The Christmas eve menu

Also available around new year.


Starters: Fresh Tuna with Seaweed Wasabi sauce, Rainbow Sushi, Simmered Duck Breast, Chestnut cooked with Brandy, Simmered Prawn with ebiko
Tuna tataki with a salty nori sauce. Love the duck breast and the chestnut. The rainbow sushi was colourful and fantastic. The prawn was so huge that it couldn't fit in my mouth, I needed two bites and a lot of the juice came out in the first bite. I fell like a scrooge if I was asked to share this around.


















Soup: Soup with Chicken meat and Seafood in tea pot
The teapot is back again!!!!
Close the lid so that less of the soup will escape as steam. Then open that lid to enjoy the contents of the soup.
SSSSSLLLLLLLLUUUUUUURRRRRPPPPP!!!!!!




















Salad: Salmon Salad with Wasabi Dressing
Slightly tangy dressing, lovely crisp vegetables.
Love the colours, love the contrast, love the texture, love the taste.























Teppanyaki: Teppanyaki Grill Wagyu Beef Sirloin served with mushroom risotto
Soft and juicy, each piece of steak (in between sip of sake) was bursting forth with rich flavour. The garlic chips and vegetables were also great cleanser of an overrich palate and the mushroom risotto sponges up even more of the valuable juices.



















Interlude: Negitoro Maki and Iketeru Maki
The Negitoro maki is made from toro and raw spring onions minced together. Tasted strong and the sushi chefs teased me by slattering the thing full of wasabi and chilli padi.

The Iketeru maki shown to the right is as big as the futomaki they serve and tasted crunchy with the vegetables and deep fried oysters rolled into the maki. The only flaw was probably the crispy batter skin of the oyster that has been flattened when rolled into the maki.



Dessert: Teppanyaki Fried Banana with Vanilla Ice Cream
Sweet slivers of Banana and fresh strawbeey to go with (Hagen Dasz?) Vanilla Ice Cream.


What's up next? The New Year Osechi Box. Feel free to comment.

The Kaiseki before Christmas

Okay, to be honest, I had this one on the 18th of June, but was away to Penang and Bangkok for 2 weekends before coming back and I better write this up or people will think I have gone to heaven after eating one too many decadent Kaiseki (not to mention poor Chef Ricky in distress if he loses one of his 'regulars')


Starters: Anglerfish liver with ponzu sauce, Boiled Winter Cabbage with Tofu Pok
Whooopppeeee!!!!! 3 pieces of my fabourite anglerfish liver.

The winter cabbage tasted much milder and is still crunchy while the tofu pok sucked up most of the juices. Sort of like pickled cabbage.






















Soup: Soup with Oyster Tofu Dumpling
One full oyster set in tofu dumpling. SSSSSLLLLUUUUURRRRRPPPPPP!!!!!!!


























Sashimi: Oyster with Ponzu sauce, Buri, Toro, Squid & Flambe Octopus
One juicy oyster with ponzu sauce, totally swell (goodbye Tabasco). The buri was sweet, the toro had so much fat that you taste the full brunt of it before encountering the mildly sweet aftertaste of the meat. Flambe octopus was springy and the intrincate knifework on the squid made it soft and tender to the tongue.





















Steamed dishes: White Radish with Prawn, Enoki Mushroom and Gingko nut in Kika sauce
Tangy dish with savoury elements of the prawns, mushroom and gingko nuts. The solid radish bowl is easy to slice with your chopstick and is tender in your mouth. Chewing is effortless.























Grilled dishes: Grill Buri with Teriyaki sauce, Leek with miso, Cream Cheese with Tuna Liver, Fugu nuggets, Cod fish fingers
Another smogasboard of flavours and texture. The grilled buri was slathered in sweet teriyaki sauce yet the concetrated flavour in the meat soared above it. I really dig the fugu nuggets since they bring out the best flavours of the fugu fish and they are really good with a dash of lemon juice that enlivens the flavour a lot. I also can't get enough of the salty miso dip for the leeks and the savoury tuna liver with cream cheese. The codlings fish fingers were just tangy enough to end the dish on a hungrier note.


















Boiled dish: Shiraku, Mushroom, Cod Milt, Peanut Tofu & Vegetables in Soymilk Sauce
A Zen dish, the soymilk sauce has an undulating sweetness to it. The cod milt was almost leeched of its flavour, which burst out of the sac. The peanut tofu was sweetness layered upon sweetness. Even the shiraku took on the sweet tone of the sauce in everybite.

Unfortunately, towards the end when everything evaporated, the residue turn a smoky black charcoal.



















Main course: Nigiri Sushi 5 ways.
The Sea urchin sushi tasted sweet and fresh, with a slight hint of bitter aftertaste. The sweet prawn sushi was juicy. The mackerel sushi tasted spicy and savoury while the buri sushi worked magic on my tongue. The tuna sushi probably mirrors the sashimi with the sushi rice acting as the perfect foil for any queasiness from having too much fatty goodness on your tongue.






















Dessert: Persimmon Sorbert, Red Bean Jelly with Chestnut & Assorted Fruits
My favourite dessert, third time round. I just can never tire of this combo.

























Chef Ricky was on leave, so I will probably see him next month.
Bring on next month's Kaiseki menu, Chef Ricky. Feel free to comment.

3rd Stop on the MIGF train

On to Chynna, the next stop after Iketeru and Senses. Was quite lucky to have my godsisters in tow for this one.


Appetizers: Chilled smoked abalone with slipper lobster, baby octopus, chestnuts in Konyaku jelly
The thin slices of abalone, the refined scallop, the cool savoury jelly, the sculpture-like presentation. It was a very good way to start of the evening.



Mains: Double–boiled Longan consommé with MingMu fish & walnuts.
Very tasty, I never expected longan soup to taste like this. The chunky chinese walnuts were tender that they break apart as soon as you plonk them in your mouth. The taste of the flatfish dissipate on your tongue as well and is not overpowered by the soup. My favourite dish of the night.


Main: Golden fried savoury Soon Hock coated with six spices & eggplant with basil leaves
This was my second favourite dish of the night. The crusty coating sealed all the flavour of the fish in all its goodness while the veggies texture were of the right consistency to complement the tender fish.


Mains: Honey seared organic chicken with garlic
The mellow sweetness of the honey and the fragrance of the japanese bamboo leaves brought out the subtle taste the of the chicken and the tender meat just falls away at the touch of a knife.





Mains: Pearl rice braised with scallop & wolfberry
Tasted like a perfectly unfinished risotto with a delicious tiger prawn stock, tinted scallops and pearly round rice. Not watery or soupy.








Durian cream puff with assorted fruits & Fortune cookies
Yay!!!! Durian!!!!
Probably one of my favourite dessert on the MIGF menus. So sinfully good especially the tangy summerberries (cranberry, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry) and the mellow durian flesh. So much contrast, so much texture. OOOOMMMMPPPPHHHH!!!!!!



Chef Lam wasn't around that night so we bid adieu and moved on to Iketeru and Latest Recipe to check out next month's promotion.

Awaiting more feedback on my food reviews, Say it so in the comment section.