Restaurant Ember (82p)

50 Keong Saik Road, Hotel 1929
Tel : 63471928

WADA rating: 57 + 25 = 82pts
QPI: 7+ (Less than $200 for the two of us for a very sumptuous spread of a few appetizers, mains and corkage. There's also a chef's table menu of 8 courses for $100+++ per pax)
WFI: B- ($20 per btl, reasonable stemware but not very comprehensive winelist)

Tasted twice. The most recent with DBF for our anniversary.

A seemingly humble looking establishment located in a previous red-light district turned boutique hotel enclave. Already quite established, this place is packed even on a weekday night so do make bookings early.




What's Good


Angel Hair Pasta with Sonbu and Abalone
Extremely refreshing and light on the mouthfeel, the sonbu (i think it's a kind of preserved vegetable) adds a sourish sweetness to divinely thin strips of pasta that seems to have been soaked in truffle oil. The thin slices of abalone only accentuates the whole experience like a sea breeze in the sunset.


Foie Gras in Mirin Sauce
Oooh Ahhh.. orgasmic and out of this world... I had had many type of foie gras before but this ...This is special because it is the only one that is done in an intense braised soy type of savoriness. Lovely sweetness also from the slightly burnt caramelised foie gras. The flavours implode in your mouth and lingers on for a long time. I really wanted to have a glass of sauternes with it but sadly they didn't carry any on their winelist.

Chilean Sea Bass with Truffles
The signature dish that I truly recommend ALL to try. Extremely well made fish that reminds me of the uniquely flavoured fish dishes at Woods. The seabass tastes more like a meat dish with the infusion of truffle smoke and bacon fat in every bite. Lovely earthy notes make this a red wine dish!

What's Not

Roasted Pork Belly
Slightly soggy on the skin which makes it hard to chew. Given the impression from the starters and the fish, this dish is underwhelming. Showing not much character except for the interesting display of sauces around the plate, this effort shares similar flavour profiles (especially with the accompanying sauerkraut) to roasted German pork knuckles I have had at Marche, Brotzeit and Paulaners. Although able to match up to its comparatives, I am not blown over at all.

Other Dishes Tasted

Baked Tomato Bread
The free bread here comes freshly warmed or baked and is plesantly well flavoured and does its job of enticing the palate for the feast yet to come.

Curry Prawn Salad
An interesting seasoning but doesn't invoke any strong feelings from me.

Soft Shell Crab
Nicely fried to a crisp but smothered in a sticky sauce tasting much like sweet thai chilli sauce.

Comments

Very chic ambience that is unpretentious but classy. The presentation is like the ambience and shares similar style with Braise @ sentosa. This is no coincidence as Braise is spawned from Ember. However, the main chef-owner is still resident at Ember even though Braise seems to be more more hyped and classed-up. Although very good, I did prefer the higher creativity of the pairing of ingredients at Braise.

Wine Pairings Done

2005 Clarendelle Blanc , Bordeaux
WADA rated 86+pts
A newly-minted label under the same banner of La-Mission and Haut-Brion, this is supposed to be the cheaper alternative for those who are unwilling to pay a few hundred bucks for a Bahans or a Haut-Brion. I would have taught it to be a weak imitator that is out to make a handsome profit by waving the Haut-Brion banner. However, I was very pleasantly suprised by this relatively serious effort of a wine.
Bananas carried by lemon drops candy with whiffs of peaches and pears. This is refreshingly satisfying with good ripeness. A dense / intense effort that is restrained on the oak but showing shades of its lineage with its very mature approach. Even though we had opened this the day before, the palate is still stiffly intense and fresh. In fact, it showed a creamier, rounder body as well as a longer finish. Impressed.

2001 Pichon Lalande, 2nd Great Growth, Pauillac (WS92, RP93)
WADA rated 85+pts
Big green peppers and horsey-ness on the nose. A confusion of very wild animal notes bordering on cat's pee and cabbage greeness. There is also an underlying floral nose of violets. The palate is suprisingly black fruit driven with good structure and spice notes of nutmeg.