There's Life After Brunei IV: Shopping High & Lunching High

Jaan1
Swiped from williamnyk.

Breakfast was oats and more skanking. Did some packing too. Before lunch, took some time to hunt for SK's Xmas present. Got her a cute little pink Skagen watch. KH made reservations for lunch at Jaan, Swissôtel The Stamford Hotel. We took the train to City Hall MRT station and tried to get in to the hotel via Raffles City Mall. Went around in cirles. Giving up, we backtracked to the lobby instead and took the express lift to the 70th floor! Ohmigosh. Greeted by several ang moh service staff. So uncommon in a South-East Asian country. The view was amazing! The waiter took us to our table and he assured us that we had the BEST view in the house. It definitely was. One could see The Eye, Marina Bay Sands and The Esplanade at one glance! I wonder if the waiter was surprised that two guys turned up instead of a straight couple. Hehe. It was very easy to order. Either take the three course set lunch, or settle for the full five course. As simple as that. I took the three and KH took the five. They explained the items to us, but I think most of the foodie terms just went 'whoosh' over my head. After listening, we immediately googled! LOL. Fearing for the bill, we said no to wine and just went ahead with still water. 1L of bottled Fiji Water was actually SGD30! Luckily it was free with the course. I could have bought a bottle of Absolut Vodka with that money. Premium price gets you an attentive waiter to serve it to you with a fancy-shmancy stainless steel holder.



We started with canapés (dah wiki baru tahu is equivalent to hors d'œuvres). It came served on a plate that looked like a black slab of rock. Four varieties. So cute and dainty. Couldn't resist but to whip out our cameras first. Haha. My favourite was the winter melon infused with wine and topped with bonito flakes. Quite refreshing. Next up was a petite dish (I guess they were all petite T.T) of smoked eel topped with horseradish on a basil leaf. Subtle. Moving on, we were presented with two types of sheep butter, one unsalted and the other salted with sea salt. It was for the choice of bread-- baguette, black truffle brioche, sourdough and another ???. Haha. I liked the sourdough the most. Perfect to fill in the blanks in the tummy. LOL. The first course that arrived was the oxtail ravioli with cheese sauce. When they tried to clear away my unfinished bread, my first instinct was to protect 'em! :P. The size of the ravioli for the three course was larger to compensate for the fewer items. Hehe. I liked it. The filling was very good and I loved the celery at the bottom. The second dish for KH was the rabbit terrine with foie gras. Been ages since I tasted wabbit!



Then it was Norwegian seabass with orange sauce. It was kinda funny when the waiter explained it:

"Sir, this is the Norwegian seabass with orange sauce. On the side, we have..... err.. orange."

The fish was nicely grilled, but I think the sauce was too tame for my liking. Since I did not get to eat yet, I took the time to take photographs of the wonderful view. When it was time for me to eat again, they presented a grilled chicken breast with tarragon foam. The meat was very tender, unlike any chicken breast I had tasted and the skin had a nice salty crisp to it. Excellent. The pre-dessert (!) was a panna cotta variant had layers of flavours! Citrus-infused sugar on top of a refreshing foam. Then came passion fruit jelly sitting on a sweet crust of white chocolate. And at the bottom, yoghurt. The real dessert was a foursome of pecan panna cotta (too creamy and nutty for my liking), mocha panna cotta, vanilla ice cream and dark chocolate. The chef recommended it to be eaten in that order due to the taste intensity. It doesn't end there. Coffee and pralines were next. Chose a chili and hazelnut praline from something that reminded me of a cigar box. I liked the chili, though if you didn't tell me, I wouldn't have guessed. Compliments to Chef de Cuisine Ebbe Vollmer from Sweden.





After the amazing lunch, KH and I went to Orchard to see the Christmas decorations. I wasn't too impressed but I'm sure it would have been better at night. In front of The Ion was a giant walk-in Christmas tree. Inside, one is provided with special glasses to "better appreciate the Christmas lights". Incredible. Got my sister some chocolates from The Chocolate Research Facility and basically just wandered around aimlessly. At around 5:00pm, we went home. Did some more last minute packing and we were out the door by 06:00pm. Took the cab to Terminal 1 where we met Ms. L for dinner at Paradise Inn. Drank scallop pork rib soup, ate sizzling beancurd, Tong Po meat with man tao and brocoli with mushrooms. Ms. L was so slow at eating that she was afraid that I might miss my flight. But we made it in time although we took the train to T2 and subsequently caught shuttle bus to the Budget Terminal. No flight delay this time and I managed to board without a hitch. The same uncle from my last trip flagged me through immigration. I sat at the back of the plane, and by the time I reached the baggage claim, my bag was the last. :S. For the first time, I took the airport cab home. It's so stupid that passengers have to walk all the way from the arrival hall to the other end of the arrival hall to get the cab. -_-.



Enjoyed myself in Singapore (not so much the place, but just being able to spend time with KH), but the next time that we would meet again would most probably be CNY.... such a long way to go lo! Miss you baby!