jaan

the restaurant industry in singapore is a highly competitive one; restaurants come and go at astonishing speeds. furthermore, quality does not mandate success, as may be seen from the demise of marmalade and duo; two places i sadly had no chance to try out. many restaurants, in an attempt to attract more customers to stay in the game, introduce highly irresistable deals such as set lunchs and dinners, often prix fixe, which may be as cheap as half the a la carte menu.

however, the fear i always have when i order a set meal, especially during lunch, is that "something's gotta give": one example being the inagiku set lunch i had a while ago, where the raw fish cuts were rather dissapointing, not to mention the abysmal tempura, which nus canteens' four-dollar versions beat flat. and since i've had a wonderful a la carte dinner there before, i'm wont to think that the poor quality stems from, at least partly, the need to cut costs due to a reduced-price menu

thus, it was with slightly bated breath that the-one-formerly-known-as-j and i made a reservation for lunch at jaan, where the three-course set lunch is one quarter the cost of a three-course a la carte dinner (though judging from the number of people that used the raffles discount card the last times i dined there, it's probably more accurate to say that lunch costs half of dinner =p). the online reviews (mostly good) helped to ease the fear somewhat, though.

we were allowed to choose one of three entrees, mains and desserts. for starters, i had the seasonal mushroom cappuccino perfumed with truffle essence; mains was the roasted duck breast, with cepe polenta and garlic gastrique jus; and for dessert, orange creme brulee with bailey's irish cream ice-cream



the mushroom cappuccino was aromatic; expected since truffle essence was used. it also contained chunks of mushrooms, which i supposed added, in some way, a crunch to the broth. of course, the froth that makes the soup a "cappuccino" was there too; giving it a somewhat "creamy" texture. the serving bowl was rather strange, though; a silver futuristic ceramic-like bowl which turned out to be plastic, and which cast a faint bluish tinge to the soup. wierd.

the main did not fare so well, at least part of it. not that the duck was particularly bad; it was just quite "eh"; even though it was juicy enough, i suppose (and it really was; the juices oozed out with every cut i made on the meat), it was strangely rather weak on the tastebuds. i couldn't really taste the "roastedness", or any hint of use of herbs, or even the duck fat that i assumed should have been aromatic enough to assert itself. in fact, the duck lacked a certain gaminess that makes it duck, i suppose. the brown sauce also did not help to enhance the duck much.

i did like the polenta though; which is:

"a staple of northern italy;(...) a mush made from cornmeal, (and) can be eaten hot with a little butter or cooled until firm, cut into squares and fried. for added flavor, polenta is sometimes mixed with cheese such as parmesan or gorgonzola. it can be served as a first course or side dish and makes hearty breakfast fare."

- definition of polenta, epicurious.com

the polenta's texture is not unfamiliar; akin to mashed potatoes. as for the taste, besides the obvious taste of garlic and mushrooms, there's another taste that i presumed come from the polenta itself - definitely not something i've come across. perhaps polenta (or cornmeal?) just taste like this? like a basic taste - i mean, how do you start to describe the basic taste of chicken, or pork? whatever the case, i liked it quite a bit.

dessert was my favourite dish of the day; the creme brulee, though not really torched like a normal creme brulee, was nicely creamy. the bailey's irish cream ice-cream complements the creme brulee quite wonderfully; the firm texture a nice contrast to the soft creme brulee. also, the ice cream also had a faint bitter liquor taste set against the sweet, yet light, orange taste of the creme brulee.

at thirty five dollars after all the extras, i must say that the meal was quite enjoyable: a classy setting (though i do think the light fixture is very, very out of place), good views of the marina and city areas, and definitely not substandard food ala inagiku's set lunch; what's more, the place is excellent for taking photographs of the dishes - due to the restaurant's seventieth storey location and full-height windows, the subjects are bathed in natural light, which makes for beautiful photographs, as may be witnessed from delicious:days, whom i think takes some of the best food photos i've seen.