Come Join Michelin-Starred Chef Roland Durand @ Ginett from 18-20 June

For 3-nights only from 18-20 June, Chef Roland Durand brings classic French bistronomy to Ginett Restaurant & Wine Bar. Chef Durand who is here in Singapore for the first time, is best known as the chef-patron of Michelin-starred Le Passiflore in Paris, and holds prestigious awards including winning the Grand Prix Culinaire Internationale Auguste Escoffier and Meuilleur Ouvrier de France competitions.

Chef Roland Durand (image credit: Hotel G)

Chef Durand has created a classic French menu with subtle Asian influences that will be available a-la-carte or in a three-course set dinner (@$69++). And specially for the wine lovers, the Ginett team has collaborated with Chef Durand to curate an optional wine pairing (additional $35++) for the set dinner.

Look forward to dishes such as Ravioles D’escargots (@$21++), an update on the traditional escargot appetiser, which Chef Durand presents his in delicate handmade ravioli parcels and served in a savoury sweet fine herb broth instead of the usual butter and garlic. For cold starters, one could opt for the Tartare De Crevettes Tigrées et d’Avocat (@$25++), a tartare of tiger shrimp and avocado, served with a summery Piquant tomato coulis that is scented with coconut milk.

Ravioles D’escargots (image credit: Hotel G)

Indulge in hearty mains which features time-honoured recipes like the Cabillaud Rôti Au Chorizo (@$35++), a dish of tender Atlantic cod roasted with chorizo, paired with champignons bouquet and an oyster and seaweed emulsion, or the Carre D’agneau Rôti Au Cumin (@$40++) which is a flavourful, charcoal grilled cumin-marinated lamb rack, Ratte potato gnocchi, and finished with a punchy tamarind chutney.

Carre D’agneau Rôti Au Cumin (image credit: Hotel G)

For dessert, one could enjoy Chef Durand's signature marvelous rice pudding made with almond milk with a swirl of pumpkin marmalade, Le Merveilleux Riz Au Lait A L’angelique De Roland (@$14++) or the Sablé Aux Fraises Et À La Rhubarbe which is a strawberry and rhubarb with orange coulis (@$14++).

Sablé Aux Fraises Et À La Rhubarbe (image credit: Hotel G)

Do not miss this opportunity to try the culinary delights of Chef Durand and team Ginett. Make your reservations now via this link.

Bon Appétit~

Don Lechón @ Grandlink Square 511 Guillemard Rd

It all originated from having a theme of "suckling pig" and then to choose a place that has it for our monthly dinner gathering. Hence, Don Lechón came up as an option plus its online review was really good, so we just got to try it for ourselves. Thank you Ivan, Kris and Alvin for suggesting the theme, the place and for making the reservations, respectively.

Don Lechón is on the left side of Grandlink Square's main entrance and you'll walk pass a Vietnamese place before reaching Don Lechón. It's a good sign when you see the signage of a hog in tuxedo smiling right back at you. Lechón is a Spanish word referring to a roasted suckling pig.

Signage

There are outdoor seats and there are indoor seats. The place was bustling! We opted for indoor seats within the cool confines of the air-conditioned area. The order counter is a small area and there was already a queue formed.

queuing to order

The menu is simple and all are stated on the menu board. Prior to that we already had a good idea of what we wanted to try (from online reviews!). Payment is by cash. The boss himself, Mr Krisanto Bibal was manning the counter with the help of two other lovely ladies, and can also be seen serving the customers. We queued for about 20 to 30 minutes to order.

After ordering and making payment, you'll receive a number tag and food will be served to your table. There are only a few types of canned drinks and bottled mineral water available and all are priced the same at $1.80. The drinks are located in a fridge just right outside the order counter entrance. There's also a cabinet for mugs and a small container for ice-cubes. So please help yourself.

colourful mugs

As there were just 5 of us this time round, we opted for 3 items from the rice set meals and added extra orders of two rice and ala-carte order of half a kilo of chopped lechon.

We tried the Lechon Sisig, Bopis and Lechon Sinigang. These seemed to be the perennial favourites of a typical Filipino meal, yes?

Lechon Sisig @$9.50

Sisig Lechon

Sisig is said to be a Kapampangan dish, typically made from parts of pig head and chicken liver, but nowadays sisig is more of a cooking process rather than a dish. Hence, sisig can be anything. The typical seasoning of a lechon sisig dish would be calamansi juice, soy sauce, onion and chillies and with chopped lechon tossed in. Garnished with a sunny side up.

The size of the Lechon Sinigang pot really surprised us. Is this meant for 1 pax? Wow! Served piping hot, this huge serving of appetising sour and savoury soup was enjoyed by the five of us and yet, we couldn't finish it all. The sour taste of the sinigang is often associated with tamarind. In comparison, to paksiw, which is another type of stew but uses vinegar instead of tamarind.

Lechon Sinigang @$11.50

In the soup, there were sliced brinjals, kang kong (water spinach), radish and thick cut lechon (about 5 pieces). The sourness hits you well enough to keep awake and overall, this tangy soup was really appetising. The version here seemed thicker than other sinigang that I've tasted though.

Lechon Sinigang

There was one item that I insisted to try, and that was the Bopis. The rest were unsure and perhaps with a tad of fear factor? Only $5.50 per set, this was a really affordable tasty meal. You could also opt for the ala-carte and it has two sizes. I found that the smaller portion will do as a side dish to share. Even with the 5 of us, we could barely finish this portion that came as a rice set meal.

Bopis @$5.50

Bopis is a piquant Filipino dish of chopped pork lungs and heart sautéed in tomatoes, chilies and onions. Loved the springy texture and the overall appetising taste of the dish. Not too funky and just delicious with that mouthful of steamed rice.

The heavyweights of the meal would have to be the much awaited lechón. Simple, expertly roasted, well seasoned lechon, chopped in a thick cut manner.

Chopped Lechon @$20 per half kilo

The skin was a clear winner. Crackling and crispy. Sink your teeth into those luscious fatty meat and be swayed by its tender flavorful flesh. Breathtakingly good.

Served with a brown sauce of unknown origins. Ok, it was because I didn't ask what sauce it was. Had tried it with the sauce but for me I'd prefer it without, as the meat itself was already that good!

It was a good introduction to Filipino cuisine at Don Lechón and am glad I was able to share it with Alvin (@o_oican), Ivan (@ivan_teh_runningman), Kris (@msginginly) and Tiara (@tiara_star).

Don Lechón 

Address: 511 Guillemard Rd, Singapore 399849
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/DonLechonSingapore
Contact: 9778 9737
Business Hours:
Daily - 5pm to 11pm

[Tasting] June 2019 Dinner @ Grissini

Grissini is located within Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel and is a cosy contemporary Italian grill restaurant. Head Chef of Grissini, Mirko Vinci is from the Puglia (pronounced as ˈpu lyɑ without the 'g' sound) region in Southern Italy and he brings forth a solid, down-to-earth homely flavours of Southern Italy with a twist. There are new items in the May 2019 menu and we were invited to have a bite.

Grissini

I asked the waitstaff on his recommendation from the cocktail menu and he suggested the Strawberry Mojito. Interesting as I have not come across this in any drinks menu before.

drinks menu from Tempo

Was a tad disappointed when the drink was served. Its presentation was unlike the one as illustrated in the menu. Strawberry Mojito is made the same way as the regular mojito (rum, lime, brown sugar) but without the leaves as those were replaced by the strawberries. Tasted more like strawberry soda which is refreshing in our hot humid Singapore weather.

Strawberry Mojito @$18

The Devil's Blend @$20

The Devil's Blend cocktail was the most interestingly presented. Concocted of vodka, rum, gin and triple sec, lemon and mango juices and ginger ale, this was a more potent drink. Strawberry Mojito was child's play in comparison.

If you prefer bitters, the maybe you'd like "Yum Cha". Made of honey chamomile tea, Jim Beam, lemon and bitters. For the older taste buds.

Yum Cha @$20

With drinks on hand, we are set to commence on dinner. First was the amuse bouche of Sour Cream Panna Cotta, Oscietra Caviar and Chives. Served on a spoon, and meant to be eaten all at once.

We probably will not find this in the menu as this was one of the surprises that Chef Mirko and his team might delight you with when you dine at Grissini.

Sour Cream Panna Cotta, Oscietra Caviar, Chives

The Sour Cream Panna Cotta with Oscietra Caviar and Chives was a full-bodied flavour that's creamy and dense, much like a soft cheese but with a light tangy edge and finishes off well with the fragrance of savoury chives.

Next up, we had the Tuna Tartare. This dish had surprised me with its bold and strong flavours which I had not quite expected. Chopped raw tuna marinated with soy sauce on top of a thick luxurious spread of creamy avocado and topped with sliced avocado and crispy bread croutons. Those tiny tomatoes at the side were not to be missed, for its intense sweet tangy flavours were bursting for showtime!

Lovely appetizer and I will strongly recommend the Tuna Tartare to be shared, unless you had the intention to do a two-course meal.

Tuna Tartare @$24

Then, onwards to pasta. Do you know Tonnarelli? I certainly don't know it by this name but if you were to say spaghetti, then it would become familiar again. Tonnarelli is the pasta from Lazio that is similar to the one that we know by its more popular Abruzzese name, spaghetti alla chitarra.

Chef Mirko had paired the black ink tonnarelli with wild Mediterranean langoustine, juicy succulent sweet prawns, softly sweet and gentle edgy tomato sauce, combined with lemon zest and cherry tomato. Its result was superb. I enjoyed this dish with tremendous gusto even when the stomach had become full from the earlier starter.

Black Ink Tonnarelli with Wild Mediterranean Langoustine @$38

If your preference is for more subtle flavours, then the Seabream Fillet will allow one to slowly relish and discover the fresh natural taste of its ingredients.

Seabream Fillet with Sicilian caponata in white wine, cream and parsley sauce @$38

Let's rewind a bit. I had to Google up on Sicilian caponata and Wiki says "it is a Sicilian eggplant (aubergine) dish consisting of a cooked vegetable salad made from chopped fried eggplant and celery seasoned with sweetened vinegar, with capers in a sweet and sour sauce." Oooh, now I understand better.

The overall texture of the caponata were very much like green peppers where it had a bit of vegetable crunch. Certainly interesting and tasted of an appetizing light sourish tang. There was beetroot on the plate and one gets an earthy sweet flavour from it. It was as though the sea and the land had met. The seabream fillet itself was well cooked with firm meat. The fish natural sweetness shone through and this was a lighter dish overall.

Ended our meal with two chocolate dessert. These were not in the menu, hence interested diners could enquire if the kitchen has them on that day.

Started our sweet trail with Chocolate Bonet. Bonnet means hat, so does this mean it is a dessert that is shaped like a hat? Such a curious name. This dessert is a typical sweets from Piedmont, Northern Italy and is believed to have been in existence since the 13th century. Its original recipe did not contain cocoa and chocolate was only added in later into the kitchens of wealthy families.

Chocolate Bonet

It tasted like a chocolate flan/pudding with an aftertaste of almond. The Chocolate Bonet was lightly sweet with slight bitterness from the chocolate, soft and reminiscent of softer agar-agar. Cut a piece and dust it with those biscuit crumbs (was it amaretti biscuit or macaroons?) and it was a level-up enjoyment in the mouth. I thought I was too full but ended up finishing the entire plate of this Chocolate Bonet. Surprisingly, it was more enjoyable with each subsequent bites! Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Have you tried Chocolate Salami? Never came across it till yesterday. Again, Chef Mirko likes to tease us by introducing items that may be common elsewhere but yet to be seen in restaurant menus. Chocolate salami is not a meat product and its aptly named because of its appearance. It does really resemble a salami!

Originated in Portugal and Chocolate Salami gained popularity across Europe. The Italian version is spelled as Salame. Its main ingredients are cocoa, broken cookies, nuts, butter, and eggs. I think Chef Mirko might have added coffee to his version.

Chocolate Salame

Its texture was something I'd describe it as compact powdery texture much like a shortbread but rich in cocoa instead of butter. Maybe like a lightly compacted injeolmi (bean powder) chocolate roll? Loved the whiff of coffee and the lightness of this piece when placed on the tongue. Easy to eat and goes well with coffee/tea.

Grissini is a cosy place to gather with your loved ones. Its ambiance is suitable for business dining or intimate gatherings. Private dining is available in the beautiful Bellissima Private Room as well.

Be delighted with new discovery of items in its updated menu, and be surprised by off-menu items prepared by Chef Mirko and his talented team.

Once again, thank you Gilbert for the invite and Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel for hosting the dinner tasting.

Grissini @ Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel

Location: G/F Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, 392 Havelock Rd, 169663
Website: http://www.celebrateatgcw.com/aspx/grissini.aspx
Contact: 6233 1100
Business Hours:
Daily - 12.00pm to 2.30pm, 6.30pm to 10.30pm