Thursday, November 29, 2012

Jaan: a veritable temple of fine cuisine in Singapore

Jaan is another great French restaurant in Singapore. Once helmed by the great Andre Chiang, who now runs his own restaurant Andre, this temple of fine dining is perched on top of level 70 of Swissotel.

Magnificent views, needless to say...here looking down into the Esplanade.

This was an event organized by The Hour Glass with independent watchmakers Urwerk...with principal Felix Baumgartner attending...no he is not the same Felix as the Austrian dare devil, but this Felix is just as adventurous with his watch designs. Here is a glimpse of some of his works.

We began with a very special amuse bouche..

The waiter described this as a mushroom tea with cep sabayon, walnuts and lovage...certainly a wonderful concoction...very delicious, with strong wild mushroom flavours permeating.

A salad Jaan calls the Heirloom Beetroot Composition was served next

At that point Felix joined our table, and we had a very interesting discussion on the watches and the new piece...the UR210...and I missed the waiter's attempt at describing the dish...suffice to say, it was lovely.

A most interesting egg dish was next presented...the 55 min Smoked Organic Egg

I believe the egg to be cooked sous vide, and done just so...it was marvellous. It is hard to imagine an ingredient as humble as the common, and inexpensive chicken egg can be raised to levels of haut gastronomy...but it is. Served with wild autumn mushrooms and cherizo iberico.

If the meal ended there, I would have been very satisfied. But the chef continues to delight. The main course was a Tajima beef short rib

Cooked like a confit for 48 hours, and served with grenaille potatoes and horse radish. The meat was truly melt in your mouth tender. I didn't care much for the horseradish...scooping it aside so I can taste and savour the magnificence of the beef. The beef was sublime. Flavours burst in the mouth...the Tajima strain is a true full blooded wagyu, and the tender loving care of the Japanese farmers who raised the cattle can almost be felt through the tasting...as was the awesome skill of the chef. Amazing beef.

Desserts was next

Caramelised William Pear with salted caramel, dark rum and nougatine. It was marvellous, of course, but I was still reeling with the taste of the beef ribs in my palate, I only noted that the dessert was good...

Certainly one of the best meals I have had in a while. Almost every component of the meal was excellent and the beef perfect...well...actually nearly perfect...it would have been a perfect beef rib dish is it was somewhat larger...But certainly Jaan can lay claim to be one of the top French restaurants in Singapore.

Jaan
Level 70, Equinox Complex,

Swissotel The Stamford
6837 3322

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