As the highest ranking World’s Best
restaurant in Asia, Iggy’s was one of the reasons I came to Singapore. That
said reviews haven’t been unanimously positive, fellow bloggers have
recommended their lunch being good value for money, but dinner being sorely
overpriced and overrated. Lunch it is then.
Lunch is offered at 4-courses for c. £45pp,
2 options per course. The menu looks French with a fair share of Japanese
influence and an impressive range of international ingredients.
Amuse Bouche
Foie
Gras pear,
balsamic, shiso
It was a huge slab of foie gras, gently
seared and barely holding the wobbly liver in shape, its nutty grease oozing
out with a light poke of the knife. It was truly indulgent, the liver just
dissolved away… with a little tingles on tongue as the popping candy danced
away. It was a brilliant touch to give this classic dish a modern surprise; my
highlight of the meal.
Pappardelle Wagyu, piquillo, pomegranate
My cholesterol-conscious parents both opted
for the pasta starter. This was comparatively lighter and more refreshing with the
slightly citrusy pomegranate seeds. A few pieces of waygu sashimi were hidden
under the pile to give some roundness to the dish.
Egg Pinot Noir, bacon, mushroom
I think this was the size of my amuse
bouche, if not smaller. The soft boiled egg yolk erupted to mix with the
concentrated mushroom broth and cured ham shavings. The flavours were intense,
almost like a very strong stock, and I thought it worked well with the custardy
yolk.
Spaghettini cod’s milt, spring onion
Japanese eat cod’s milt as a delicacy and
yup, it is indeed the fish sperm sac. And no I didn’t tell my parents that when
they said they wanted some carbs.
I don’t think I could pick out the taste of
milt, I certainly didn’t spot anything that looked like one. This was creamy
but not heavy, finished with a touch of subtle heat. A fairly forgettable dish
really.
Pork
Belly Gobo,
yam mikan
The root vegetables were bland; I guess the
bitter-sweetness from the satsuma mandarin was supposed to dominate and lift
the weight off the fatty pork. I don’t know, I think there was too much
bitterness in the mandarin and the dish tipped off balance. I didn’t enjoyed it
very much, though Dad thought it was quite good.
70°C Wagyu Cheek Pinot Noir, mustard
These were incredibly tender, the meat
simply collapsed. Mum thought it was too soft, she didn’t like the lack of meat
structure. I quite liked it; I liked how the intertwined fat dissolved with the
muscles. That said the slow cooking method somewhat masked wagyu beef
characteristics.
Forrest
Berries Bloody
orange, lime mascarpone, campari
I didn’t try it – Mum said blood orange
sorbet was quite sour. I gathered it wasn’t my kind of dessert.
Kaya
& Teh Tarik Brioche
French toast, coconut pandan
Definitely my kind of dessert. The crusty
cube of French toast was infused with ice cream in the centre; the
tea-flavoured sorbet and foam was perfect with the smooth kaya. It was like a
Singapore’s signature breakfast deconstructed.
The starters were superb, particularly the
foie gras with popping candy; the mains were less impressive, nonetheless well
executed. I enjoyed it. Given I had been feasting on local food in
hawker centres for 2 days, this was a pleasant change. I wouldn’t say it was an
unforgettable meal though.
On a side note: The dining room was
freezing cold. We were seated right under the air conditioner and we asked to
be moved away from it. And the staff kindly seated us under another aircon
ventilation point.
The Hilton Hotel
Level 3
581 Orchard Road
Singapore 238883
Tel: (+65) 6732 2234
You may also like: Amber (Hong Kong), Passage 53 (Paris), L'Atelier de JR (Hong Kong)
Just learnt something new with the cod’s milt!
ReplyDeleteAnd wow, the kaya and teh tarik dessert sounds right up my alley, jealous :)