Epicurean Soiree II by Liang Wei

21st April 2010. Written by Liang Wei.

1. Smoked Duck Breast with Foie Gras Terrine (Uluru). Absolutely gorgeous combination! the foie gras had a nice colour and flavour. Best of all, it didn't have the dreadfully hepatic taste of foie gras prepared by lesser chefs. It had a smooth consistency that provided a very nice contrast in texture with the slightly rare and savoury duck.

2. the thin, crispy brioche topped with small cubes of foie gras and sweet potato, miso bits and a strip of sake (Hiroki88). Visually stunning appetiser and the tastes of the various morsels came together very harmoniously, giving a range of flavours that were coaxed out by the slight saltiness of each component. Each tiny bit seemed to be carefully selected to blend in so effortlessly with the other heaps to give a balanced yet flavourful finish.

3. The Smoky Salmon (hiroki88) was also a creative twist on the traditional smoked salmon. a jar containing two cubes of salmon and a cream-based sauce was pumped with incensed air, which supposedly gave the salmon an additional dimension of flavour. When the jar was opened, a faint plume of smoke was released, making for a surprise. The greatest surprise was that the salmon, coated with the sauce, tasted more like tuna. But i'm not complaining, i loved the surprise :)

4. Macaron Mango, Macaron Pistache and Sable au Diamants Matcha (Obolo). i was expecting quite a lot from obolo and, boy, they really delivered a dessert orgasm. The macarons were extremely flavourful and the meringues were delightfully executed, yielding instantly to the bite and still reserving a slight chewiness to contrast the crumbly crust. The shells held a flavourful cream that was not too sour and had a strong aroma of fruit/nut that lingered on the palate with the buttermilk.

The Sable au Diamants Matcha were little squares of sugee-like, green tea-flavoured cookies. Wonderfully crumbly like the almond shells of the macarons, the sable also gave a very refreshing and aromatic taste of matcha that suited us just fine after a very rich meal.