Paco Roncero: XX1st Century Appetit!

Our senses were pampered at the peak of Tower Club.

Four seated with eager gastromical anticipation, three immersed in a silent countdown for some fireworks finale to prod. Alongside, captivating harmonies of guest chef Roncero's 13-course spread.

Paco Roncero.

One Michelin Star chef hailing from El Bulli, Spain. Master of Molecular Gastronomy and renowned olive oil virtuoso.

Kicking off, a concordant agreement over the acidity of eggwhite-crowned Frozen Daiquiri. Harshly sour at a tiny sip, bitter when drunk. Clearly more for the ladies than gentlemen.

the most AMAZING foccacia bread~

We stood by the bread basket's arrival with smiles. I absolutely heart their excellent Foccacia slices enhanced with speckles of sundried tomatoes, cheese & a friendly dash of mint. Superbly moist and spongy reflected pure quality baking. I could go on & on nibbling on these yeasty goodness like there's no tomorrow.... (& no 12 courses ahead haha)

Then came the showdown of 6 distinguished tapas masterpieces.

By instructed order we ate, the first unglamourous brown blob Liquid Chicken "Croquette" triggered sparks of fascination. Woah~ Swallowed in entirety, chicken broth supremeness burst out of its humble veil & breadcrumb accessories. blown away.

A pity we cannot encore that.

I also swore by the Raspberry Fondant with Wasabi, ingenius pairing of caramelized berry and wasabi nib that shook wasabi pea illusions. And the atypical Sesame Sponge with Miso crafted like nothing before.

Other novel tots included the Tomato Biscuit with Basil, Foie Gras in Red Wine, & signature Extra Virgin Olive Oil Butter served in a tube.

Our platos began with sleek Spanish Omelette XX1st Century. elegant potato mousse complemented with tasty sweated onions.

Only the Lobster, Grapefruit, Virgin Olive Oil Soup paled in wow factor. Didn't draw any favorable impressions.

The Brittany Sea Bass in "Salmorejo" was seared to mindblowing perfection, sealing tender white flesh under its crisp skin.

Highly positive opinions revolved around the Wagyu Beef with Lemon Puree, helmed as Morton's-on-par by Timeless Facade.

The male lead draws the first stroke of the scheme..

For Postres, we had Orange Sorbet, PX, Extra Virgin Olive Oil. One of the best citrus sorbets ever, fullstop.

He swiftly engaged in the formulated tactics.

She nodded.

A nuptial agreement was secured.

And the Fizzy Sweets, Virgin Olive Oil Gummies arrived aptly to end the night on crackles. crackily crackily crack went the cocoa sprinkles, lingering in the mouth just like how some smiles prevailed....

My sincere congrats to the couple.

Highly esteemed Mister EVOO prodigy (:

Atlantic Dining Room

9 Raffles Place

Republic Plaza Tower 1

#62-64 Penthouse

I Scream Cookies & Creammmm

Making icecream is so much fun.

While browsing through my cookbook collection i found a gem lying in unjustifiable vain: Making Icecream & Iced Desserts by Joanna Farrow and Sara Lewis. I couldn't believe myself putting such a comprehensive and splendidly photographed guidebook to waste. But not anymore.

I promptly skimmed through the pages, pulled out my ingredients and followed the instructions as closely as i could. The art of icecream making begins by forming a custard base, adding your preferred flavourings then whipping it in an icecream maker.. but yippeee, it is absolutely possible to achieve it by hand.

The result was extremely satisfying. After as series of hand-whisking & hours of freezing, i excitedly scooped the frozen custard out of the tub. The icecream was icy hard initially but begins to melt down really quickly. a yummy vanilla-smacked oreo flavour dotted with some soft oreo chunks. Mmmmm...

Plus i love its versatility. The very next day we had it over warm buttermilk pancakes for breakfast and it got mum knotted in disbelief. "huh? did you just say you MADE the icecream?!!" Yes mummy, i did.

And with some leftover choux batter, i created one-bite icecream puffs coupled with a splash of warm chocolate sauce. Another after-dinner dessert settled.

What's there not to rave about homemade icecream?

*i'm slurpin' it.

Ooki Taiyaki: Simply Oooh-some!

I just found another awesome snack to dig in.

Pumpkin Kaya Taiyaki ($2 for 2- opening special)

Just as gelato-loyals are mourning over MOF's (Raffles City) sudden farewell, im happily swooning over the mall's lastest tenant. OOKI TAIYAKI officially occupies the prominent corner, introducing a new sidekick to the dying donut scene.

Making a good taiyaki is no easy job.

Tracing back to my Hokkaido memories.. the bestest was perfectly crisp-skinned and compact with flowy homemade fillings, briskly tossed out of hot moulds by adept japanese pancake masters. And it ignominiously chastens our skimpy-entrails local versions to shame.

Until i saw the OOKI action.

On first layer, the girls used a spatula to spread the batter flatly across the mould. Thin base checked. Huge spoonfuls of ingredients plopped in the middle. Generous fillings checked. Another drizzling of batter over just enough to cover the innards. Thin crust checked.

checked checked checked. A Pumpkin Kaya for me. One bite and warm orange magma gushes out of its promising shell. Pleasantly sweet, water chestnuts-studded & fullbodied with kaya fragrance kind of magmatic flow. Pure messy bliss. Chomped up in less than ten steps away.

Not flawless to yell about, just the closest to the Nipponya's. Im so glad they opened.

Ookitaiyaki

252 North Bridge Road

#B1-49 Raffles City Shopping Centre

missing my Hokkai goma snowman-yaki badly~

7atenine: Behold thy Surprises

Seven out of ten fusion food vulnerably crosses into confusion. It is highly adroitful to blend the distinguishing cultures while drawing the invisible boundaries, yet create vivid sensations in the palate. They've done it. Seven-eight-nine.

Lunch Unlimited

$37++

noon-2.30pm, daily.

Let Chef Florent enchant you with his array of chosen brainchilds.

To be honest i've never been in favour of kitchen-decided menus. Though the suspense can offer subtle thrill, im not mentally game to swallow any queer concoctions prior warning. Over here i acted on the contrary.

The advantage of having Lunch Unlimited is the massive variety given at a fixed charge. No worries about bursting budgets. Entitilement to a beverage. Plus you get to repeat any favourite dishes of choice. How not to accede to?

The show begins... surprise, after surprise.

BANG. This seemingly harmless shot of pale white took instantaneous action in the mouth. Celeraic Cream was murderously acrid, sending sodium levels to rocket. We should have taken the caution cue from its flame-coloured centre.

Advice: Unleash the clear jelly base for more intake allowance.

The Potato Salad was unfortunately a dish of dismatched fancies. No faults with the peanut crumbs or dressed starch, just the excessive drizzle of harsh oil to flinch from. And we appreciated the staff's probing concerns.

Unusually giant Stuffed Pasta Shells held their capacity of fillings. Emerging when cut: juicy miniature shrimps tossed with an evoo, onions & olive salsa, atop bright green guacamole.

Salmon & Blinis, along with majestical caviar and an invigorating vodka foam. Thumbs up for the alcoholic addition, it won a non-alcoholic over.

tomato + mystery cube + tart= Tomato Tart.

Tuna? Nope. That maguro-looking cuboid unexpectedly turned out to be some tomato-based creation. Lycopene goodess on a biscuit crumb-reconstructed base. And plenty of coarse sea salt to season.

7atenine's rendtion of Shiitake Mushroom Tempura was presentably executed. Though squirming some grease, fresh funghi juices also excreted out of the fine batter coating.

Heaven's not on my side- that sacred animal had to make its pretentious appearance. The beef dish #1, Beef Roulades, interestingly surfaced on heated grey stones to hook my attention. But no. I could only watch my dining partner savour both portions with glee, and heave his verdict.. "their beef is good..."

Right after the first courses, the mains took their positions. Chef Florent skilfully cooked up a Pesto Risotto of thick cheesy italian grains evenly incoporated with heady basil pesto. This excellent version was a hit with us.

Im no cheese expert. im dumb in identifying the type of cheese used in their Deepfried Cheese (mozarella, or camembert?). But those stretchy innards under its breadcrumb shell were trustily reserved in sodium, and paired up with an apple & redwine compote. Note: Consuming it cooled does it no justice.

Fish! It took me minutes to recognize the eye-catching pool surrounding their Seared Seabass. But within seconds i was clearing up that carrot puree & balsamic syrup in fixation. -a second serving was ordered-

Orecchiette, translating 'little ears', are bite-sized dics with a chewy character. Smothering it in tasty cream sauce further encourages unison acceptance.

Finally a Seared Chicken dish to halt any assumptions of poultry absence. Zero wonder seen, zero major problems detected. Just chicken thigh over boring polenta.

It reappeared to trigger my jealousy again. History repeated as i witnessed the partner tucking into his Beef Tenderloin circles, then reiterating his opinion, "their beef is really not bad leh...."

Okay, point taken.

Rounding that up signalled a switchover to desserts. I was ready to pounce on anything sweet after a whole medley of savouries. *clap clap, bring on the finale please!

Inclining towards the right of the cake density scale, a fluff-less yet palatable slice of Chocolate Cake. Being evidently low in sugar puts the Mango Sorbet to practical use. The chocolate fan across me polished off a big bulk of that rectangle.

Coffee Trifle boasting espresso-flavoured layers, rice krispies and a meringue stick. Caffeine-fully perks you up.

Left to stand, the healthy-in-pink Beetroot Parfait melts slightly of out its form and exudes a monotonous tone. Tasteless. But very strangely, i enjoyed eating that pink airy nothings.

15 dishes in total.

If suspense and variety are things that thrill you, you'll be the next proclaimed fan of 7atenine. Just like me.

7atenine

8 Raffles Avenue

#01-10/12 Esplanade Mall

63380789

Fishy babies...

these are ADDICTIVE. more addictive than pringles.

I love eating all sorts of japanese dough-based food, because they would never compromise on low quality batters. TAIYAKIs make good afternoon snacks but its regular size are a tad too heavy for a post-dinner bite. Mini taiyakis solves the problem!

(clockwise from left) chocolate, caramel, custard, cheese

I would never fail to grab a bag of these whenever they appear at Isetan's Japanese fair. The pancakes are spongyly lovely, fragrant and oozing with liquified fillings even when they're cold. Cheese, Custard, Chocolate, Redbean, Caramel, Plain. i loved the first two best- both are milky goodness.

10 easily swallowed in a sitting, AFTER dinner (:

AND they are made by Miss Mizutani, not any Uncle Tan or Auntie Lim. that probably explains the price...

Limited period only!

Available at Isetan Scotts Basement.

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge: Sweet Noon

eye feast!

Prior to indulging in my taitaish-fantasies, recollections of an enjoyable lunch hurled back.

ROYAL COPENHAGEN- the big name of Denmark's majestical porcelains. Tea Lounge at Takashimaya faces no challenge in fulfilling any taitai-wannabe's checklist. From remarkably expensive diningware (you won't wish to know) to alluring delicacies, premium tea brews and a bustling Orchard view for peoplewatching- you'd notice the gentlemen's attention on automobiles.

All's set for a pampering noon.

hands raised for strawberry water~

Whilst the Lamborghinis voomed, savouries begin to line in.

Petty Shell with Shrimp & Asparagus ($7.90)

We began feeding puny morsels of creamed shrimps and chopped asparagus into our mouths, which gleefully overpoured out of their miniature crust houses. These were humourously petite, 97% baby-friendly and 80% as comforting as homestyle campbell.

we've got the answer to PETTY shells.

Selfish Pasta ($20.90)

Wacky names are, eccentrically, their forte. Wacky brainchild #2: the Selfish Pasta out of royal director's board meeting was only a level more degrading. But if you could forgive that untactful address, the dish's got some pesto-dribbled sauce and luscious lobster tail flesh to boot.

so good, you'd be too selfish to share!

This time, they answered.

Salmon & Potato Gratin ($19.90)

Clap for seriousness. The Salmon & Potato Gratin was a richy showdown of layered potato cake, chives cream, and roasted asparagus. Plus a fatty highlight pan-seared to crisp excellence.

Copenhagen Scones ($6.90)

No trip to RCTL is complete without the sweets.

I would strongly recommend Copenhagen Scones if you've got nothing more than a space for the best. My love for scones began from their warm buttery signatures, served with the classic butter-jam-cream condiments.

Perfect for breakfast, brunch, tea, dessert, anytime.

Lemon Cheesecake ($4.90)

Room for more = time to tackle the torturous decision-making at the door. I took two visits back and forth before convincing my fickleness to settle.. Lemon Cheesecake.

lemon zest pricking out..

Not a hint of regret. The tangy cheesy entwine, liberal with lemon zest, snared two thumbs up from us. And left us with vivid soury recalls.

I'm glad i've found you, RCTL (:

Royal Copenhagen Tea Lounge

391 Orchard Road

2F Ngee Ann City

6735 6833