HK Singapore 2011 Holiday Day 12

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The morning started off with breakfast at a nearby hawker/restaurant to the hotel. I had economical (vegetarian) hor fun with a fried egg, costing $1.50 SGD. I originally wanted a lime juice also, but ended up with a iced lemon tea. The drink cost as much, if not more than the noodles.

The noodles were nice, no wok hei, but savoury enough with the dark soy sauce to be enjoyable. The fried egg was greasy, but had a runny yolk, so all was forgiven.

We then went to Starbucks in Raffles City to meet up with the others. I had a vanilla latte which I forgot to take a picture of.

After walking around for a bit, we ended up at the food centre on the bottom of Raffles City where a HK Delights store was selling “eggletes” for $3 SGD. These were pretty much the same taste to the HK egg waffle I had earlier, although not as crisp in some places. After walking through Citylink mall, we ended up at Marina Square and Yuki Yaki.

For starters, I had some chicken nuggets and samosas. The nuggets were similar in size and flavour to McD’s. Only missing was the curry and sweet/sour sauces. The samosas also weren’t bad.

For proteins, I had two types of chicken, yaki chicken and sambal chicken. I also had sliced beef. The yaki chicken was sweet, whereas the sambal chicken had decent bite. The beef was plain, and needed some salt and pepper to be nicer.

I also had a few mushrooms, shitake and oysters grilled on the hotplate. For greens, I had an assortment of bok choy, chinese cabbage and bean sprouts which were wilted in the stock we were given. I forgot to take a photo of this too…

After lunch we had a couple of games of bowling at Marina Square. I had a bet with CB, where the winner would win a Coit Tower from Swensens. I won comfortably and will get my victory Coit Tower at a future date.

CB and I then split away from the group to get ready for dinner at Waku Ghin at Marina Bay Sands. After a quick shower and taxi ride, CB and I arrived with 40 minutes to spare. After killing some time walking through the casino, we were greeted by the staff and appointed our own dining room with a teppanyaki table. The degustation menu consisted of:

“Tataki of Japanese Bonito with Nanohana and Orange”. The orange and soy concoction actually went well together with the raw fish. The fish lent itself to the flavours in the sauce.

“Marinated Botan Ebi with Sea Urchin and Oscietre Caviar”. The sea urchin and caviar added a savoury note to the prawn like flesh. This dish was creamy and I didn’t know what to expect when I had my first bite as I had not had sea urchin before. The taste was hard to describe but it had a nice savoury note to it.

“Slow Cooked Tasmanian Petuna Ocean Trout with Witlof and Yuzu”. The witlof I could do without. It was too bitter for my liking but I ate it all anyway. The salmon was delicately cooked and I was expecting it to be smoked but wasn’t. A mayonaise based sauce would’ve gone well in my mind but could of been overpowering in the simple flavours presented here.

The salmon was served with a simple salad with greens and some apple. It was delicately dressed and superb for such simplicity.

“Alaskan King Crab with Yuzu scented Extra Virgin Olive Oil”. The first of three dishes cooked on the teppan. A bed of salt was put on the teppan before the king crab was placed on top with some water and covered. It was essentially steamed in salt/water. Once done, it was dressed with the oil and dusted finely with a mandarin/tangerine peel. The crab meat was delicate and slightly scented with the peel. Very delicious and simple, wish I had more.

“Puree of Potato with Soft Poached Egg, Black Truffle, Caviar”. The egg was runny inside and once cracked, spilled all over into the plate. The chef said to mix it all together and eat. Flaky bits of truffle mixed with creamy egg yolk and fancy mashed potatoes, what’s not to love?

“Braised Canadian Lobster with Tarragon”. This dish was the highlight of the night for me. On the teppan, garlic and shallots were sautéed in olive oil before the lobster was added and a stock made of lobster shell and prawn heads was put in the pot to cook. The meat was then pulled out and the sauce was finished with tarragon and butter. Sounds simple, but the flavours were outstanding. A small piece of bread was put on the bottom of the plate (to hold the meat in it’s presented positions). It had sopped up the sauce and was soaking in pure lobster flavour. Mmmmmmmmmmm.

“Wagyu Roll with Wasabi, Citrus Soy Sauce and Grated Radish”. The Wagyu sirloin was shaved and rolled before grilled on the teppan. It was served with freshly grated wasabi, soy dressing, garlic chips and shaved spring onions. All eaten together, this was great. CB even tried a bit of wagyu. The beef was well seasoned and tasty, and the condiments all complemented the beef really well.

“Consomme with Rice and Hirame”. A light chicken broth, served with rice and a thin slice of fish. It was delicate and simple but well enjoyed.

“Yoghurt of Berries”. A simple dish of yoghurt and fruits (strawberries, raspberries and blueberries), made exquisite by the freshest, sweetest fruit. The tartness of the yoghurt played well against the sweetness of the fruit.

“Chocolate Mousse Cake”. A rich, dark chocolate mouse with a biscuit based base. Light and fluffy, this is probably one of CB’s favourites.

“Petit Fours”. These small sweets were served in a giftbox, along with the menu just experienced as a souvenir. CB’s menu had even been personalized after she advised she didn’t eat red meat (and subsequently received a spatchcock chicken dish at the last minute).

Overall, Waku Ghin has been the finest dining experience I’ve had in my life. At $988 SGD for the two of us, you’d expect it to be. But with the price comes fabulous food and the most tentative service possible.