passion...schmassion

day 10430: there’s a hole in my memory…

I took Triscuit to susur for his 37th birthday dinner. Initially, I had wanted to take him here but some idiot who is obviously a hell of a lot more financially secure than I am, booked out the WHOLE ENTIRE RESTAURANT… grrr… frustration. So I settled for second best.

Actually, I gave him a choice… susur, scaramouche, the fifth or george. I was secretly hoping for george, but the fact that I refused to give him the names of the restaurants and only described it as an “awesome, amazing, highly recommended restaurant that is part of an exclusive women-only club” scared him off. Women that don’t like men scare him. Just as men who don’t like women scare him.

Too bad… the food would have been fabulous there.

He picked the place I described simply as “asian fusion.” It’s safe… it’s familiar… it’s not the place with the “best view of the city” or the “funky elevator ride".

susur, though, was good. At the time it was amazing. But in hindsight, status was reduced to “good-to-very-good”. And all because I can’t remember the fourth course of the seven course tasting menu… IT HAS COMPLETELY SLIPPED MY MIND… horror of horrors… was my meal not memorable? Egad.

Don’t get me wrong… all of the dishes were incredibly well presented. The restaurant is white and barren, with artwork and visual appeal relegated to the food presentation. Visual appeal enhances the food experience… some of my dishes were too pretty to eat. I had to force myself to dig into the succulent Cornish hen with the currant jam glaze. Mmmm…

The dishes were tasty, but inconsistent. Some of mine were better than his. Some of his were better than mine. I think there was only one dish that neither of us cared much for… until we slathered on some of the sturgeon caviar they had garnished the dish with. But then, hey, I’m just a sucker for fish roe… I’ll love anything with caviar…

1

he: cucumber crab rice roll/ poached soya custard/ radish topped with guacamole
me: same except with salmon tartar topped with crème fraiche and salmon roe instead of the soya custard

favourite part: radish topped with guacamole… very refreshing… very tasty. There is actually an unexpected flavour burst in your mouth

2

he: rack of lamb/ 3 sauces: mint chutney, spicy peanut, and 1 I can’t remember/ white asparagus/ something else I can’t remember
me: Cornish hen/ red currant glaze/ roasted apple slices and beets/ asparagus/ topped with hazelnuts

favourite part: mine rocked… his was so-so… we couldn’t figure out what one part of the dish was (i.e. the part with the lamb bone stuck in it for presentation)… it could have been a lamb meatball.

3

he: beef carpaccio/ shaved foie gras/ arugula salad with a balsamic vinaigrette
me: foie gras four ways: seared foie gras/ foie gras in a sweet pastry with rosemary and red currant jelly/ slice of foie gras on melba toast/ foie gras reduction with Madeira jelly served in a shot glass

favourite part: seared foie gras and the beef carpaccio. The searing brought out the fatty taste and texture and made it melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Rich. Oh-so-yummy…

least favourite part: foie gras reduction… it tasted like CHOCOLATE… oh so wrong…

4

he: I really can’t remember
me: I really, really can’t remember

least favourite part: I can’t remember it!!!! WAHHHHH!!!

Oooohhhh… I remember now!!! Mmmmm… it was really good… lichee fruit/melon sorbet/ damn… forgot the last thing… may have been asparagus…

5

he: red mullet/ miso sauce/ calamanci lime
me: salmon carpaccio wrapped in a cream cheese nori rice roll/ 4 sauces: crème fraiche, wasabi, mustard, ??/ salmon roe/ crispy cookie thing that looked like a funky bracelet

favourite part: the red mullet was scrumptious, but a little salty. The calamanci lime would be amazing in a gin and tonic… has a faint hint of tangerine to it.

6

he: lobster/ dungeness crab wrapped in a cabbage roll/some weird sauce/ something else I can’t remember
me: poached lobster claw/ dungeness crab on top of a bed of heirloom tomatoes/ tomatoe concasse/ lobster roe sauce/ radish/ sturgeon caviar

favourite part: sturgeon caviar

least favourite part: the rest of the dishes… this course was a little bland with not much substance to it. I’m a huge fan of crab, but it was underwhelming and unimpressive. But then again, I really don’t like lobster claw either…

7

he: cold asparagus soup with tiny bits of white asparagus/ white asparagus and apple salad
me: the same

favourite part: the asparagus salad really rocked. The mustard seeds underneath the apples really gave it a zing and an oomph!

8

he: raspberry sorbet/almond cherry tart/ passion fruit mousse
me: molten chocolate banana cake/ sambuca caramel panacotta/ banana rum ice cream

favourite part: mmmmm… dessert… need I say more?

At the end of it all, we were so stuffed we could hardly move... still. so. full...