Ember

Open Now

Now Closed

Item: Ember
Rating: 4
Author: huiyuan89

22 Reviews

Taste

Decor

Service

Hygiene

Value

Chinatown

$81 - $150

European Fusion Hotel

huiyuan89

Level4

110

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My much awaited lunch date with Ember was finally fufilled. Outside Hotel 1929 lies the notorious red-light district of Keong Saik Road; inside, the mood is more serene as the diners persue the electic mod- Euro menu from the talented Sebastian Ng. The food is consistently good and imaginative. Like the food, the decor is neither fussy nor pretentious. The 3 course set lunch menu is popular with the business executives. There are several options for the appetitizers and mains. There are specials of the day that are not found in the menu as well. Top up additional $6 for the foie gras. I was a little amazed that the speed that they served this bread. The warm and crusty bread was presented to me almost immediately after placing my order. The warm and crusty bread is no doubt a sun-dried tomato bread. However, this is one of the best bread that I had tried so far. The crispy crust of the bread just got me hooked. Great for some nibbling while waiting for the appetitizer. Crispy tofu with shimeji mushrooms and bonito flakes Folks, this is not some simple and common tofu that that you can find in local restaurants or kopitiam. Well, I was a little skeptical about trying this tofu. What makes does this tofu stands out from the other appetitizers and being so popular with the patrons. The tofu was deep-fried till the outer layer is crispy and the interior is warm and soft. There were strips of stiitake mushrooms embedded in the tofu itself. The tofu is really crispy and they topped it with bonito flakes and crispy shimeji mushrooms. The foie gras sauce which was serve along tasted a little salty in the beginning but towards the end, it complement very well with the tofu. Now I finally understood why this tofu is so ”legendary”. Chilean Seabass with smoked bacon ragout and mushrooms, truffle-yuzu butter sauce This was clearly a winner. However, most people would opt for the marinated miso cod which was ever popular. The chilean seabass was the best fish that I had this year. The top layer is crusty, with hint of craked black pepper while the fish meat is soooo tender and juicy. I savoured it slowly and the fish meat just melts in my mouth in every bite. I like the accompanying truffle- yuzu butter sauce while was not heavy and creamy. The smoked bacon was very crispy and had a smoky flavour while the mushrooms were fragrant. Those who love bacon would definately love this! There are very generous with the bacon bits though. However, it was a little too much for me to finish Warm Valhorna Chocolate Cake I wasn’t impressed with this warm valhorna chocolate cake. The warm chocolate cake was served with the chocolate lava flowing out thus I did not have the opportunity to ”poke” it. The vanilla bean ice-cream was almost tasteless thus I did not like it. The warm chocolate cake was not even warm and it just lack the ”oomph” factor that I was looking for. There were some hits and misses here. Apparently Ember fare well in their mains and appetitizers and not the desserts. The staff who served me speaks too fast and I couldn’t catch what she is saying and thus had to repeat over to me again. The restaurant is not very big and it was almost full at around 1230pm thus it is strongly recommended to make reservations. One thing that I find it a little disturbing is the noise level which is too noisy