I had the privilege to enjoy lunch at the just opened Subrosa Private Dining restaurant. The East meets West inspired menu was interesting, food was delicious, ambiance was elegant yet comfortable, service was professional yet warm, and pricing was reasonable.
The shop front along Jalan Besar is understated, so look out for the bold red signboard and window frames. Subrosa is just beside the Ponggol Nasi Lemak outlet.
Seating is by appointment only via 📞 +65 6610 0555. This is the dining hall at the ground level. Inside Subrosa, it's a quiet, cool, calming sanctuary from the heat, grime and hustle and bustle of the tropical city outside.
There is an equally elegant dining room at level two available for exclusive group bookings at no extra charge (with minimum spending of $1000).
Steven Snowdon is Head Chef at Subrosa. Born and raised in London in a family of restauranteurs, Steven started his culinary career at age 16. Chef Steven has worked in 5-star hotels, Michelin star restaurants and even cooked for the British Royal family. Chef Steven's foundation is British, Italian (mum is from Italy) and French with strong Asian influences from living in Asia (mainly The Philippines).
Together with Singapore Chef Francis Lee who has over 20 years of private chef experience, Chef Steven creates farm to table dishes that uses fresh local grown produce, prepared according to both Eastern and Western traditions, using traditional and modern techniques, showcasing local (Singapore) customs and heritage, satisfying local palates with the familiar as well as delighting them with surprise flavours, aromas and textures.
Chef Steven started his career as a baker and he is still passionate about breads. Breads at Subrosa are kneaded in house from scratch and baked just before serving, so they always come to you fresh, piping hot, straight from the oven.
Today's prix fixe menu at $108++ per pax. The menu changes regularly as Chefs Steven and Francis constantly create new dishes. The exact dishes served vary from day to day. Chefs Steven and Francis visit the local wet markets everyday - if they feel the day's produce is not up to mark, they do not hesitate to take the dish off the menu for the day. Conversely, if the butcher or fishmonger have a special cut or catch of the day, Chefs Steven and Francis will serve that on the menu of the day. That's exactly what mums and dads do when cooking for the family. So, you can feel the personal touch of Chef Steven and Francis when you dine at Subrosa.
Manageress Elaine started us off with house baked artisanal breads fresh off the oven which we ate with freshly made truffle butter. There is nothing like fresh breads straight from the oven - pinching apart the finger scorching hot bread released puffs of mesmerising aromatic steam. We felt the heartwarming moist soft chewiness with each bite. The underlying taste of wheat and other grains was complemented by the smooth savoury taste of Maldon sea salt from Essex, England.
The breads paired perfectly with savoury richly smooth aromatic house made truffle butter.
Fresh is Best.
Scallop, fermented melon, cucumber, dill, lemon and smoked trout roe.
The fresh scallops were cured with Essex sea salt minutes before serving. It's like putting the briny taste of the sea back into the shell fish. The zesty clean taste of the crunchy vegetables and greens delighted my tongue like it was enjoying the gaiety of a flavour party in the mouth.
The Cocktail.
Crab, aerated shrimp, Bloody Mary tomato.
Umami tsunami.
Every spoonful of the aerated shrimp (heads and tails) puree and hand pulled crab meat was a rush of umami on the taste buds. A crustacean umami kick l won't soon forget.
Quaking Cod That.
Charcoal cod, nori, ginger, shemiji, aromatic duck consomme.
I've tried other fusion interpretations of Cantonese steamed cod elsewhere but they didn't really worked for me because they lacked any surprise twist. Subrosa's version was memorable for me because they replaced the usual soy sauce dressing with duck consommé. That threw me off, and seized my attention in a delightful way.
How much do I love the duck consommé? I drank up the leftover consommé like it was a soup. Smooth black vinegar and ginger taste overlaid the natural savoury sweetness of duck.
Remember Mee.
Lobster, lard, bee hoon, yellow noodles, bean sprout, chive, broth.
Here at Subrosa, they included an atas Hokkien mee with live lobster in the menu, so you always go home satiated and satisfied 😄 (Atas means gentrified in Singlish.)
The rich brown stock made with lobster had a strong crustacean umami kick. The bee hoon and yellow noodles were well infused with the savoury stock and had underlying toasty wok hei (taste of caramelised sauce and starch outside the noodles).
The live lobster slices were done just right with subtle briny sweetness in its delicately crunchy flesh.
A Hokkien mee you will remember.
Golden Duck.
Cured duck, foie gras, pickled blackberries, cardamon and carrot.
Two of my favourite things together - duck and foie gras. The meaty sous vide duck breast was oh... so.. tender and juicy. It had a hint of braised duck taste but the flesh was velvety smooth.
The savoury braised duck flavour was complemented by more robust savouriness from rich foie gras. Sweetness from the carrot puree balanced the dish's flavours.
Tropical Passion.
Coconut, mango, lime, passionfruit.
A sweet zesty end to the scrumptious lunch. The mango puree tasted like a mango jam (or mango kaya).
Information for you 👉 If I want an excellent meal for a special occasion or a date in Singapore, Subrosa Private Dining would be one of the places at the top of my mind. With Subrosa, many more people can afford to experience top quality private fine dining in Singapore. Great value (S$108++) considering the quality of ingredients plus the expertise and effort that went into each dish.
Subrosa has a stash of fine wines to pair with your meal.
Disclosure: Please note that this was an invited tasting.
Restaurant name: Subrosa Private Dining
Address: 369, Jalan Besar, Singapore 208997
GPS: 1°18'46.0"N 103°51'35.1"E 🌐 1.312782, 103.859744
Tel: +65 6610 0555
Hours: 11:00am - 12:00 midnight
Non Halal
Date visited: 4 Jan 2019
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