost again to enjoy the experience. Diners sit around the kitchen bar which is decorated in the red and black colours, and don't be surprised when the diner next to you start to talk with you about your experiences here, because diners are encouraged to chat with their newly made friends throughout the night.



There is both ala carte and the signature Discovery Menu - S$250. Would recommend first timers to order the Discovery Menu as you get to taste their signature dishes without having to eat the full portion.



The meal started promptly with the Amuse Bouche - Foie Gras Custard with red Porto wine and Parmesan Foam. It's creamy and smooth.



The bread basket was truly the largest bread basket I have ever been served. It's given to every single diner for both ala carte and set meals. I read that these breads were specially baked by their in-house baker chef Yoshihiko Tauchi, who combines the best of Japanese baking technique on these French breads. Do ask for butter as they do not usually serve them together with the bread.



King Crab on Thin Layers of Turnip with Sweet and Sour Sauce - The king crab was really sweet and the sweet sour sauce added a "tropical" taste to it.



The Green Asparagus Skewer with quail egg done sunny side up and morels was done quite creatively where the asparagus was skewered and topped with a sunny side quail egg with the egg yolk still runny. I like the mushrooms by the side too which had hints of truffles.



Foie Gras lover will enjoy the huge piece of seared duck Foie Gras with a citrus gratin. The tangy citrus gratin helped to balance out the rich foie gras.



We really like the Daikon veloute flavoured with citrus oil. According to our friendly and chatty service staff, no cream and butter and flour were added to make the soup creamy. Everything was thickened with the goodness of the Daikon. Again, the citrus oil complimented the thick and creamy soup.



Another skewered dish - Salmon's shot of belly with potato grenaille in "Gravlax" style. The salmon was fresh and sweet. Some spices were sprinkled to create an almost "caribbean" taste to it.



As we ordered 2 Discovery Sets, therefore we get to enjoy and share both the mains. First was the French-style hanger steak with fried shallots. The steak was really tender and juicy. Pity it came in a small portion. The hanger steak is actually the cut at the diaphragm of a steer, which is considered to be the most flavourful part of the cattle.



The other main course was this Foie Gras filled free-range quail with mashed potatoes. Now this was equally outstanding. Foie Gras was stuffed in the quail, so that the quail remains juicy and flavourful during cooking.



We were both given 2 servings of the superbly creamy L'atelier's famous mashed potato . You can really taste the generous amount of French butter being mashed together with the potatoes.



Ordered an extra Calvados (S$24 per glass) 15 years extra vieux "extra old" to go with the red meats.



It's dessert time. First up is their beautiful red berries spiced coulis with Victoria pineapple sorbet. It has nice crunchy bits added to this dessert and will "fizz" inside your mouth. Not too sour but not too sweet too.



Chocolate lovers wil dig this roasted hazelnut dacquoise, creamy Caribbean chocolate. The dacquoise had layers of almond and hazelnut meringue plus chocolate whipped cream.



And the set came with tea (ordered TWG's Vanilla Bourbon Tea) escorted with a sweet. Had a light calming fragrant taste to it.

Before we left, saw Ong Beng Seng there eating too.



We really enjoyed ourselves here at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon with the food, service and of course the interaction among diners.

And do look out for next week when we will review the Joël Robuchon Fine Dining located just next door.


L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon
Hotel Michael
Level 1,
8 Sentosa Gateway,
Resorts World Sentosa

Baskin-Robbins @ Clementi Mall

Baskin Robbins- the world's largest ice cream speciality chain- reopened its first outlet in Singapore at The Clementi Mall last Sunday. Another outlet has since opened at Velocity@Novena Square.

Prices here are on par with fellow American ice cream parlor Ben and Jerry's, with prices starting at $4 for a junior scoop (2.5 oz) and $5 for a single scoop (4oz). I opted for a double scoop (two 2.5oz ) which was priced at $6.

Being American-style ice cream, the flavors were on the sweet side. I foresee myself ordering Toasted Coconut Crunch (above) again the next time I drop by Baskin-Robbins. Smooth and creamy, the toasted coconut custard flavored ice cream was perfectly complemented by a swirl of sweet and buttery caramel and pralined cashews.

While Old Fashioned Butter Pecan (below) had a nice toffee flavor, it could have done with a smoother texture. More of those crunchy toasted pecans would also have been welcome!

 Baskin-Robbins

The Clementi Mall

04-K1/K2

Three Wombats Café (CLOSED)

Two weeks ago, a friend of mine introduced me to this Anstralia inspired café located in the heartland of Whampoa, just off Balestier Road.



The menu serves all-day breakfast and some simple café fare. The prices are reasonable too.





Wombat's Breakfast



Fish and Chips



Although the food here was on the mediocre side, I really enjoyed the laid-back vibe here, complete with relaxing music and comfy couch.


Illustration: Wilcox

On a separate note, while trying to find out more about the animal, I came across this hilarious comic and with it an article on wombats' mating habits. Read on here.


Three Wombats Café
18 Kim Keat Road
6251 1958
Tue–Sun, 11am – 10pm
Closed on Mondays

Jade Palace Seafood @ Forum Shopping Mall

Time for some Chinese food reviews, and today we went to Jade Palace Seafood (no relations to Crystal Jade) situated at Forum the shopping mall. Although quite a lot of diners know about this place, but this is actually our first visit.



Upon arrival, we were served Braised Peanuts (S$3) and Chrysanthemum Tea (S$4 for 2) .



First is the BBQ Kurobuta Pork Char Siew (S$12) . Isn't it gorgeous? This is done "Hong Kong" style without too much of the fake artificial red dye which we always see here in Singapore. The outer crust is roasted till crisp, and the inside is tender and juicy.



The soups were kind of a let down. It was not warm enough and flavours did not really get into the stock. We had the Daily Double Boiled Soup (Green and Red Carrots Pork Ribs Soup - S$8) and Homemade Australian Green Lip Abalone Soup with Chicken (S$18)



Another so-so dish was this Pan Fried Hokkaido Scallop with Spanish Ham (S$26) . The scallop could be fresher.



Now, the surprise dish of the night was this Steamed Minced Beef with Tangerine Peel (S$28). It looks simple, but trust us this is very good. The beef was beaten over and over again till it is tender, but without loosing too much of the original texture and flavour. Some tangerine peel was added to make the beef more tasty and less beefy. Would recommend this dish to anyone who dines here at Jade Palace Seafood.



The Stir Fried Fresh Garoupa Fillet with Shanghai Xiang Wu Sun 香乌笋 & Xue Cai 雪菜 (S$28) is one of their signature Shanghainese dish. The friendly aunty waitress told us quite a few diners come here just to eat the Xiang Wu Sun 香乌笋. But we are not fans of this special vegetable.



Ended our dinner with Chinese Herb Pudding (S$5.50) and Mango Pudding (S$4.50) . Some hits and misses, but there are a few more interesting dishes which we are keen to try during our next visit in the future.


Jade Palace Seafood
583 Orchard Road,
#B1-13
Forum The Shopping Mall

まる玉らーめん

Do you still remember when was the first time you had your favourite food that you fell for it?

The story all started when I was a loyal fan of Ma Maison two years ago. Every time I was on level 3 of Central Mall, there was constantly this long queue outside Marutama till a point that I became suspicious that the guys were actually paid to queue.

Of course such suspection was later proven groundless when I had my first bite of ramen there. My love for this Japanese delicacy grew fonder as I discovered more about it from other ramen chains soon sprang up across the island. The taste of Marutama was somewhat forgotten. So when I walked past its latest outfit on B1 of United Square, passion was rekindled, and I knew it was time for a re-visit.

That evening, I found myself at its Central flagship outlet.




Things here haven't changed much - its menu, the prices, settings, as well as the eager/hungry patrons that faithfully form the queue shortly after the clock hits 6.



What sets marutama apart from the pack is that chicken broth is used here. Besides being less heavy on the tastebud, the taste of our soup was beautifully enhanced by a 'green' flavour, thanks to the hearty topping of spring onion and seaweed.



The noodle threads are thin and springy.



Dashimaki Tamago is one of the must-tries.



With more 10 ramen tags on the right of this blog, Marutama still does the best gyoza. Personally I prefer steamed version over the common pan-fried ones, as the skin is thinner and softer, and fillings more succulent.



To better our dining experiences with a touch of nostalgia/timelessness, the restaurant plays a selection of classic Japanese songs mostly from the last century. One of which include the record smashing hit 君がいるだけで released in 1990 by a pop band called 米米CLUB.


まる玉らーめん
6 Eu Tong Sen Street
#03-90/91 The Central
11.30am – 10pm
6534 8090

World Gourmet Summit 2011 - Tippling Club (Visit 3) @ Dempsey Road

At the recently concluded World Gourmet Summit, Co-owners of Tippling Club's Chef Ryan Clift and Head Bartender Matthew Bax invited Australian chef Brent Savage to present a special menu for diners. Both Tippling Club and chef Brent Savage share a common thing - they enjoy producing Avant-garde dishes for diners which combines modern cuisine with scientific techniques to produce really delicious dishes.



The chef was personally checking and cooking almost all dishes for the night. Brent Savage is from Australia's Bentley Restaurant and Bar, and he was named Sydney Morning Herald's Chef of the Year 2005 and awarded 2 Chef hats from 2007-2011 in the Sydney Morning Herald Good Food Guide. Awarding a chef with "hats" by the SMH in Australia is almost similar to that of awarding a chef with "michelin" stars.



Everyone who dined in during that period will want to try out their 7 courses menu at S$230++ including wine pairing.



Dinner started with this Octopus with Black Olive & Cucumber. The octopus was fresh without being too "rubbery".



One of our favourite dish, the Ocean Trout with Ocean Trout Mousse & Fennel Pollen, was magnificently done. That white crispy thing you see is actually trout fish skin crackling, which was light, crisp and had a nice taste. The Ocean Trout Mousse was something exciting and new to us, and the cured roll has one of the freshest trout taste we had for a long time.



Sorry, but we don't like our vegetables. So the Beetroot with Sorrel, Horseradish & Broad Beans could be said as rather ordinary.



Roast pork is always a familiar dish for diners in Asia, and the Pork Belly with Wattle, Garlic Milk & Rhubarb. The cubes of pork belly is juicy and all had a crispy crackling skin. Yums.



The Roasted Duck Breast with Cuttlefish & Mushroom was even better. We understand that both the pork and duck dishes are exact replicas of what is offered at his restaurant in Australia. The black powder you see underneath the juicy roasted duck is actually mushrom powder. It's amazing how good the cuttlefish, duck and mushroom powder complimented each other.



Just want to add that the chef had a wonderful group of chefs and assistants from the Tippling Club helping him throughout the whole evening. Chef Alex is one of the young talent in the team that not only passionate in the cooking art, but also excellent in interacting with diners.



It's dessert time. And the first was the Caramelised Pineapple with Barley Cream & Beer Sorbet. How often do you have a sorbet made of beer, and I can tell you that the sorbet really taste like beer. It was "sweetened" with the caramelised pineapple and a rather faint barley cream.



A special off the menu dessert for diners - a dessert made wholly of chocolate. There is chocolate mousse, chocolate caramel crisps. Heaven for chocolate lovers.



Finally we ended our dinner with his signature Liquid Mandarin with Liquorice & Mandarin Ice-Cream. It was quite fun to break the chocolate "pipe" to see liquid mandarin flowing out from the chocolate.

During our dinner, Alex told us that Tippling Club will be shifting to Istana Park in the next few months, which is somewhere near to Giraffe. Seems like Tippling Club will see even more traffic flow after they move to the more accessible Istana Park in the near future.



Tippling Club
8D Dempsey Road

Tippling Club (Visit 2) @ Dempsey Rd

Eating at Tippling Club can be described as a fun experience because sometimes, you never know what each of the dishes is made of as you do not get a whole drumstick, fish or prawn served to you. Everything is beautifully presented to you, especially in the degustation menu.



At first look, the open kitchen section looks more like a science lab. We were able to interact directly with the chef, talking with him about the food.



It is only when you come in day time that you can appreciate the lush tropical trees and ferns growing along the Dempsey area.



Diners can choose to sit at the bar counter or a proper sit down table area.



Tippling Club Lunch Menu S$55++ for 3 courses and Gourmand Menu with Pairing at S$380++. The progressive restaurant is a master in plating presentation and unusual food preparation technique.



The first 2 amuse bouche came together for both the Gourmand and Lunch set menu.

The first amuse bouche we had was the same one we had during our last visit. All diners are asked to sit around the open concept kitchen, where the preperation of the food is either done in the kitchen or right infront of them.



The 2nd amuse bouche was the charred peppers with soy dipping sauce. Most people would be shocked by the black appearance, but it is actually a black batter (I suppose made of black squid ink).



Bolognese Pie with sauce vierge, fennel and basil. This was part of the set lunch.



From the set lunch, the main course was the Confit Duck Leg with beetroot puree and red wine quinoa (grain-like crop from South America). I enjoyed how tender and juicy the duck was, and also the sweet and tasty beetroot puree.



Finally the Dessert from the Set Lunch was served - Chocolate Fondant with Milk Ice-cream and praline shards.



Next came the appetizer from the Gourmand set, which is the escabeche chromotherapy (gazpacho of heirloom tomato), served together with Tomato Martini.



Next from the Gourmand menu was the Scampi with kuzu noodles cooked under high pressure with langoustine (a large prawn), sea grapes and mountain pepper



The wine pairing for the Scampi with kuzu noodles was this unique Hi Mami (Junmai Daiginjo, Umeshu, Citrus and honey water)



We continue the Gourmand menu with the Kaisui Uni - there is Yuzu gel, fried cauliflower, Uni and a unique Yuzu roll.

Paired with a white wine - Rogger Perrin Chateauneuf du Pape Blanc from Southern Rhone, France 2009.



Next up was the Foie Gras Apple (Foie Gras mousse, Spiced Gaufrette biscuit and Granny Smith apples done in a variety of ways such as lightly seasoned with eight spiced, dehydrated apple, apple sponge and puree.)



The Granny Smith Apple was paired with Scrumpy Fizz which is made of Calvados, Italian Liquers, Citrus, Apple sorbet and apple cider.



Pigeon served with pea & green curry, tofu, celery, coconut foam, puffed wild rice and thai herbs. Again, the chef had prepared the pigeon to perfection, sealing the juices inside.

Paired with Zind Humbrecht (Gewurztraminer Wintzenheim, Alsace France, 2004)



The next wine - Bax Beet Pinot (mixture of 2 types of beetroot juice, Amaro bitters from Bologna and lemon juice), was definitely not to our liking. Perhaps it was the addition of beetroot juice which made the drink a bit too "raw".



At first look, you will think that the chef had brought cover some soil and leaves. But this is in fact a dish! The Vegetable Garden made with Porcini mushroom soil with baby vegetable.




Similar to the set lunch's Roast Duck Confit, but here the duck is replaced by Venison. The Venison for the Gourmand set was served with yogurt, beetroot, red wine quinoa



And to go with the venison, we had the Ghiaccio Forte (Morellino di scansano from Montalcino, Italy 2006)



Still not feeling drunk, we had an extra order of this special cocktail: MB's Apple Pie (S$22) - Roast apple calvados, cinnamon, Italian vermouth, apple liqueurs. Not only is this cocktail served in a McDonald's packaging look-a-like, the taste was also quite similar to an apple pie!



The more unique dessert came from the Gourmand set - False Risotto made with apple, blue cheese and celery. Once again, although the dish had the word Risotto, but the risotto here is actually bits of apple, blue cheese and celery.



This Jerry Thomas Brandy Punch dessert teaches diners the beauty of rehydration - On the bowl we have Compressed watermelon, raspberry sorbet and dehydrated strawberries, raspberries, mandarin and mango. A liquid mixture of Raspberry and Cardamom Cognac is poured to rehydrate the fruits again.



The final dessert we had was this Death by Chocolate with chocolate sponge and mint jelly.



Served with this very delicious cocktail - Chocolate Nose made with Mint Tea Bourbon, Mole Bitters, Fresh Ristretto, Chocolate & Mint Atomisation. Notice that there's mint leaf embedded into the ice sphere. The serving glass itself is interesting, with rounded base instead of flat. It "rocks".



Certainly a unique culinary experience for both the mouth, mind and eyes.


Tippling Club
8D Dempsey Rd