From outdoor hawker centers to 5 star fine dining, it was not a difficult leap. The way San Franciscans know French Laundry, Singaporeans know Iggy's. Named #28 out of the top 50 restaurants in the world, this culinary delight did not disappoint.
The service was excellent and without pretension. Three of us shared 6 hors d'oeuvres, 3 main courses, and 3 desserts.
The amuse bouche seriously amused my bouche. Tuna tartar with a wasabi foam, but that's where I'd like to draw the line with the foam. Just a personal preference. It's sort of like offering someone flavored air. FEED ME.
Here we have the mushroom flan with fricasee of mushrooms (nice umami flavor, however, they whipped the entire bowl into a foam and you now know how I feel about that. Next was the burrata, or their version of a caprese. Very nice with full fat mozzarella and a balsamic that had all flavor and no bite. Smooth as a baby's bottom. Thirdly, the royalty of this trio, slow cooked egg, super duper crispy bacon, mushrooms and pinot jus. Don't know how those beautiful little croutons stayed ultimately crispy, but this one was savorific.
For our next three, hamachi with herb salad in a sesame-lime dressing. Lovely and not overdone.
Iggy's Salad, which I found to be a palate circus. Dressed in hollandaise and teeming with truffles, as each second passed, a new flavor emerged. Absolutely delightful, light, refreshing and fun.
OHHhhhhhh man. The foie gras. *gulp* I'm salivating again just thinking about it. Warm through and through but with the most delicate crisp on the outside while coating your mouth with goodness on the inside that can only be likened to the satisfaction of finding a tall glass of ice water in the desert. The warm pear sauce it sat in was so understated and complimentary, each bite was Christmas in July.
Then came the main courses. Confit of duck leg, slow cooked Wagyu cheek and Blackmore Wagyu. For those who are unaware, Wagyu is the type of beef from the cow that gives you the more popularly known Kobe beef of Japan.
Well, all I can say is this...I'm ruined for beef for the rest of my life. Stupid Americans and their chewy steak. My first experience with Wagyu was beyond nirvana. How how how can beef be so tender, so fatty, so impressively marbled that it actually melts on your tongue at the first sign of heat. It's beef for the toothless.
The cheek was served with daikon and bacon and the waiter poured warm pinot noir jus from a silver kettle over the top. Holy smokes. Insanity! The goodness of this meal was pure insanity. Get thee to a sanitorium!
I've had a few duck confit's in my day. I like duck confit, and now I'm in love with it and am going to marry it. The sarladaise potatoes were so thin yet crispy and meaty. The mesclun a light refresher for the rich, dark duck meat with oh so crisped skin. The fat underneath became liquid immediately upon entering the pearly gates of your palate. *le sigh*
Dessert consisted of Peanut butter ice cream with granny smith apples and crispy celery. This one stole the show. More like a fragile peanut brittle, the flavors aligned just the right amount of sweetness for you to want more but without the peanut thud.
The black sesame cake would've been better off served alone with tea or coffee. The milk foam, ice cream and unsweetened whipped cream did nothing but blanch out any and all flavor of the subtle sesame. Unfortunately overdone.
I was pleased with their take on German Chocolate cake though. The coconut and chocolate had it's inherent heaviness without being too sweet or portioned too heavily. Again, I'd have preferred more restraint. The simplicity of a well done cake needn't be covered, literally, by superfluous extras. That's my hoidy toidy remark for the day. That being said, if it was served to me again, I'D EAT IT.
My gawd it art!
ReplyDeleteSion Shankel