Posh Dining

What defines fine? When is food fine? What in the world is fine dining? It's posh food, to be honest. I define it as food that is served on a spotless white porcelain plate with the dish placed artistically in the middle. I have always found it very swanky and some how am not quite used to eating such food. maybe because i hardly eat at such expensive restaurants. Not that I don't appreciate such food. I guess it's always nice to bite into high quality gourmet food once in a while eh? Anyway I shan't blabber on too much with the philosophy of fine dining. Let me show you what I had at Cafe Society the other day:



Presenting the 'Trio of Seafood". It's basically a combi of pan seared scallop, sesame crusted tuna and pan fried garlic prawn. This was the first dish served. May i just add that this dish was brilliant. Gave the whole meal an advantage. I was incredibly pleased with the freshness of the scallop and the prawn. I loved the seared tuna too. well considering i'm a fan of sashimi and all. love raw fish. and there wasn't any fish smell or taste at all. there you have it, 3 tastes of heaven.



Can you guess what dish this is? Clue: it's not cheap and well geese are tortured. it's a dead giveaway. yea that's pan fried Foie Gras for you. It's cooked with old port wine sauce. they served it with some lovely filo pastry. I have a confession to make. that was my first ever foie gras. what a dud huh? have never tried foie gras until now. but i adore it. just a bit icky about poor geese being stuffed and tortured though. heh.... i like the rich texture of it. the sauce added a much complimenting sweetness to the salty liver. bravo chef.




ah soup. there's nothing like a warm creamy soup i tell you. this one was the "Cream of Portobello Soup". i'm guessing it was made with the huge portobello mushroom. I think. well there were pieces of mushroom in it. there's something about this soup which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. it's a soup that i'd imagine myself eating on a cold rainy day with lots of foccacia bread. if overseas, maybe during winter, by the fireplace. too bad there ain't no winter and no fireplace here. heh no way am i eating it by the stove!



quaint isn't it? it's like a small bird. well it is a small bird. that's pan fried quail... infused with truffle oil and drizzled with old port wine sauce. flesh was tasty, right down to the bone... okay the next word i'm gonna use to describe is gonna sound rather kitschy but i have to use it! this quail is cute! by cute i mean the size. maybe i'm too used to eating bigger birds? i don't know. i do know that i love quail eggs too.. simply cos of their adorable size too. okay i think i'm probably insane. nvm. anyway the quail was sitting on this lovely pumpkin mash with some grated carrots and vegetable. excellent combi. love it.



yes yes, this one is the meaty prize winner. the grilled beef medallion with sherry jus. beef was cook just right... medium rare and it was very tender. came served with some mushrooms and asparagus and mash potatos. oh and i do think the sherry jus was justifiable. i made sure I coated the potato and the asparagus with it before i ate it. it was a perfect sauce for the juicy meat. yummy.




last but not least, dessrt. can you guess what's that? yesss it's vanilla creme brulee. gosh, the moment i saw this, my heart just fluttered. sinful but to die for. in case you were wondering, yes i finished everything on the plate. including the little wonton looking package there. it looks ordinary on the outside but trust me, you wait till you hear what's in it. the core contains banana and DARK chocolate. yes robust dark chocolate, my utmost favourite. what can i say. there simply is nothing better than a 'killer' dessert to end your meal. like i always say, i can live without the main course but i can never do without dessert! no matter how full i am, there's always place for dessert. i am such a dessert person.

there you have it, my 6 course meal at Cafe Society. if you think the food looks and sounds good? wait till you see the place. the ambience is top notch. it has a chic, contemporary yet european kind of setting. you'll understand when you see it. because the place was the former Parliament House. and i ate my meal in the Justice Chambers. amazing huh?

anyway, i just discovered that i haven't baked for quite some time. the last time i did, was during chinese new year when i made my ever so popular chocolate chip cookies. they're a hit with everyone. my cousins almost finished the entire bottle that time. this one is the chewy type. i prefer a nice chewy cookie to a crispy one. i feel like making them soon. maybe i will for my brother's birthday which is 2 weeks away. allrighty... i'll be checking out new recipes to try soon and will post more pictures up when i do get down to baking again. gosh i miss baking.... have been too busy of late.

oh that reminds me, today's LifeStyle section of Sunday Times featured Anthony Bourdain... hehe my favourite chef!!! he's coming down here for the World Gourmet Summit soon... damn... if only i could meet him. He was schooled at NY's CIA (Culinary Institute of America), the place which i would love to go study at!! if i had money, i'd go to the CIA or Le Cordon Bleu to study patisserie. wait i don't know if i spelled that right. heh. anyway ya, i want to learn french cooking too! and pastry making. anything to do with baking or cooking. yea duh. those are culinary schools!

Well i guess that can come after i'm done with my uni studies. ya, going to start school in August... majoring in Sociology and possibly also Philosophy. Not sure yet... will be studying in NUS arts and social sciences faculty. well i guess it ain't so bad. i originally wanted to go to uni of liverpool (got offered a place). but alas do i have the cash? no. so i'll just have to make do! okay i'm digressing aint i... anyway maybe after i get my bachelor's degree, i'll go to a culinary school. i still remember i always told myself, i'd either be a writer or a chef. or both when i grow up. maybe the latter will come true in due time. we'll see we'll see.....