Whenever we travel overseas, I like to try at least one fine dining experience. The San Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants lists Odette in Singapore as the 28th Best Restaurant in the world (for 2018). I booked us into lunch at Odette during our stay. (Tip: Lunch is usually cheaper than dinner for the same number of courses.)
Located inside the National Gallery Singapore, we needed to ask two people for directions before we found the place. Odette oozes fine dining French chic with light hues – white table cloths, soft grey tones, and velvet banquettes, with a touch of gold in the decor. Waitstaff are also dressed in light grey suits and crisp white shirts. There were two set menu options available – 6 flights or 8 flights (courses). We chose the 6 courses (S$168 per person), discussed allergies, picked still water and settled in to enjoy ourselves.
Small snacks brought out to us included smoked aubergine puree served stuffed into mini pita-bread crisps, olive oil sable with black charcoal, and small sponge cake bites which I’ve completely forgotten about.
Odette’s signature mushroom tea arrived next as an amuse bouche. Two tea cups arrived on a wooden board filled halfway with cep sabayon (an egg and sherry vinegar mix), enoki and shimeji mushrooms. Our waiter, holding a tea press, poured the mushroom consommé tea into each cup until they were full.
This was more like a creamy mushroom soup than a tea, with butter, shallots, thyme, rosemary and so much more mixed in with dashi that screamed out flavour and complexity. It had the perfect amount of salt, savoury bite, herbs and creaminess. A comforting and delicious way to start us off. This is by far the best amuse bouche I’ve ever had. Accompanying the mushroom tea were two small half pieces of fried brioche which came already buttered. The crispy buttery goodness was wonderful with the soup.
A selection of breads arrived – a chestnut bun, rye bread, and truffle scroll mixed with other mushrooms obtained in southern France. The truffle scroll was my favourite – so flavoursome!
There were also two spreads to accompany the breads – a parsley and watercress butter topped with matcha dust, and a pork lard butter with pancetta. I preferred the butter, however the pork lard did have a high concentration of pork fatty goodness.
Course 1 – titled Bonito Flower, this was a citrus cured bonito with slow cooked kabu (baby turnips) and avocado. A ginger syrup was poured into the flower by our waiter.
I didn’t much like the ginger syrup, but the slices of bonito were delicate and worked well with the avocado mousse.
Mr FPJ ordered the matching wines with the set menu (additional S$105). I cannot remember the names of the wines but I’ll include the photos anyway. Note, I missed taking a photo of the matched wine with the Bonito Flower.
However, a red came out in time for the second course.
Course 2 – the heirloom beetroot variation with salt baked beetroot, artisan stracciatella and honeycomb. This was a pretty looking dish with delicate textures of beetroot accompanied by fresh tomatoes and pomegranate. The stracciatella was presented in mousse form – luscious and creamy to offset the beetroot. A stunning dish.
Course 3 – Rosemary smoked organic egg with smoked potato syphon, chorizo iberico and meuniere. This is where the theatrics came into the dining experience. An egg carton filled with two eggs and freshly bound rosemary arrived steaming with tendrils of smoke from the dry ice. The eggs had the top off, as if you could dip little toast soldiers into it.
There was a LOT of dry ice and we waited for some of the smoke to clear.
Separate to the egg carton, we each received a small glass bowl (syphon) holding a foamy smoked potato soup topped with crispy chorizo and dried buckwheat. The slow cooked eggs (sous vide for 55 minutes) from the egg carton were then poured into our soups. When lifting the syphon up, it revealed smoked rosemary sitting on the plate at the bottom. We were advised to smell the smoky rosemary while enjoying our potato soup to engage our senses.
Although I did enjoy the theatrics, I didn’t like the raw egg yolk in the soup. It was just too raw for my tastes. The potato soup itself was wholesome and tasty with an assortment of herbs.
The fourth course of the set menu was a choice between two dishes – the confit rainbow trout or the lobster bouillabaisse for a S$60 additional supplement (we were told that it was the first day on the menu for the bouillabaisse). We decided to try one of each of course! We were shown the lobster that would be cooked before it went back into the kitchen to be cooked.
The Brittany blue lobster bouillabaisse arrived minus the bouillabaisse. The plate included lobster, mussels, fondant potato, tomatoes, olives, confit fennel, and pink garlic with a drizzle of basil olive oil.
A jug of bouillabaisse was then poured over the top. There was lots of flavour from the delicious seafood stock and the big chunks of lobster. It wasn’t too salty and was very easy to polish off. A good choice though quite pricey.
The confit rainbow trout came with charred pork belly from Japan, miso caramel, yuzu and patchouli coulis. The trout had been cooked to perfection – soft moist flakes of fish. I wonder if it had been sous vide. It was a very clean dish and I felt that the pork belly was unnecessary. In terms of flavour, the bouillabaisse was by far more superior.
Course 5 – roasted venison saddle with mulled wine pear, celeriac mousseline and sauce ‘poivrade’ (a peppery sauce).
The sauce poivrade came a little later and poured from a small jug. We received two small pieces of venison topped with freshly shaved truffle. Mr FPJ doesn’t like truffle so I got to eat his pieces too. Sadly the truffle wasn’t that fragrant. The venison has been cooked medium rare, was beautifully tender, and was enhanced by the red wine sauce poivrade. The poached pear helped to add sweetness while the blood oranges added tartness. Delicious.
A palate cleanser of yoghurt sorbet, meringue, blood orange and yuzu granita arrived. Refreshing.
Course 6 – dessert was the lemon tart with sable breton, meyer lemon and basil. I’m not usually a citrusy person and will always pick something chocolatey over something sour, so I was little disappointed to end on a lemon tart. But this was the best lemon tart I’ve ever had. Maybe because it wasn’t a traditional lemon tart. The sable was buttery and crumbly yet still solid. Lemon curd had been piped on top of the sable, a lime granita had been scooped on top and covered in light and foamy sweet meringue, with more solid meringue droplets stuck onto the sides and top. The entire dessert wasn’t heavy at all and was a wonderful way to end the evening. I liked it because the sourness had carefully been balanced with sweetness. It was also a different take on the traditional lemon tart. I would easily eat it again.
I wasn’t expecting anything else after the lemon tart, and was surprised to see an egg shaped ceramic concoction placed in front of us. Sticking out of the top, were two lychee sorbet lollipops covered in raspberry and white chocolate with rose petals.
Our waiter told is to eat the lollipops first as they would melt fast, before opening each compartment. We took the lid off, to discover two banana cream choux pastries topped with orange icing.
Lifting that compartment off revealed canele, a small sponge like cake made from rum and vanilla and sitting on cocoa nibs.
After lifting that compartment off, it revealed the last layer of house made toffee caramel fudge in little wrappers. This was a delightful ending to our dining experience. The mystery around each layer of this unexpected additional treat was fun to discover and we both left feeling merry and content.
Service was fabulous with knowledgeable and polite staff, and good timing between courses. The ambiance was elegant and relaxed, with great lighting and a pleasant atmosphere. We felt very comfortable at our table but also pretty special to be able to dine in.
Wonderful food, great service and setting, and the added surprise at the end made it a special experience. Bookings are essential.
Odette
1 St Andrew’s Rd, #01-04 National Gallery, Singapore
Read more on Singapore:
- Eating in Singapore – Part 1 – Ramen, Bagels, Atlas Bar, and more
- Eating in Singapore – Part 2 – Hawker Centres, and Chicken and Rice
If you want more random photos and updates about food, I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram:
Facebook: /foodpornjournal
Twitter: @foodpornjournal
Instagram: /foodpornjournal