Tasting Menu at Clio - Part 1

1. Arugula Almond Pastry with Olive Oil Gel and Chive Blossom





This amuse bouche tasted a little Asian-inspired. A savory pastry - it was good but not amazing.




2. Tomato Water Martini with Caper Berry, Tom Olive and Basil Oil




This was the highlight of the whole meal! Imagine juices from a tomato strained to clear and add basil oil emulsion. It tastes like tomato and basil but in liquid form. Impressive.

















3. Albacore Tuna Sashimi with Chives
Having just had the Uni sashimi platter, this was more of the same. Still very nice though.











4. Winterpoint Oysters with hisbiscus Jus

The oysters look like they are going to tip over any second and tip over they did. One of my oysters fell off as it came to the table. The hisbiscus jus had a nice vinegary flavor but I thought it masked the subtle taste of the oyster a little.

Tasting Menu at Clio - Part 2

Second Half of the Menu

5. Heirloom Tomato and Watermelon Salad with Feta Cheese

At this point, I was hoping for some hot food. Nonetheless, the marinated watermelon with balsalmic vinegar was the highlight of this dish.





6. Sweetcorn soup with Coconut Custard and Jalapeno

This one was good! The corn soup was warm and comforting with the
jalapeno giving a contrasting kick. The cococut custard cake was Asian-inspired and went so well with the soup.







7. Lobster Tail with Chanterelle Mushrooms

Didn't quite catch what was in the foam but the lobster tail was cooked beautifully - almost a little undercooked which I actually prefer.









8. Spring Lamb Belly with Wild Onions, Peas and Chamomile

The meat-eaters liked this one! Very well-cooked - the lamb was not gamey at all










9. Strawberry Confetti Dessert

This is a signature dessert at Clio. I thought there were too many appetizer-like dishes in the tasting menu and would have liked a cheese interlude before the dessert. It was still very nice though with beautiful presentation - a streak of strawberry confetti on a huge white plate.

Sashimi at Uni

Paul's Birthday Dinner Part 1 - The Appetizer

Ok, this one along with Part 2 is an epic. For Paul's birthday, we went to Uni and Clio - the two Ken Oringer eateries in The Eliot Hotel. We decided to start with this platter of sashimi at Uni. It was incredible - the fish was very fresh and we opted for the "dressed" version as opposed to "traditional". The chef had topped the sashimi with various herbs, sauces, barley beads, sweetened taro, goji berries and so on. With this amazing dish to start - we moved across to the next restaurant, Clio...

Red Velvet Cake

Since Paul bought me a Kitchenaid Artisan stand mixer for my birthday (the pink Susan G. Komen version no less), baking has become a little easier. I still find it tricky especially with an oven that runs 150 degrees hotter than what it states but I get by with an oven thermometer. The trick for me is very precise measurements in the recipe. Unfortunately, US recipes are all about "1 cup of this, 1 cup of that". What is that about?! I bought cup measurements but 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of sugar seems very different to me. Luckily, I found Alton Brown's recipe on Food Network does utilize precise measurements. I really don't mind getting the scales out to ensure a successful cake. For Paul's birthday this year, I made a red velvet cake. A couple of weeks ago, I made a practice cake which failed as the baking powder was too old and didn't react. I switched it out with baking soda and voila! Not bad for second attempt.