Restaurant Week is back for a second time in 2011 from 9 to 16 October. This time, more than 90 restaurants are participating in the gourmet event that saw over 24,000 bookings in March. Among these are Garibaldi, Gattopardo, Salt Grill & Sky Bar, KU DÉ TA, Stellar@1-Altitude, The Cliff, Il Lido, Forlino, Boathouse, BLU, The Knolls, Novus, Table 66, Sabai, Krish, and Song Of India.
New eateries joining the weeklong affair include Buyan Russian Haute Cuisine & Caviar Bar, The Lighthouse, Town Restaurant, Casa Tartufo, La Cicala, Fine Palate Café, Bronte and The Lounge (Hollandse Club).
All these restaurants will offer exclusive three-course dinners at S$35++ and three-course lunches at S$25++ (terms and conditions apply).
Organiser DiningCity.com and presenting partner American Express (the new country manager is a lovely Japanese lady, Yoshimi Nakajima, above) gave the media a whirlwind tour of three participating restaurants for a sample of the food that will be available for Restaurant Week. We were chauffered in BMWs to each of these, so it was quite a treat!
The first stop was Garibaldi, where chef-owner Roberto Galetti (see first photo) welcomed us with the starter.
Capesante Al Caviale E Crema Di Zucca Tartufata
Sea Scallops with Cauliflower Puree Smoked Caviar and Truffle Pumpkin Soup
Don't you just love pan-seared scallops?
The folks at Culina selected some wines to go with the food as well. For the starter, it was the Torres Fransola Sauvignon Blanc 2008.
The second stop was Novus at the National Museum, where chef Stephan Zoisl had prepared the main courses for us. There were several choices.
Duck Confit - Smoked to Order
Boneless crisp duck leg confit smoked with hickory wood, seasonal wild mushroom, potato gratin, circle of herbs.
I'd tried Novus before, and knew it had one of the best duck confit around. This version is smoked just before serving, so it's got that extra dimension, but I think even as it is, it was already very good.
The fluffy potato gratin that came with the duck confit. It was so creamy and yet so light at the same time.
Wines for main course were Ruffino Lodola Nuova, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano 2007 (red) and Torres Nerola (Xarello/Ganache) 2008 (white).
Berkshire Pork Belly Meets Saffron Risotto
Thin sliced pork belly on creamy saffron risotto, pork crackers, parmesan, chargrilled capsicum, garden cress, red radish, Joselito ham
This was the other main course. I snuck a bite from a fellow diner. It's great for risotto lovers, but I still prefer my duck confit. There was also a vegetarian main course, but no one picked that, so I don't have photos!
Next, we went to Prelude at Boathouse. It's changed a bit since I was last there.
Dessert was Savarin of Caramelised Apples with Vanilla Ice Cream from Prelude. I liked the fragrant biscuit base.
The dessert wine was potent - a Torres Riesling Vendimia Tardive 2008. Almost sweeter than the dessert itself.
Prelude has a great city skyline view, but it's currently marred by the F1 fences and steel constructs. These should be gone by the time Restaurant Week rolls around, I hope.
So there you have a sneak preview.
All bookings can be made online from 21 September 2011 at www.restaurantweek.sg - note that seats sell out really quickly, so don't even wait! Some folks actually stand by at midnight to make bookings the minute they become available!
American Express Cardmembers (excluding DBS and UOB issued American Express Cards) have exclusive pre-booking privileges from 14 September 2011. Subscribers to the DiningCity.com newsletter will enjoy pre-booking privileges from 19 September 2011. To sign up for the newsletter, just log onto www.diningcity.com/singapore. Note: 9 October is an exclusive day reserved for BMW owners/ customers to take up Restaurant Week’s dining offers.
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