Last weekend was the inaugural Epicurean Market at Marina Bay Sands, a three-day food and wine appreciation event.
To those who participated in my first giveaway, thank you! I wish I could pick all of you but there’s only three pairs of tickets.. So to the 3 winners, I hope you enjoyed Epicurean Market as much as I did!
The highlight of this gourmet food festival was definitely the celebrity chefs’ area, which we immediately made a beeline for after entering the convention hall. Signature dishes from celebrity restaurants were offered in small tasting portions, at not-so-ouch-on-the-wallet pricing. The celebrity chefs themselves were at the event, and it was an amusing sight to see people rushing over to snap photos of the chefs whenever they appeared out of nowhere. I mean no disrespect but it was kind of like stumbling upon the cartoon characters on the streets at Universal Studios or Disneyland, get what I mean? You never know when they will show up, haha.
Top on my to-try list was the cream- and stock-less artichoke and black truffle soup from Guy Savoy and it was indeed the “da bomb!” as how superfinefeline so aptly twitted. I was also very impressed with the layered brioche, a fancy piece of work. Little wonder that one of truffle’s best friends is butter!
After that, we mostly parked ourselves by the booth of Waku Ghin, slurping up delish Asian-style spanner crab, the plumpest scallops ever, fatty toro tuna, and the famous shrimp in sea urchin cream crowned with caviar, woooo. The queue at Waku Ghin was expectedly long and chef Tetsuya Wakuda personally walked down the line to apologize for the wait, nice.
Surprisingly, my favourite dish was the baked miso cod from Sky on 57! I say “surprisingly” because I’ve never been inclined to dine at chef Justin Quek’s modern Asian cuisine restaurant. Until now, that is. The delicate miso cod was cooked perfectly and the tangy prawn mango salad (think atas-fied Rojak) was refreshing after eating all those rich food.
Last but definitely not the least, there’s the harissa spiced tuna from DB Bistro Moderne, something right up my lane as I adore Middle Eastern flavours! Initially I wasn’t planning to get anything here since I’ve dined at DB Bistro twice, but I couldn’t resist in the end. That’s how great the culinary team is; they churn out consistently good food, so good that I want repeats, time after time!
IMO, the Epicurean Market is a huge success in showcasing the celebrity chefs’ menus to the public, letting us have a taste of what would otherwise be extravagantly expensive if we dine at the restaurants per se.
Sky on 57, Waku Ghin, Guy Savoy.. Be expecting a visit from me! How soon depends on the size of my bonus, lol.
Guy Savoy
Artichoke and Black Truffle Soup ($15)
layered brioche with mushrooms and truffles
DB Bistro Moderne
Harissa Spiced Tuna ($8)
moroccan chickpea salad, preserved lemon, tzatziki
Waku Ghin
Ceas Queensland Spanner Crab without Shell ($8)
sauteed crab meat, garlic, butter
Waku Ghin
Scallops ($8)
aonori (green laver), preserved olive, vinaigrette
Waku Ghin
Toro Tuna ($15)
caviar, jellied egg
Waku Ghin
Marinated Botan Shrimp ($15)
sea urchin cream, ocsietra caviar
Sky on 57
Baked Miso Black Cod ($10)
spring vegetables, organic greens, lime, ginger butter
Sky on 57
Tangy Prawn and Mango Salad ($8)
ginger flower dressing
Special thanks to Philicia from Marina Bay Sands for the media passes and $30 worth of Epicurean Market vouchers!
Such a steal at $8 a plate for Waku Ghin. It costs $500 to dine there but I don’t know if it’s worth spending $500 on teppanyaki.
Guy Savoy is worth it though. My contributor and I went and we spent $400 each and it was worth every penny.
This is the second time I’ve been hearing good things on Sky on 57. Must pay a visit soon!
You will only like sky on 57 if you happen to like modern-fusion-asian kind of food. Otherwise, their flavours are not in sync *think salmon with assam belacan* Must say I had my worst meal in 2012 there.
I heard mixed reviews for the place. Someone told me he went back 3 times a week but some, including you, told me it’s bad. Dilemma! To go or not?
Oh dear.. When PY says it’s bad, I listen cuz we’ve established long ago that we have very similar tastes.. Shall KIV sky on 57 first.
Ha ha I am flattered. Thought I want to try their black cod now you say it’s good. Because whatever mfs says I listen too.