Fusion Food

This warm starter of the entire dinner set was 1 that I couldn’t quite understand. Although the texture of the squid ramen was deliciously bouncy, the pairing of dashi broth which was already strong on its saltiness and umami-ness didn’t quite work out with the bbq pulled pork ball with that was largely tangy. As much as it was quite innovative, the strong flavours seemed to have clashed instead.

We began the dinner set with a cold starter, the smoked maguro crudo. While I am not a raw fish person, it was still acceptable that the maguro was smoked a little. They were pretty generous as there were 5 relatively thick slices of the fish, drizzled with ginger shallot dressing, wasabi cheese and served with a petite salad where the crunch of vegetables was a good twist to the dish’s texture. The aromatic ginger shallot dressing was the oriental element in the dish, with additional fried shallots and tempura bits. However, it got slightly jelak for me towards the end as I was probably not used to taking that much relatively raw fish at a go.

The other choice for the first course was the Foie Gras & duck leg terrine. Meat lovers will probably enjoy the Foie Gras & duck leg terrine, somewhat resembling pate. Although I am not a fan of Foie Gras, I have to say that it was meticulously done, almost smooth. The pairing with strawberries, brioche and balsamic bubbles was a smart move to tone down the animalic notes through the balsamic acidity.

For the first course, there’s a choice of mussel chowder or Foie Gras & duck leg terrine. The mussel chowder was belly comforting. Served with fresh blue lip mussels that had their rich briny flavour seeping marvellously into the creamy chowder. A touch of XO sauce enhanced its umami edge.

Stepping into this Japanese Izakaya-inspired restaurant @jidai_restaurant, you’d notice an iconic figure everywhere - the Maneki-Neko, or fortune cat, as the owner believes in bringing diners good luck and fortune. The cosmic theme interior, and the French-influenced modern fusion cuisine were certainly worth a visit.

We were there for the Singapore Restaurant Week, but instead was fascinated by the frog leg karaage. You might have had chicken karaage, but what about frog leg karaage? 🐸

Having the aroma akin to chicken karaage, there was surely no lack of tenderness in these brined frog legs that were coated in a karaage batter deep-fried till crispy. Went especially well with Mentaiko mayonnaise and ebiko as the sourness mellowed the overall greasiness. What’s probably inconvenient, was the amount of bones. Having had these, it will probably change your perspective of enjoying frog legs from the usual cooking methods.

Soft shell crab.

My favourite course from the current tasting menu so far. A harmonious marriage of oriental cuisine and plating, with the re-interpretation of a western salad. The sourdough and paneer here were used as a creation to mimic the croutons usually found in salads, topped with a crispy piece of soft shell crab. I thought the addition of leek and some alliums fried till slightly charred was a good demonstration of wok hei. Finally upon serving, black balsamic vinaigrette was drizzled over as a dressing like an olive vinaigrette would be in a salad.

Another dish that was under the National Day Promotion was this Rougie Foie Gras Tobiko Fried Rice, priced originally at $34. As my friend was pregnant and had to avoid raw food, we asked for the tobiko to be removed. Surprisingly I enjoyed this more than the whole lobster golden salted egg yolk rice, given the wok hei of the rice. They weren’t stingy with the diced foie gras, though texture was dry and not too much of flavour in there.

Had this whole lobster golden salted egg yolk rice at Le Fusion as part of their National Day Promotion at 50% off (usual price at $46). Read the mixed reviews but still was curious about how it would turned out to be.

Unfortunately, like some others who mentioned, the thick sauce tasted more like pumpkin than salted egg yolk. Upon verification with the staff, we were told that pumpkin was blended together with the salted egg yolk. For a heavy flavour like salted egg yolk to be undetectable, it’s not difficult to guess the ratio of pumpkin to salted egg yolk used in there. Pretty disappointed. There were also bits of bacon, squid tentacles and tobiko. While a whole lobster sounds attractive, but its flesh was too dry after grilling. Perhaps they should work on the naming of dishes to avoid customers being misled.

I would probably just stick to their main menu items the next visit.

Air flown from Ireland, roasted Chinese style. The duck meat was slightly over-roasted, resulting in tougher bites. I also wished the skin was a little crispier. Nonetheless, the portion was reasonable for the price, and a good balance between meat and fats. Colour of the dipping duck sauce looked rather perculiar, but it was actually more fruity than sweet-savoury.

Not a signature dish on the menu but it was surely unordinary with the spicy fried chicken that was extremely addictive! Stir-fried with Sichuan chili peppers, kang kong tempura, bean paste, garlic, ginger and peanuts. Fine balance between the heat spiciness and numbness. Each piece of chicken was chunky, juicy and ridiculously crispy. Happy that they didn’t leave out the peanuts! Interesting to see a kang kong tempura for the first time, although there wasn’t any strong flavour.

Chefs at Mimi seem to favour truffle quite a little as you can spot several signature truffle dishes on the menu. For this particular one, black truffle Kurobuta pork potstickers encased in squid ink dumpling skin. As I bit off the skin, the earthy truffle aroma came through from the marinated tender pork meat. Pan-fried till crispy with a thin, crackling crisp skirt that falls apart easily.

As its name suggests, this steamed dish was creatively constructed into a garden of mushrooms literally. A medley of char siew (barbecued pork) buns that were painted with cocoa powder to look just like mushrooms and the white fluffy steamed buns served on Oreos crumbs as soil. The staff recommended that we eat this quickly before the buns hardened. While the presentation really caught my attention, the taste was ordinary. In fact, steamed buns with crushed Oreo just didn’t seem to go hand-in-hand. It’s not like you could mop up the Oreo crumbs with the buns. It was plain dry.