On the Tuesday evening when we were there, the restaurant one level down from the roof was nicely full...about 70% filled, but when we adjourned to the bar at about 11pm, we found it was full of revellers, enjoying the magnificent view from up there.
Click here for large pic from the bar
A little further down, at the restaurant level, from my seat at the dining table, I could see the Marina Bay area beautifully...
Click here for large pic of the Marina Bay Sands area, showing the Science and Technology Museum
But this is a foodie review...so first a glimpse of the interior of the restaurant:
Beautifully appointed, the restaurant, called Stellar, is part of the One Rochester Group, who also own the One Altitude bar upstairs, and the One Caramel cake and pastry outlet on the ground floor.
I was invited by the nice PR folks at One Rochester, and we were in for a treat...huge meal ahead...thanks to Lily Hamid and Chiew Yen for the invitation.
We started with the appetizers, of course, of which there were 2, in addition to the beautifully fresh baked breads:
Seared Hokkaido scallops and octopus:
Very nice. Great start. Generally, the food is fabulous...so I am going to let the pictures do most of the talking....:-)
The other appetizer is Twice baked gruyere souffle
I love gruyere cheese...but cheese this early in the meal often will sit in the tummy...and hinder further intake of food...usually not a good idea, but in this case, it was made like a soufle...the chef is genius...the gruyere was all flavour but it was also light and fluffy like a soufle. Excellent.
We moved next to the sushi and sashimi course:
This was the platter...omakase style...packed with otoro, hamachi, sowrdfish, salmon, lobster, and caviar - from the sturgeon and salmon.
Needless to say, this was superb. Fresh. Beautiful creamy fish.
I particularly loved the swordfish - mekajiki...
If not fresh, it can have a strong odour...but when fresh, it has a springy and firm texture, and a smooth, creamy taste, with a nice body in the mouth. This was excellent mekajiki.
The sushi platter was not to be outdone...
Beautiful.
We next had the charcuterie taster course...cured meats...not my favourite, but taste I did...I found the cured meats, which were top grade hams sourced from Spain, to be very gamey...
The chef made his appearance before each course, to explain the use of ingredients and cooking method...nice...
And next, the pork course:
The slow roasted suckling pig with iberico jambon and fig stuffing
The meat was ultra tender, full of flavour. Caution for the fat wary, this is a full fat version...full flavour too...
Next a risotto dish, with poached Maine lobster:
I found this to be magnificent. The rice was cooked al dente, infused with the flavours of the sea and the lobster broth. Chunks of lobster were generously mixed into the risotto. And a huge claw stands guard. Very good.
And the protein piece de resistance...grain fed Tomahawk rib eye
This was a huge serving...some 1.5kg or thereabouts...with the bone with marrow.
The meat was excellent. Tender, full of beefy goodness. In comparison to a recent tasting at Seb's Bistro, this was a bit more flavourful, and less tender. Both were good, but I would give the slight edge to Seb's....of course Seb's wouldn't even dream of the same atmosphere of dining almost in the clouds, with Singapore at one's feet.
A closer look at the meat...mmmm
Then comes the endless desserts:
A beautiful chocholate dish, appropriately called Chocholate Seduction. I found this to be truly seductive...the choc was rich, creamy...teasing, cajoling the taste buds...um...food of the gods.
For the choc lover, this first dessert pales the remainding two...but my dining companions proclaim them to be winners...the fresh cream trip called the Tropical Teaser was beautiful to look at...
And the Tropical Vodka Trifle was intriguing...but alas I had not more room...the sashimi and the steak have taken their toll
But of course, I had to have an espresso doppio...
Nice, beautiful crema...the barista knows what he is doing...the taste was good, but not spectacular. Mouthfeel was not as creamy and viscous as I would have liked. Perhaps the beans, though freshly ground were not fresh roasted...I suspect because they probably use commercial beans as opposed to gourmet, roasted in the premises beans which have been rested for a couple of days. But still....as restaurants go, this was reasonable espresso.
Overall, a magnificent tasting. Certainly an aspirational venue for the celebration of a win, or mark of a nice occassion. Magnificent ambience...unbeatable views. And great service makes the excellent foods even more outstanding.
STELLAR - 1-Altitude Gallery & Bar
One Raffles Place (former OUB Building)
Take the private lifts on the side of the building.
T: 6438 0410
W: 1-altitude.com
E: info@1-altitude.com
No comments:
Post a Comment