Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Blue Lobster
Some 10 minute walk away from home is Frankel Avenue, well hidden enough to elude me for some 10 years. Only one bus service runs those streets, and to my surprise there is a whole row of food outlets in the row of shophouses along the road.
There's a Swiss Bakery, with a whole assortment of freshly baked gourmet breads. From 6 grain bread to Carrot and Herbs. I bought the Tomato bread (darn, I forgot the proper name), but that's for breakfast tomorrow. =p
I must go back and try out their lunch sets. I like the decor and the ambience. Quiet and quaint little corner shop with the wooden tables and chairs.
Ah, and I have digressed. The star of today's review is the "Blue Lobster". Unobtrusively sitting there with no signboard, just a little board with an article write-up on that restaurant.
Stepping into such an inconspicuous joint takes a huge leap of faith or just one large step, but I assure you, the sight of the interior is indeed breath-taking (quite literally).
In fact, I insist they be charged for causing undue stress on customers, especially those, who upon stepping in find that their wallet was much lighter than it was when they left home.
Jokes aside, now. You know how some places keep you guessing on the menu, and sometimes raise expectations too high. I call those the more pretentious places. The Blue Lobster is different. At one glance, it tells the customer "this is a seafood place". In fact it is brazenly advertised and forgive the language, shove in your face. Drawings of fishes, crustaceans together with porcelain sculptures of said sea creatures decorate the inside.
Step further inside and there is an upper deck to the restaurant. The upper deck is even more impressive. The perfect place for a date if I may add. Warm yellow lamps on each table set with white plates and dark blue napkins. Purple satin drapes separate the tables, adding that little touch of subtle elegance, that would certainly score many points with your date. Of course, try hard to fight the sinking feeling that the wallet seems like it will be going on a crash diet for days.
The quiter, and much more romantic upper deck.
Nice homely touch, complete with Tabasco sauce, Balsamic Vinegar and Olive oil
The lavishly extravagent purple satin drapes
The beautiful lamps on each table, a wonderful finishing touch to an already classy decorOne the menu were items like escargo, foie gra, scallops and oysters. For starters, I had the absolutely delightful Cream of Mushroom. There is a tendency for the cream soups to be overly thick and strong, but this one, it was nicely smooth, the light cream complimented by the fresh mushrooms. The bruschetta that was served with the soup definitely was not to be taken lightly. Soft and fluffy and with that hint of herb.
Cream of MushroomWe also ordered the their crab cakes (which I was to find out, was their signature dish). With expectations raised by the wonderful soup, the crab cake definitely did not disappoint. Thank god it was not some cheap crab/fish paste ground and shaped into the final product. It was genuine crab meat nicely shaped into a patty, served on a citrus reduction that was mixed with balsalmic vinegar. The citrus and vinegar added that perfect finishing touch to the savoury, golden brown patty. You wouldn't go wrong ordering this starter.
Crab CakesFor the main, we ordered Lobster Pasta, half a lobster prepared in an olive oil based sauce, served fresh with linguine and mushrooms. As I called it, an improvised aglio, olive oil mushrooms, but of course, much more succulent than the normal aglio. Ah yes! They added white wine in it. The lobster meat was absolutely tender and the sauce, oh so lightly teasing your tongue as the meat slides down the throat. It was a great decision, not cooking it in a cream sauce which in my opinion, would have overpowered the sweet lobster meat.
Lobster pasta, apologies for the poor pictures. It just doesn't do it any justice.For mine, I had the Premium catch of the day, Swordfish on this particular tuesday. Lightly grilled and charred at the edges, drizzled with a light cream sauce, two swordfish fillets came with mushrooms and mash, and topped off with a grilled prawn (poor thing was neatly slit down it's spine where cheese was melted onto it). It was my first time trying swordfish, and it was good, really good. Lightly charred, the taste of the barbeque lingering as you bite down on the firm juicy meat.
Swordfish fillet, oh-lala!
Take 2
Oh my god! Delicious!For desert, it was really a hard choice, Creme Brule, Panna Cotta, Apple Crumble, Chocolate Fondant. Eventually, we settled for Apple Crumble and the Coconut Panna Cotta.
The Apple crumble was gorgeous, light crust with a generous amount of cinnamon, that didn't overpower. The apple filling inside was soft and sweet, though, not quite formidable enough to compete with Aerin's.
Apple CrumbleThe Panna Cotta, it was just beautiful! The panna cotta sitting innocently in the middle of the plate, staring back at you through the ring of strawberries, coaxing you gently, imploring you to take a bite. It was an interesting twist, infusing coconut into the ingredients. The sauce had every bit of strawberry as one could desire, sweet and fruity (Not beating Galbiatti's though). Seriously, it's fantastic.
Hello! Come eat us!
Heavenly!Blue Lobster87 Frankel Avenue (S) 458215
Call 6442 5090 for reservations
The restaurant is open from noon to 2.30pm and from 6.30pm to 10.30pm. It's closed on Mondays.
Food: 8.5/10. Excellent! The chef definitely knows what he's doing and doesn't hold back. Presentation is top notch and every care is taken to make the food look pretty.
Location: 4/10. First, you need to know where it is, second, there's only 1 bus. Driving or a cab is the preferred option. It's just before Siglap along East Coast road.
Price: 6/10. Definitely worth the value, esepcially for the ambience and overall experience. The set lunch costs $25, which includes 1 soup, 1 main, desert of the day and coffee or tea. The Lobster pasta was $49, the Soup was $12, the crab cakes $15 and the Premium catch of the day at $30. Deserts costs from $10-$18 bucks.
Ambience and Decor: 10/10. The perfect place to bring a date to impress. The Western style combined with slight Eastern influences, Japanese paintings and oriental style sculptures. A really posh location regardless of occasion.
Gavin
pondered @ 22:35
