Tour De Force tasting menu at Butcher's Block. A cozy restaurant located at Raffles Hotel.
1- Wagyu tartare topped with caviar and beef tendon chicharron : melts in your mouth and the chicharron adds a wonderful crisp
2- Uni tartlet with smoked sashimi poke: I love this dish and the design of the tart was so elegant
3- Baby corn with yuzu kosho aioli and puffed black quinoa : I am not a fan of baby corn, the quinoa coating does add nice crunch to it though
These first 3 dishes are served together and paired with a prosecco.
4- Smoked sashimi (outer layer of Hamachi and inner layer of blufin tuna) topped with caviar, plated on a sauce of herb dashi and buttermilk cream :
Absolutely amazing combination of flavours and the sauce is creamy but light at the same time.
Paired with a sake. Interesting!
5 - Grilled Norwegian scallop with miso buerre blanc and smoked trout roe : the sauce is great . I would have preferred if the scallop was served whole rather than sliced up as it changes the texture.
Paired with a lovely white wine from France.
6- Dry aged duck and apple BBQ sauce : this is one of their signature dishes. The duck is aged for 21 days. The duck breast, leg and tongue are served and the sauce is poured over, with a dollop of apple sauce on the side. The flavours of the duck was surprisingly very Asian , with a hint of 5 spice and other Asian flavours. Very delightful for the Asian palate.
Even more interesting, it's paired with a Shao Xing wine from China!
7 - Grilled Jeju Abalone served on Nori sushi rice with Koji froth : this was my favourite dish. The abalone is grilled to perfection and very tender and tasty. The frothy sauce was divided into two halves of different flavours, herb on one side and mushroom on the other half. It was well balanced and the most exciting dish.
Paired with a light red wine. And it was intriguing how a red wine could go so well with abalone as a white might have been the expected choice. Kudos to the wine sommelier.
8 - Wylarah striploin Australian Wagyu with demiglace sauce and whipped bone marrow potato:
The Wagyu is medium rare and tender, cooked to perfection. The highlight of the dish is the bone marrow potato, a fine puree of starchy potato combined with the richness of the bone marrow is enough to send one to the clouds.
Paired with a heavier and more full bodied red wine.
9 - Spiced apple tart with coconut pudding. The dessert was designed so beautifully and the crisp of the tart with the combination of apple and coconut flavours was light and refreshing.
Paired with a milk liquior which wasn't milky?
A great way to complete this unforgettable degustation experience.
Special thanks to the great service also. Every dish and drink was carefully explained in great detail and with much enthusiasm, making the diners feel a sense of excitement and anticipation before starting.
Tasting menu $238 per pax
With wine pairing + $158
