Osia; delectable dining at RWS

Don't we all love weekends? :)

This lovely Saturday found us heading to RWS for some good food after catching the awesome Iron Man 3.
We were still undecided on where to go, and had Joel Robuchon on our list as well.

THEN, b saw Osia at the corner.
That's it. Go in already. Simply cause their Hokkaido scallop from Savour' 13 (will be blogging about that soon) left such a deep impression. Plus got celeb chef, got awards, cannot go wrong la.

Indeed, this choice .... was gooood. 

Upon stepping in, it felt fuss free and had an open kitchen concept where the we could just lean over the countertop to see the chefs working. Nice.

We were ushered to a window seat, with friendly and efficient service, where b commented: " Wah, I didn't notice him placing the water here at all!' Me neither. Stealth mode: Maximum.

Our orders for the day were:

1) Seafood ice experience:

These gems were served in test tubes, and totally reminded me of school lab lessons. Thank goodness they weren't experiments went wrong :p

Basically they were different raw seafood served on beds of ice eaten in the following order : 1) prawn sashimi with sweet crackling ice 2) tuna with tomato ice 3) prawn sashimi with mango/yoghurt ice 4) salmon sashimi with sweet ice 5) crabmeat with beetroot ice and finally 6) Asahkuya oyster with lychee ice, with the last one leaving a wonderful and lasting impression. Why you so fresh and good. THIS ONE DIE ALSO MUST TRY.

2) Flat bread in two flavours:

Black Mushroom Truffle & Macadamia Pesto. It was served with a most fragrant olive oil, soft butter and a stick of Osia macadamia pesto paste. Shiok.

3) Black Angus Tenderloin Steak: 

This was served with mushroom risotto and boy, what a wonderful pair they make! We like our meat medium rare, and Osia served up a piece that was juicy, rare and flavourful. I really enjoyed every bite, with the occasional sprinkle of sea salt present on their table.

4) Sea Perch with Shisomiso paste:

The fish reminded us of Ember, which has a similar dish and luckily, Osia also got standard. It was fat, juicy, fresh and flaked off beautifully... ma ma mia!

5) Kipfler potatoes with chorizo and scallion:

Normally not a potato fan, I liked it very much! The tuber was sweet and had a good bite to it, with the salty chorizo (a harder version of Lap cheong) and scallion further bringing out its natural flavours. What a good marriage and to think I initially scoffed at this seemingly simple dish. My foodie bad.

The overall experience was really good, as the restaurant manager even came over to make small talk, and gave us a copy of an atas cookbook.

Given that I'm such a sucker for good service, pair that with great food... I think we've found a new favourite fine dining place :) 

Osia restaurant
Level 2 Crockford Towers
Operating Hours:
Lunch: 12pm - 3pm (Thu - Tue)
Dinner: 6pm - 10.30pm (Thu - Tue)
Closed on Wed
Tel No: +65 6577 6688

Restaurant Ember; affordable fine dining

This place at Keong Siak Road is very popular with the nearby lunch crowd, and we were the youngest there, if I dare make a quick judgment :p

Our second time here since a year ago, and the food was consistent. Best thing? Price still the same yay!

We ordered the Xmas set lunch, and it was all seafood, to make up for a sinful evening of steak at W hotel the night before. Boy, everything was so fresh and sweet.

1) Appetisers:
Fresh Hokkaido Scallops with ponzu and sesame vinaigrette, seasonal cress

It was served sashimi style, where the acidic dressing did the cooking, resulting in a really fresh and luscious dish. I think we ate it too fast for it to be even cooked!

Crab cakes with mustard with hazelnut tuile and crab bisque:

Gotta be one of the best crabcakes we've ever tasted, and my picky bf liked it too, even though he doesn't really eats crabs. The crab flesh was juicy, succulent and very sweet. A perfect tango with the salty bisque that wasn't too fishy and the very crispy tuile.

2) Mains:
The stars of the day have arrived.

Marinated cod with black miso, sweet peas and herbed potatoes:

Sweet mother of fish, how can you taste so fatty, firm and yet saccharine at the same time? 

Ember's chef really made a masterpiece out of this. 

The miso enhanced the sweetness of the cod, and its fatty skin was such a delight to bite into... 

We were fighting for every bite of this fish!

Pan seared Chilean seabass with mushroom and smoked bacon ragout, on a bed of truffle yuzu butter sauce:

I forgot that I ordered this previously, but thank goodness it was still good. Not as fatty as the cod, this was more firm to the bite and less sweet, which made perfect sense as the strong flavours of the ragout and truffle sauce made a great pairing with the fish.

And the cod wins.

3) Desserts:
Frozen nougat with seasonal berries & lychee sorbet:

Trying something different this time, and it was literally frozen nougat ( you know, the kind you can get in NTUC? With original, hazelnut and green tea flavours from Swiss? Yes that kind.) 

It was good and pleasant but I didn't fancy it, although the sorbet is really refreshing.

Warm Valrhona chocolate fondant with vanilla bean ice cream:

ALL TIME FAVE. And ember does it so well, with a light cake and rich velvety dark Valrhona chocolate. Fantastico with their fragrant and smooth vanilla bean ice cream. 

Still can find bits of the bean somemore! Can go off happy now.

Highly recommended place for an affordable lunch, and service is fuss-free, quick and friendly. This waitress came to clear my bf's fork and said: " He is stealing your food right? Let auntie help you!" Girl power... me likey! 

We will be back to try dinner anytime now :)

50 Keong Siak Rd
63471928

Operating hours:
Lunch: 11.30am to 2pm
Dinner: 6.30pm to 10pm

Closed for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Closed for dinner on Sundays