Wild Rockets @ Mt Emily (66p)

10A Upper Wilkie Road, Hangout @ Mount EmilySingapore 228119

Tel: 63399448

Tuesday to Saturday: 12.00pm to 3.00pm & 6.30pm to 11.00pm

Sunday: 11.30am to 3.00pm & 6.30pm to 10.30pm

Monday: Closed

WADA rating: 44+22 = 66pts

QPI: 6+ ($40 per pax)

WFI: B- ($25 corkage, good stemware but limited range... they served my Tokaji in a short champagne flute)

Tasted twice in 2008 with the most recent tasting for Mother's Day.

A much hyped about place with the cliche story of high-flier-turned-successful-chef after discovering his true passion in life. Nestled on the hill behind The Cathay, ex-lawyer Willin Low cooks up a storm of fusion dishes. His passion, drive and motivation for life is evident in the creativity and uniqueness of his dishes.

What's Good

Mushrooms with Gorgonzola Cheese on Polenta

It looks very appetizing...this has good mingling of earthiness and the slightly smelly cheese. Some buttery notes.

From L to R: The Fried Cod Fish Cake, La Vieille Ferme Cotes du Luberon Blanc and the Mushroom Polenta.

Fried Cod Fish Cake

Yummy! Very well done. The fresh milky and silkiness of the cod lingers on unaffected by the frying. There are nuances of lemon grass and yellow ginger that gives more bite to the dish. Any oiliness from the frying is tamed by the sweet thai chilli drizzled over with a touch of lime.

Cod Fish with Green Curry & Olive Rice

Smells wonderful with asian spices on the frontal assault but in elegance. What a great balance in this dish! The spicy milky green curry just gently strokes the cod without overkilling it. And when you thought that is the main attraction...wait till you callously scoop the olive rice into your mouth (thinkin it as a filler)....Wow! the most tasty olive rice that DBF and I ever had. Every grain is a tasty dish in itself. It is delicately infused with asian spices coated lightly in olive oil. Very elegant balance.

Warm Chocolate Cake

Yummy! The outer layer is baked to a crisp crunchy crust. The oozing warm chocolate is balancedly sweet. A good finish.

Gula Melaka with Coconut Ice Cream

Simple yet satisfying. This is chendol in a minimalist form...without the green jelly and beans...just pure scweet caramel like gula melaka...infused together with some milky coconut ice-cream

What's Not

Shepard's Pie

Very comfort food. Not exactly mind blowing especially for the high expectations being set on creativity and fusionism on this restaurant. Its got good tomatoey savoury sauciness that feels home cooked. A little stingy on the meat filling though

Laksa Pesto Linguine

Laksa / curry leaves!Everywhere!This is like the sequel to The Curse of the Golden Flowers - The Curse of the Greenish Leaflets. The aromas are too overpoweringly green...and lacks saltiness to savourize it. Bears only faint reminders of laksa. ..this should be called wheatgrass pasta. The smells reminds me of going outfield in army...bashing through an overgrown field of long grass on a hot sunny day.

Other Dishes Tasted

The freshly made focacia bread is soft and fluffy..its free so do have it. We also had the Salmon Sandwich...a little too raw and oily for my taste...not special at all...and can be quite "ni" (chinese for cloying).

The squid salad with mirin is pretty decent fusion of flavours. Very light and tamed ...excites but only a little.

Comments

Definitely a must-go place if you have a car and need to get away from Singapore. The location is somewhat atas but it does have its charm. The food is generally just good but many are unique creations and helps liven up the food culture here. A good effort.

The service staff could improve with their speed and memory cos we had to ask for vinegar thrice but had already finished our bread when it arrived. Funny how the same forgetfulness never surfaced when we asked for the bill.

Wine Pairings Done

Decided to try their house pours from La Vieille Ferme owned by Perrin & Fils of Chateau Beaucastel fame. Coincidentally, I had a chance encounter to share a glass of bourgogne with Pierre Perrin (the next generation owner winemaker) just a month ago at Denise wine shop @ Vivo. He walked in with a well-groomed local wine distributor and since I was tasting some bourgognes ...and being all eager to impress a walk-in ang moh customer with my wine knowledge...I , of course, offered him and his associate some of the village bourgogne I was tasting. What a pleasant shock when I realised that this ang moh was no ordinary ang moh...and it was only after I tried selling him the good characteristics of the bourgogne we were tasting that we exchanged business cards.

2006 La Vieille Ferme, Cotes du Luberon Blanc, Rhone

WADA rated 74+pts

Consists of rarer grape varietals of grenache blanc, bourboulenc, roussanne and ugni blanc. Somewhat weak nose of pineapples. Fared better on the palate with fresh acidity and lemon liquer. Medium length with a bitter lemon pith finish.

2005 La Vieille Ferme, Cotes du Ventoux, Southern Rhone

WADA rated 78pts

A grenache syrah blend. This has sweet violets on the nose. Pleasant, standard, no-suprises rhone blend. This has a rounded palate and does suprisingly do better with the green curry cod rather than the shepard's pie.

2003 Oremus Tokaji Late Harvest Furmint

WADA rated 89+pts

Golden "urine" (sounds yucks but my mum concurs that it does have that hue) yellow with a tinge of orange.

Beautiful orange marmalade that evolves into sweet pineapples, chrysanthemum . Solid citrus lining that gives this sticky the ability to not stick to the throat but gives it a gulpable texture. Medium length causes this wine not to rate above 90.

The evolution of this wine in the glass is amazing...just look at the slightly darker orange hue (from 5 mins in the glass) as compared to a more golden hue (from freshly poured glass).

Wine Pairing Suggestions

Most of the dishes have asian twist to it, so whites (all types) or fruiter reds like a Grenache would do.