ember

i once read in 8 days a rather shocking tidbit: jason hahn, the resident food connoisseur of the magazine (and one of the better food journalists in singapore with actual comments that are not a result of regurgitating endorsement lines), commented that he goes to nooch noodle bar for "comfort food". frankly speaking, i'm shocked that nooch has managed to survive the restaurant scene in singapore, given that they serve up rather sub-standard food (at least when i last tried it a few years ago - cold noodles anyone? and i don't mean the correct-to-serve-cold-type either, if that's what anyone's thinking), let alone for anyone to proclaim it as somewhere to go for "confort food" - i mean, there must be like a bajillion other places in singapore that do noodles better than nooch.

on the other hand, that's the funny thing comfort food, isn't it? it transcends mere qualification; it conjures up an almost primal emotion that satisfies the deep bowels within. i see comfort food as being associated with the foods that one grew up with; one regularly sees on japanese tv food shows that talk about foods which have the "mother's taste" (as much as whatever gross implications that may accompany such a saying), or how someone always craves for their hometown dish whenever they are abroad.

thus, i consider it rather surprising that i hardly ever miss singapore food, even when i'm abroad. i don't even get cravings for most singapore food, save for the occasional plate of old airport road hawker centre's 南星炒虾面 (which i must not have had, due to my family's "misforture", for the last 6-7 years). rather, i get constant cravings for pasta. and sushi. and ember's pan-seared chilean sea bass with mushroom and smoked bacon ragout and yuzu-butter sauce. very atas, no?

ember is located in hotel 1929, a boutique hotel located at keong saik road, the old bordello district of singapore's historical chinatown area. it attracts a mean crowd for both lunch and dinner, especially after it introduced its super-duper value deal of a set lunch, where one pays forty dollars to choose a entree, main and dessert from the ala carte menu (except for the foie gras, where one has to pay the difference in price, which is still a good deal, considering one has to pay about twenty dollars more if ordering the same dishes the ala carte way).

this time round (yes there has been many times before this), i went for lunch with the-one-formerly-known-as-j and hk; the last meal there before leaving for beijing. ordering was a piece of cake - basically, i just had to worry what to have for dessert; the rest of it was fixed - i alternate the foie gras and the mushroom soup for the entree; for the main, it's two times chilean seabass, one time rack of lamb. extremely simple and efficient =)



what i had for lunch:

pan-seared foie gras on a bed of raisins and cinnamoned diced apples, with a sprinkling of sea salt
pan-seared chilean sea bass with mushroom and smoked bacon ragout and yuzu-butter sauce
wine jelly with assorted berries

i'm a big, big fan of foie gras, though i don't think i can distinguish the different grades of it (yet), since: 1. my first time eating it was only five years ago; 2. i don't eat it regularly (i'm not made of money); 3. i've only had it at a few places - and only in singapore. however, ember's version tasted pretty good to me; a very generous piece of liver, all oily and fatty, firm, yet yielding to the slightest maneuver of the knife, contrasting the subtly sharp, yet sweet cinnamoned apple cubes and raisins. sudden, intense bursts from the salt increased the oomph factor between bites.

actually, i believe that this is (at least) the third incarnation of this dish; i seem to recall it being served on toast, then with prune and armagnac in previous renditions. or is it the other way? no matter; the taste was just as good then, as it is now. in fact, i think i like the current version most (though i'm pretty sure it being the most recent has coloured my perception somewhat). the one on toast was easier to eat, though =P

unlike the foie gras, the chilean sea bass has remained unchanged for as long as i have patronised the restaurant. in fact, it was this very dish which led the-one-previously-known-as-j to introduce me to this restaurant, claiming it to be one of the best (cooked) fish dishes he has ever had. and i must say that i agree with his comment - in fact, this is currently the cooked fish dish which i measure all other fish dishes to (raw fish is a totally different category to me; it's like comparing pork and chicken). it uses all my favourite ingredients - chilean sea bass (yum!), mushrooms (yum!!), bacon (yum!!!), butter (oh my gawd!!!), combined into a simply delectable dish.

from the ingredients, one may deduce that this is an "oily" dish; and it is (in fact, more than one food blog has noted this - and their reservations for it). however, i feel that the "oiliness" is precisely what is so fundamental about the dish; for me, it is what prompts the gutteral sighs of approval - hence one of my "comfort foods". moreover, the "oiliness" is not the kfc type of oiliness, where it gets to you in the middle of the meal and you feel all disgusted and icky; this dish, though "oily", is not greasy, for while the fish is oily, its other qualities more than complement it: firm flesh which flakes off in nice sheets (unlike most other fish which comes off in "strands" or bits), and a clean fish taste devoid of any muddiness (unlike freshwater fish).

the sauce is equally inspiring. the buttery, creamy sauce, with the wafting aroma of the salty bits of mushrooms and bacon, provides competent contrast to the strong, distinctive taste of the fish (though i could never detect the yuzu!). every time i eat this dish, i always wished i could eat it in the privacy of my own home, for then i would be able to lick the plate clean of the sauce; it's that good =)

dessert, in contrast, is regrettably rather hit-or-miss at ember. their chocolate cake is quite good; however, it was a hot day, and i wanted something more cooling, so i went with the wine jelly, which was a new item on the menu. not a good move. the jelly was served flat in a shallow dish, making it hell to eat; it was also not cold enough, and the texture was not "crisp", but more rubbery, and quite hard. the garnish was also not particularly inspired: a mixture of strawberry slices, blackcurrants, the lone physalis (which incidentally is called 菇娘 in china - so cute hor?) and cranberries - it's as if it was designed for the customer to pick and choose his favourite fruits and not eat the rest; resulting in a rather wishy-washy feel. i wished the chef could just have selected one or two types of fruits instead, for that would provide much clarity to the whole ensemble.

still, the entree and main more than made up for the rather lacklustre dessert; a highly dependable, comforting meal indeed. if only they had the sticky date pudding and vanilla ice cream from marmalade pantry, that would have been one hell of an ultimate meal for me =)