A Sweet Gesture at 1 Michelin Star Het Gebaar @ Antwerp

A few days ago, hubby asked if I want to try a dessert place with a Michelin Star. Why not? Afterall, I knew that he was the one very eager to go because he has a very big sweet tooth. He would be the first one to say yes to a dessert and then another yes for a dessert after dessert. The Timmermans are really an unbelievably sweet family.

Unfortunately, the reservation for lunch on Thursday is really full and the only availability is at 2.30pm. To me, 2.30pm is way pass my lunch time but for a nice restaurant, I can make an exception. We arrived in Antwerp 20 minutes early and guess what my hubby did? He walked into Hermes, asked the staff for a Birkin bag and she said, "sorry sir, we do not have any ready Birkin bags but if you want to buy one, you will have to fill up the wish list." And my hubby said, "yeah sure and can you please make sure it comes before her birthday?" Lol.. that was so sweet. Luc couldn't believe it when I told him that one has to be on a wait-list for a Birkin and he thought that we can just walk into a shop and buy it. Well, at least now he knows... but still it was so sweet of him to think of getting me one.

The restaurant was just a five-minute walk from the shop and we arrived in time. The little cottage looks really quaint and just behind the cottage is the Antwerp botanical gardens. Who would have guessed that this cottage is the restaurant of Roger Van Damme whom is a celebrity chef on Njam! Tv and apparently he specialises in desserts. I saw his show once on TV and he teaches kids to cook which I find it surprising that he has a 1 Michelin Star dessert restaurant.

 Chef Roger sometimes come out to serve the desserts himself

The place is full full full. There were some walk-in customers and they were told that they can't get a table unless they make a reservation in advance. On weekends though, you do not need a reservation. This is how it works: If one wants to take a main course, he or she has to order a dessert too. If you just plan to take dessert, it's all fine.

They have quite a good selection of main courses consisting of pork, veal, scallops, ravioli and steak tartaar starting at €. And in the dessert selection, they have a few choices too and also classic desserts like creme brulee, dame blanche, chocolate mousse, tarte-tatin and crepes.

We started with a glass of Laurent Perrier Millesime 2004 (€17.50) as an aperitif and then we were served an amuse bouche just like any fine dining restaurants. The amuse bouche was served on a small granite plate that contains chicken with peanut sauce and half a quail's egg with a piece of fried rice cake served with avocado cream and radish. It was really impressive as I can taste the subtle peanut flavours that goes well with the chicken and quail's egg. The bread were good and most importantly, they serve a good piece of butter.

Service was a bit slow. I don't know if it's intended so that the customers have more time to chat in between courses or it was meant for us to anxiously anticipate the next dish? I ordered a recommended dish of the day which consists of lightly seared scallops with clams and potato puree and avocado cream (€32.50).  Presentation was top and so is the food. I love how the chef makes such a dish that tastes so simple and natural yet satisfying in terms of visual and palate. The potato puree was silky smooth and the scallops paired really well with the sauces.

Luc ordered a suckling pig which has a square piece of crackling with a thin layer of pork and underneath the crackling lies a few pieces of oval-shaped pork cheeks (€34.50). It is a very rich dish but lucky the leek and witlof saves the richness of the flavours. Too bad that the waitress served this dish by pouring some brown sauce on top of the crackling because it defeats the whole purpose of making the skin crispy. They should instead pour the sauce from the sides and not on the crackling.

After the main course, we had to wait for about 45 mins before we were told that the desserts that we ordered needed more time because some of the ingredients had run out and they needed more time to remake them. Well, I appreciate that they remade the ingredients so that we can have the desserts but what would be nicer is that they should have told us earlier and maybe we can choose another dessert or we decide to wait? Maybe the staff saw my "not-so-happy" facial expression and they walked over to us to explain and then they served us with a complimentary "pre-dessert". By the time I finished in indulging my "pre-dessert", I was already full and with stomach full of fury?

But I had to agree that the "pre-dessert" is really good.

By the time we were served our desserts, it was already 4.30pm and we were there since 2.30pm. So it takes 2 hours to have a main course and a dessert. The dessert better be good or else I will certainly walk out with a sour face! Mine was called Celebration 20 (€21.50) which is a dessert created for the festive season and also to commemorate 20 years of the existence of the restaurant. It is made with Chef Roger's favourite flavours of raspberry, strawberry, yogurt, basil, cassis and milk chocolate. We had a whole 5 minutes of visually appreciating the dessert before I started digging into this beautiful creation. This is a very beautiful dessert and I ate my plate clean except for the candy which I find to be too sweet and it sticks to my teeth.

Luc's dessert is called "Botanique" (€21.50) which is also called the "sweet garden". It consists of milk chocolate, combined with hazelnut, passionfruit, mango and lime. It is so nicely presented that Luc was a little hesitant to dig into it. He told me it was the most beautiful dessert he has seen and maybe ever eaten! I like the creativity of the chef and how he uses these ingredients and turn them into a garden which is so visually appetising. The taste itself is very good because the sourness from the lime and passionfruit creates a contrast with the richness and sweetness of the chococlate.

Both of us are very happy with the desserts. Perhaps the next time we return, we will just order 2 desserts each instead of a main course and a dessert. What I dislike is the waiting time and the staff even had forgotten our 2nd order of a bottle of water. She wanted to serve it in the end but I stopped her. It was too late and if I have to wait any minute longer for my dessert, I could have canceled it too since I'm not a big fan of sweet stuff. I think it was worth the wait as my hubby is very happy with the dishes. That is the only consolation for the wait. Not that I want to complain but a 3-hour parking in Antwerp is a f@#$$%% €8.70!!! For that I can have a really nice belgium waffle from Desire de Lille and a pack of super tasty frietjes from Frituur No.1. Ish....

But then again, for the desserts, I will be back (only when I crave for sweets).

Het Gebaar

Address: Leopoldstraat 24, 2000 Antwerp

Phone:03 232 37 10

website

Blown Away at Waku Ghin @ Marina Bay Sands Singapore

One of the restaurants that topped my chart of places to dine in Singapore is Waku Ghin at Marina Bay Sands. My first experience at Waku Ghin, the only establishment by Chef Tetsuya Wakuda outside his world-famous Sydney restaurant on Kent St. was so impressive that I subsequently tried to make a reservation at this restaurant several times and eventually the day has come for me to finally experience a complete dinner there last week.

Beware of a long post ahead with many many pictures....

The reception area is also a bar where guests can have pre dinner drinks here before being ushered into the several dining rooms in the restaurant.

These photos are taken during the media invitation at MBS a year ago. Clockwise from top left: 1. A simple yet cosy dining room with a Teppanyaki grill. 2. An asymmetrical hallway leading to the dining rooms and the drawing room. 3. An-inch-thick wines and sake list to satisfy any connoisseurs. 4. The drawing room where the guests would be having their desserts and coffee or even a one-for-the-road before leaving the restaurant.

Hold on to your seats as you'll be blown away with the dining experience at Waku Ghin from the moment you sauntered into the dining room and till the last step you take out of those glass doors. The impeccable service from the serving staff right to the cooking showcase by the chefs are just amazing! Firstly, one of the staff will bring out a tray of fresh seafood which would be served on that evening and they will ask you if you are allergic to any of these ingredients. I eat everything!!!

There will be another staff pouring your choice of water and then you can order your choice of bottle. A sommelier then will serve you the wine/bottle of your choice in a very professional manner. Obviously for me, pictures are obligatory and I took all these photos with my humble iPhone 5. Thus please forgive the quality of the pictures on this post.

It's a celebration of my retirement from employment and also Thomas' first trip to Asia. Of course it has to be nothing less than a Salon 1997 (S$700+) for such a special occasion. My partner and I shared so many of our fond memories with Salon and thus it's our official celebratory champagne. Such a champagne is suitable to be served in wine glasses as the fine bubbles would soften and it could be sipped like a burgundy. The reason why I love this Salon is that the acidity and minerality is very refined, the bubbles are so delicate, it's zesty with hints of grapefruit but it's not too complex and it has a lingering finish.

Kobujime of Sayori with Nanohana and Japanese Strawberry
Made with diced strawberries and pomegranate which gives it an extra crunch texture and the slices of sayori (garfish) was delicate and mild in taste. A fresh and zesty combination that went really well with the champagne.

Marinated Botan Shrimp with Sea Urchin and Oscietra Caviar

Absolutely delicious and I love the crawling seaweed that is crunchy and chewy which decorated the dish. Try not to break the mother of pearl spoon.

Slow-cooked Tasmanian Petuna Ocean Trout with witlof and yuzu

This is something my partner and Thomas would be familiar with. The witlof are also known as Belgian endive and I have had lots of it during my last trip to Antwerpen last month. The Petuna Ocean trout tasted better than salmon due to the firmess of the fless, luscious marbling of the fats and a nice flavour.

The next dish is a very interesting dish which looked to me like a giant mussel. These are actually fresh abalones from Australia. You can still see them alive and breathing as the Chef Kok Hong placed them onto the hot teppanyaki grill. It's seared with grapeseed oil and served with a very nice refreshing soup base made from tomatoes, basil and rocket leaves and fregola which is a type of pasta from Sardinia almost similar to the Israeli's couscous.

Australian Abalone with Fregola and Tomato

I love the chewy yet tender texture of the fresh abalone as compared to the numerous dried abalones I've had at the chinese restaurants. If you would have tried this fresh abalone prepared in such a refreshing way, you would have looked at abalone in a different light. It almost had a texture like squids.

Braised Canadian Lobster with Tarragon

The secret lies in the art of cooking where it is cooked at a low temperature of 60°C in a copper pot to seal the juice in the lobster and then slowly bringing up the temperature again and showered with paprika, garlic mayonnaise, butter and tarragon sauce. It was indeed tasty, succulent and the sauce was not too rich.

From the recommendation of the sommelier, we ordered a bottle of the Waku Ghin exclusive label sake -Isojiman Junmai Daiginjo M byIsojiman Shuzo Corporation (S$500+) was indeed an impressive fine sake with underlying fine notes of rice and subtle sweet notes. What a great sake!

Charcoal-grilled Fillet of Tasmanian Grass Fed Beef with Tetsuya's Wasabi Mustard

The tenderloin from Cape Grim is charcoal-grilled at 600-700°C and thus sealing the meat and keeping it's moisture in the meat with a nice char-grilled outer layer. The meat was not cold at all and remained almost rare in the middle.

Japanese Ohmi Wagyu

The "Japan top three Wagyu" are Matsusaka Ushi, Kobe Beef, and Ohmi Beef cattle raised in the Kansai region of Japan. It's a full blood wagyu raised in the Shiga Perfecture with extreme care in environment and water. It's also one of the meat with such a nice fat viscosity and you can just admire its beautiful marbling. The best way to taste them is to have them lightly seared and it goes really well with the freshy made wasabi. I would have thought the meat would taste fatty but it doesn't at all. Such a tender slice that melts in the mouth.

Consomme with Rice and Snapper

How could one made such a nice combination with such simple ingredients?!! I almost wanted a second helping as it is so much like a comfort food for me! Aromatic and flavourful chicken stock soup.

Somen with Myoga and Junsai

This is a Japanese version of hand-pulled noodles made of wheat. It's cold and soup has hints of shiso and ginger.

Then Chef Kok Hong brewed us some fine green tea from Kyoto called Gyokuro. These variety of tea leaves are harvested in 2-3 weeks and they are still very young. There's no roasting and fermentation  and are picked by hands. The way to brew them is to keep the water temperature at about 40-50°C resulting is a very nice fragrant green tea drank in a room temperature.

After that, we adjourned to the drawing room where desserts are served and we can also have a coffee before we break the bank and pay the bill.

1.Salad of Raspberry with Wasabi and Granita of Honey and Vinegar

2.Chocolate Mousse Cake with Vanilla and Macadamia

Thomas, Chef Sia Kok Hong, Me and Luc

This is one of the best if not the finest restaurant that I have been too judging from the stellar experience I had here. Chef Kok Hong, the chef de partie under the guidance of Tetsuya is one of the shining stars of the restaurant as he made our dinner so enjoyable. The dinner is never boring as the chef is always interacting with his guests and we are also able to ask them questions about the food. Chef Kok Hong hailed from Malacca and he is certainly a man of extreme tidiness and cleanliness which is evident from his constant cleaning of the stainless steel teppanyaki grill eliminating even a speck of dust as he cooks.

At around S$400 a person for a 10 course degustation menu, it's certainly a very expensive affair. However, if you really want to impress and have the best dining experience, you can certainly consider Waku Ghin, listed as the 39th of the World's 50 Best Restaurants in 2012.


Waku Ghin

10 Bayfront Avenue

#02-02 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands

Tel: +65-66888507

DINNER by Heston Blumenthal @ Mandarin Oriental London

din·ner

(noun)

The main meal of the day, taken either around midday or in the evening.
A formal evening meal, typically one in honour of a person or event.

                                                                                                                                       From Old French disner

How could a trip to London be complete without a main meal at Heston Blumental's Dinner at Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park? Knowing that I could not even score a seat at Fat Duck which is in West Berkshire (40 over minutes and 29 miles away from Hyde Park), I decide to try my chances and made a reservation at Dinner using Toptable 1 month in advance. Hallelujah!!! I managed to secure a table for 2 but I had to take the 6.30pm session which is all fine for me.

I arrived there with my partner slightly earlier than the allocated time. All the other diners who are there for the same dinner reservation time are being seated at a bar area where we can have a pre-dinner drink before being escorted by the staff to our table. I love the interior of the restaurant which is elegant, glass walls from floor to ceiling which makes the dining area looks bigger and spacious. The porcelain sconces in a shape of jelly moulds decorated the walls together with iconic chandeliers that hang from the ceiling all made this place looks bespoke. There's also a view of the kitchen where you can see the chef and staff sometimes putting up a show for the diners.

For starters, we were served a platter of sourdough toast which is like a country bread with a cripsy crust and a tender bread texture and a slab of butter with a sprinkle of sea salt. Simple yet delicious to start off with while waiting for our entrees.

I love the menu not only because it was simple to navigate but because each dish has a reference to the source of origin. So, you'll know exactly which era does the dish originate from and even from which cookbook! It's like a thesis with book referencing. The concept here is not exactly like Fat Duck which is more to molecular gastronomy and Dinner is more like a fine-dining version of brasserie that recreates historical recipes and their menu doesn't burn a big hole in your pocket.

Broth of Lamb £15

(1730 The complete Practical Cook by Charles Carter)

There's a slow cooked hen's egg, celery, radish, turnip and veal sweetbreads all immersed in the wonderful aroma of lamb broth.

Roast Marrowbone £15.50

 (1720 The Cook's and Confectioner's Dictionary by John Nott)

I wouldn't give any marrowbone a miss in the menu. I love the combination of the butter of the Gods with snails, parsley, anchovy, mace and picked vegetables. It was a match made in heaven for marrowbone with snails. Both has buttery textures and a meaty flavour and I really like it. Must be my obsession with marrowbones...

Spiced Pigeon £34 

(1780 The Ladies' Assistant and Complete System of Crookery by Charlotte Mason)

The pigeon is seved in slices that is interwined with grilled artichokes and ale gravy. Can you just look at the lovely pink meat? It's heavenly, tender and melts in the mouth.

Beef Royal

72 hour Slow cooked short rib of Angus, smoked anchovy & onion puree, Ox tongue

When they say slow cooked, it's really true! The beef is cooked sous vide at 56°C for 72 hour and the proof of the pudding is in the eating. The beef was so juicy and tender!

Triple cooked chips
I was highly recommended by the staff to order this. And since I love fries, why not?!! These triced cooked chips are a feature of Heston Blumental. It's cooked in 3 stages - parboil, freezed dry  for 1 hour and then deep fry with rapeseed oil until golden brown and crispy. Ooh.. they are addictive!

2009 Flowers Pinot Noir from Sonoma Coast £125

This time, I had the priviledge to choose the wine and I have asked the reservations to send me the wine list in advance. I decided to try something different as my partner is really knowledgeable on French wines but he definitely hasn't any clue on wines from California. The wine has a bright ruby colour. Aromas of blackberries and orange peel and on the palate, you'll get some black cherries, bright acidity with a medium lingering finish. 

A wonderful and delicate pinot from California. Coincidentally, I happen to have 2 bottles at home too. I think I got those 2 bottles for something like SGD$160.

 

A complimentary dessert of chocolate ganache with orange blossom. On the side was a crispy caraway biscuit.

Tipsy Cake £12

(1810 The English Cookery Book by J.H. Walsh)

If you don't have space for dessert, you have to force yourself to a serving of this tipsy cake. The effect of this cake is more than tipsy, it's out of this world. Served in a small Staub cocotte, this cake looks firm on the outside but inside it's airy and tender. 

 

Pic from thegourmetbelle

The pineapples are slowly roasted on ‘a contemporary stainless steel pulley system modeled on a 16th century design for the Royal British Court’s kitchens, the gears and cranks of which resemble the craftsmanship of an oversized watch, mechanically rotating a spit over an open fire' resulting in a juicy and not fibrous slice of pineapple. The Tipsy Cake is now a permanent feature on the menu.

The Tipsy cake is so good and heavenly. Even my partner has to agree with me on that and I wouldn't mind having it as an entree as well. Overall, the service was excellent. We were given ample attention from the familiar staff that served us throughout the night and thus the personal touch was something I really liked. They even attend to my request to have a nice table by the window and also followed through some of the surprises I arranged. Very nice!

The bill came up to something around £300+ and it was expected from this restaurant of 1 Michelin Star and also ranked #9 on the World's 50 Best Restaurant Awards 2012. But most importantly, I had the most wonderful evening there.

Dinner by Heston Blumenthal

Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park,

 66 Knightsbridge, London, SW1X 7LA

Tel - +44(0)20 7201 3833

Website