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2013-10-16
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When we were visiting Singapore last month, Iggy's was high up on our list of restaurants we wanted to try. Having claimed the top spot in the Miele Guide for a few years (but ranked 4th this year), both Mr. C and I wanted to see just how special this restaurant was. I phoned ahead a week in advance to secure a booking for a weekday lunch, but please note that Iggy's does require credit card details upon making a reservation and a cancellation fee of $85++ per person would be incurred if you are
Situated on the 3rd floor at The Hilton hotel, the restaurant is hidden behind an intimidating black wooden door. Once inside, the theme of black followed throughout the corridor that the hostess leads you through until you are shown inside their dining room which is completely cream in colour. Minimalistic and a little stiff were the words that came to mind regarding the decor, but it had a modern feel to it.
The menu for lunch had a number of options to mix and match pending on how many courses you wished to select and both of us decided to have 2 courses plus dessert. After ordering we were presented with an amuse bouche of chilled tomato beer and a crisp with thin slice of shaved abalone. Quite good. The abalone was soft and contrasted well with the crunchiness of the crisp, while the clear tomato broth was refreshingly intense in flavour. How adorable is the little beer mug~?
They do not have a bread basket, but a server came around and placed a plump little roll on bread plates. She did not describe what is was, but only after taking a bite did we realise it was cheese bread. Not just any bread mind you, it had the most pleasing bouncy texture like a mochi and even Mr. C who is a bread snob found it quite delicious.
To start I could not go past the burrata cheese. A bed of snow white burrata with pieces of crisp fennel placed artfully on top. The burrata was lovely, all creamy and gooey just the way I like it and the caviar contributed a touch of brininess to the simple flavours of the dish.
Mr. C's dish was very pretty. A solitary Gillardeau oyster resting in a fushia pink purple pool of red cabbage and Cabernet Sauvignon vinegar. The bite of oyster I had was really fresh where the cabbage flavoured vinegar with a hint of wine was more sophisticated than the normal red vinegar usually paired with these briny creatures.
Lamb is usually a favourite for me, so seeing lamb saddle on the menu was an easy decision for me. Three slices of lamb, blushing in colour accompanied by ratatouille. The main part of the lamb was relatively lean, not gamey at all, where the thin edge of fat added a richness to the meat. I quite liked the ratatouille, still crunchy roasted vegetables paired with a tomato- paste like sauce. The elements of the ratatouille were served separately which I suppose is good for diners so they can tweak the flavour according to their tastes.
Risotto was Mr. C's pick. Japanese sweet corn risotto with Challans duck breast. Cooked to a medium rare even just from appearance it looked wonderfully juicy. However the stand out for me was definitely the corn risotto. Creamy with a buttery fragrance, grains of softly al dente rice mixed with super sweet corn kernels was just heavenly~ I really had to restrain myself from continually spooning into his dish
All too soon it was time for dessert. Before coming here, I looked up some past reviews to give me an idea of what to try and the kaya and teh tarik seemed to be a popular dessert choice. Presented in a deconstructed fashion, a cube of well buttered brioche toasted to a crunch went wonderfully with the generous smear of fragrant pandan cream. The scoop of milk tea ice-cream covered in tea foam was surprisingly strong in taste with black remnants of tea leaves at the base. A well executed play on a traditional Singaporean favourite.
Since we were sharing and not in a chocolate mood, Mr. C picked the remaining option of Peach Melba. Sweet juicy pieces of Californian peach nestled on a bed of creamy milk ice-cream with a shower of cereal for crunch. This was a lighter dessert, but nonetheless still pleasant. Peaches and ice-cream, nothing could really go wrong here.
I did enjoy my experience iggy's~ Every dish although simple was well prepared with quality ingredients. Their portions however are quite small, with the exception of dessert which may not be satisfying enough for some diners and as a result some may not deem the meal as worthy of such a high price tag.
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