Oosh at Dempsey Has New Restaurant

Oosh at Dempsey has a new restaurant upstairs of its bar, launched just last month. It serves
Modern European cuisine created by new Head Chef Zulkarnaini Dahlan who has undergone training by Michelin-starred Chefs Eric Guilbert from La Tour d'Argent, Paris and Gilles Marx from Taillevent, Paris for 7 years.

Keropokma, Momo, HungryCow and I had the pleasure of dining there at the invitation of Executive Director Sharon Goh and her colleague Indri who were the most wonderful hosts. It was my first visit to Oosh and was stunned by the vast and lush outdoor zones. The restaurant is air-conditioned, with dark wood and dramatic lighting. The food, as we found out, was pretty good.



The "Seared Frog Legs" came highly recommended. Frog legs aren't something I would ordinarily order but this dish blew me away. For the first time, I had no guilt eating them. They were so delicious! The well-seasoned crispy exterior gave way to sweetly tender and juicy flesh.




We also loved the Grilled Portobello Salad, with tangy balsamic vinegar dressing. Love the caramelised onions and sliced radishes.




The Foie Gras Ballotine is like a terrine. I liked it on its own best, without any bread. A tiny sprinkle of salt helped the fatty flavours sing. And after you let the foie gras melt on your tongue, take some of the prune compote - the savoury and sweet mingle beautifully.




I also enjoyed the mushroom soup. The other soup was Vegetable Consomme (not pictured), a clear and homely concoction.




The bread rolls come with homemade herbed garlic butter (unsalted, it seems). Fans of garlic will love the intense garlic hit.




Tenderloin Rossini: Grilled Tenderloin topped with Seared Foie Gras served with Celery Puree and Bordelaise sauce with Sliced Truffle. Grilled meat with foie gras and truffle? Luxurious to say the least. We all waxed lyrical about meat. There was a distinct hint of truffle oil as well in this.




Grilled Norwegian Salmon with Pommes Sarlandaise, Apple Compote and Dill Cream Sauce. They did an excellent job with the salmon which remained soft and juicy despite being grilled. They probably poached it lightly first. Clever.




The Duck Confit is pretty decent, although I prefer a crispier skin (I'm a crispy skin fiend!). The potatoes with browned onions make a good side.




Pacific Dory: Pan-Fried Herbs and Chilli marinated Pacific Dory with Sauted Vegetables and Tomato Butter Sauce. A fairly decent dish, with the unusual chili and tomato flavours, but the other dishes just outshone this one.




Their Lamb Navarin is a stew that's been gently cooked for 36 hours at 60 degrees C. The result - truly tender lamb. Comes with a mound of fragrant al dente rice (a nod to the chef's Indonesian background). But the tomato-based seasoning didn't work as much for me, as I'm not too fond of tomatoes.




Tagliatelle with Fresh Tiger Prawns, sauteed with garlic, chillies and anchovies, topped with Parmigiano cheese shavings. This sounded good but my tastebuds were probably overwhelmed by the time I tried it, so it was a tad bland for me.




We tried quite a few of their desserts too. This one won favour round the table - Lemongrass Panna Cotta with drizzles of fresh Rock Melon Puree and Raspberry Coulis served with Japanese Black Sesame Ice Cream.




Strawberry Souffle. Light and fluffy, with coarse sugar grains for texture. I should like to try the Grand Marnier version next time I visit.




Probably my favourite - Coffee Melt - it's like a chocolate fondant, except with super thick coffee lava. Served with Kahlua Creme Anglaise and vanilla ice cream.




Chocolate Gateaux, which was more like a dense chocolate bar. Tangy mango jelly and caramel swirls complement the rich dessert.




Oh the Brillat Savarin. This uber-creamy soft cheese is so heavenly it had me joking that I need to change the name of my blog. One of those "close your eyes and go 'Mmmmm!'" sensations. But it's nice only if you like cheese and can stand stinky cheese. Keropokman and Momo did not touch this.

Thank you once again, Sharon and Indri, for a great dinner. I'm certainly coming back with friends and family. They have very affordable menus for lunch (3-course for S$24), and dinner (3-course S$45; 4-course S$45). If you'd like to splurge, the S$80 gastronomy menu gives you five courses of their best offerings.


OOSH
22 Dempsey Road
Tel: 6475-0002
Dinner 7pm - 11pm