Her Birthday Celebration at Zafferano

In the first post, we did mention her preference for something more Asian. Once in a while, she is receptive to the idea of some fine Italian. Her preference for Italian stems from the fact that the ingredients in the cuisine demands that they are freshly sourced and that the Italian cuisine focuses less on technique (unlike the French) which masks the original flavors less.. He doesn't disagree but still maintains his preference for French, American and anything that pairs with beer and reds..

Zafferano is perched high up on Level 43 of Ocean Financial Tower in Raffles Place. Like most fine dining establishment that are perched up on commercial buildings or hotels, they have a concierge at the ground floor lobby to receive you and confirm your reservations before letting you pass through the security.

The restaurant has quite a nice ambiance but doesn't quite have this sense of welcome and arrival. Lighting was just about right.. not too bright not too dark. We were directed to a window seat. A pity that it doesn't quite bring you close to the edge of the building for you to enjoy the views of the CBD. Instead we got a view of their outdoor terrace lounge. Pity.

Since its a celebratory occasion, we started off with 2 glasses of their house prosecco. We were tempted to go for the degustation menu since it had been quite a while since we were "degusted"... But we stuck to their a-la-carte offerings instead. Opting to pick a few starters to share and a main for each of us before ending with a dessert.

For starters, we ordered scallops and a wagyu beef carpaccio:

Pan-seared Hokkaido scallops, Jerusalem artichoke cream veloute, sautéed chanterelle mushrooms

‘Carpaccio’ of Australian wagyu beef, rocket salad, Dijon mustard dressing

We both liked the scallops..It was done just right. And the cream veloute somehow brought quite a bit of excitement to the dish and brightened up the presentation as well as the flavor.. We should try to duplicate the sauce..

For mains, he had the Iberico pork belly while she ordered the pappardelle:

24 hours slow cooked Iberico pork belly, pumpkin puree, beetroot, aged balsamic

Homemade pappardelle, ragout of Rougie duck in Port wine sauce

We were told that the pork belly was cooked sous vide for 24 hours. Hence retaining a lot of the pork-ish flavor and remaining tender throughout. The beetroot's acidity also complemented the heaviness of the pork well.. The alternative would have perhaps been some form of apple jam? The specks of pumpkin puree dotted on the sides of the plate is again something that one would wish for more.. but we know that perhaps it was meant more as a teaser.. having too much would perhaps overwhelm your palette and overtaken the main star of the dish.. 

The pappardelle with Rougie duck ragout started off interestingly.. but we felt that the wowness fizzled out and soon she felt that it was time for us to swop mains.. 

So if the best dish of the night went to the pork, he thought the second prize ought to go scallop while the third prize would belong to the dessert.. 

Marsala wine sabayon prepared ‘a la minute’ with fresh seasonal berries

We selected this dessert for the simple fact that it was something we've not seen and tried before.. They have the usual tiramisu, molten chocolate cake, panna cotta.. but this is something else. Wikipedia describes this dish as a light custard (egg yolks and sugar) whipped to incorporate a large amount of air. The texture is smooth and the browned top seems to be an effect of the a flambe of the Marsala sweet wine... Nice... We wished it was served as a complimentary dessert for the special celebratory reservation. Would have been perfect. 

Overall, we thought we were pretty satisfied. 

Ratings

1. Will we come back? YES
2. Will we recommend to friends? YES (here's the link). Go make your reservations.
3. Will we bring our family? YES (maybe his brother and sister for they are fans of the western cuisine too)