marvin lowe photography

Megalife is the youth ministry that I serve in and we had a Leader’s Camp in Sentosa last week. It’s amazing to see how our ministry has grown, so many new leaders rising up to take the challenge. This camp is aptly called 牧者, which means Shepherd. As leaders, we have to be a good Shepherd and look after our sheep. This is our group photo of all the leaders who were able to attend the camp. However there is still quite a substantial number of them missing because of impending exams.

Well, i was in in 虚心组, which is the group dressed in red. We were led by the ever funny Caroline and Joey. Caroline is a real nut case I tell you. All the groups had chinese names which was in line with the whole chinese theme and feel of the camp. It was really funny as everyone had their language skills tested to the limits. Just a little test for all you guys…try to identify the other group names and interpret them as well. Let’s see how many chinese characters you actually remember.haha.

The first activities of the day were some simple team-bonding games. In, one of the games, we had to translate Psalm 23 from English into Chinese. It was excruciatingly funny to hear some of the other group’s translation. I guess this was a light hearted start to the camp and it really got the groups together as well.

We had a dedication service to kick-off the camp and PJ preached a message on Becoming God’s leader. No photos for this session as I really did not feel like taking any at all. I just wanted to dwell in his presence to worship and really enjoy doing so. PJ’s message was simple, we have to come clean before God in our nothingness. Nothingness. This word really struck me. Without God, who am I? He is my everything and I will give him my all. To desire to be a leader, is to desire a noble task.

For the night service, we had Auntie Debbie come speak to us. Despite being ill, Auntie Debbie travelled all the way to Sentosa just to share with us. She had a really bad sore throat and she really sounded like Bob Sorge. She brought a simple message about Acceptance and Rejection. Often, we find ourselves measuring up against worldly standards and how the fear of rejection would cause one to reject others. More importantly, In God there is unconditional love and acceptance. It was a real blessing and a timely reminder to hear this. Like many others, I was really touched by her message. All in all, a great start to a great camp.=)

Jazzfoodie: Terrified of making a complete fool of myself while planning this ambitious dinner (9 courses for 10 people), I struggled with the menu for days, even weeks, tweaking the menu right up to the very last moment. I would do diligent research on the internet and go through my cookbooks so many times that the crisp new pages would look ‘koyak’ by the time I’m done.

I try to cook dishes with the particular group of diners in mind, and would do ‘preliminary testing’ on my parents with new dishes, which they would be so “kind” about. I always have this panic thingy going whenever I cook a special meal a week or so before the event, thinking “I can’t do this”, “this is too ambitious”. I almost had a heart attack on the day of the dinner itself when Marv called from Mediya supermarket that they have no Swordfish Sashimi in stock (bought on the day itself for freshness), so Maguro (tuna) it was for the amuse bouche. To organise things, I wrote (and re-wrote) every single recipe needed on an A5 piece of paper and stuck it onto the fridge for easy reference, and started preparations the day before. Thankfully in the end, with lots of prayer, I managed to pull it off eventually (or so I think)..

Vinny: Well, before all of you had the chance of enjoying this meal, Mich did indeed put in alot of hard work in fine-tuning the menu. Countless test sessions were conducted and countless guinea pigs sacrificed. I was one of the few survivors. Cooking has always been in Mich’s blood but she has always been in denial of it. I remember the time before she left for Perth, when she was insisting that she will never cook. Now, she’s cooking up a feast for everyone to eat.

VinnytheMarv: Well, put your hands up if you love our Shuying….and so Joseph’s hands goes up instantly. This was a meal done specially for Shuying by Mich just before Shuying left for studies overseas.

J: The last time I cooked for my girlfriends was more than 2 years ago, and I’ve been wanting to bless them since (especially since I’ve not really been around for the past 4 years, missing out on their birthday celebrations and presents). So Marv and I decided to host this special going-away dinner party for Shuying.

It was definitely a great night of catching up- I was so glad everyone had a great time eating, laughing and ’spilling secrets’ over food and wine (half the guests brought wine, so we had a lot; thanks bets and jasmine for getting soft drinks!). And I decided that Taboo:Singapore edition might as well be renamed Truth or Dare:Spill your friends’ secrets. Such great bonding indeed, wahahah.. They were at my place for 7.5 hours, but it was a truely great time!

Tuna Tataki on Cold Soba in Matsuhisa Dressing

J: The partially seared tuna cubes in this dish was inspired by a similar dish I had many years ago at One-Ninety Restaurant. The half cooked tuna gave it an ‘aburi feel’, almost, (but minus the blowtorch); the quick searing allows the flavour of the tuna to intensify a little. The dressing is from the great recipe book Nobu West by Nobu Matsuhisa that Ber and Shuying got me last Christmas. I love this dish and would even serve it as a main course in the future; the fragrant and ‘earthy’ dressing with accents of mustard to spice things up a little, went well with the fresh tuna. For fans of non-raw food, poached prawns were used instead.

V: The first dish of the night! When Jaime and Janice arrived, I was still arranging this dish, proving that I did help out for the dinner. I really enjoyed twirling the noodles and making them look pretty. I loved the freshness of this dish, the taste was bright and refreshing. The sesame oil made it really fragrant and went well with the tuna and soba noodles. The noodles were chilled before being served and this made it a more dynamic dish.

Tuna, Oyster Mushrooms and Tunghoon Patties in Ginger and Sweet-soy Dressing

J: I am rather proud of this dish, created after feeling indignant over the overpriced and ok tasting crab cakes from Food by Christopher Hiller (see review on separate post). This should be something simple that everyone can make themselves, using whatever ingredients they so desire.
V: I thought it would have been better if crab meat was used. I felt that it was a tuna overkill, with the last dish being a tuna one as well. Nonetheless, it was pretty tasty. I liked the crisp and crunchy feel it had while the dressing enhanced the flavours of this dish.

Makes 24 (depending on size of patties)

Tuna Patties
3 (375g) cans   Tuna chunks
1 small bundle   Tanghoon (palmsized), softened in hot water
1 pkt                Fresh Oyster Mushrooms, shredded
7 tb                 Self-Raising Flour
3 pc                 Spring Onions, thinly sliced
2 tsp                Minced garlic, sauteed briefly
5 tb                 Soy sauce
3                     Eggs, beaten
                       Cooking Oil

Ginger & Sweet-soy Dressing
2 tb         Ginger juice
1 tb         Honey
1 tb         Soy Sauce
5 tb         Sweet Sauce
3 tb         Olive Oil

1. Mix all the tuna patty ingredients and refrigerate for at least an hour.
2. Combine all the ingredients of the dressing, stirring while you
    add each new ingredient.
3. Shape the chilled tuna mixture into round patties and
    fry the individual patties.
4. Serve the freshly-fried patties with drizzled dressing.

Chilled Vichyssoise with Ham

J: This is quite the traditional potato and leek soup- boiled, pureed and chilled. Pieces of ham and spring onions were used as garnish and for a slight meaty/crunchy flavour.

V: I love potato and leek soup, especially cold/chilled ones! This was pretty well done. It was thick and creamy. The subtle sweetness of the leek can be tasted throughout the soup which made it even better.

Trio of Chicken: Roast Chicken Wrap,
Steamed Thai Pandan Chicken &
Breaded Salt, Chili Chicken

J: My moist and juicy roast chicken wrap (see recipe in separate post) has been rehashed many times before, unfortunately, this was not its finest outing. Having been prepared and wrapped slightly earlier, it was heated in the oven a tad too long, resulting in a dry and sad popiah.

The steamed pandan chicken, paired with a reduced sweet and spicy vinegar dipping sauce, came out fine. This dish is based on the lovely deep-fried pandan wrapped chicken bites, but I modified it by steaming the chicken with the marinating mix and omitting the deep-frying bit. I like the resulting blend of flavours from the marinade of coconut milk, fish sauce and oyster sauce, and the sweet, sour and fiery dip. 

The salt, chili chicken (see deep-fried salt, chili prawn recipe) here was ok, and was crispier than normal as I used Panko breadcrumbs instead of a regular flour batter.

V: nuff said. I don’t think there’s much to add. I tasted better wraps from her. Between the other two, I prefered the Pandan chicken.

Steamed Thai Pandan Chicken (serves 10)

500g   Chicken thigh, cut into cubes
2 tb    Garlic, minced
2 tb    Coconut Milk
2 tb    Oyster sauce
1 tb    Fish sauce
1 tb    Sesame Oil
1 tb    Ginger, sliced
          Pandan leaves, shredded
          White pepper

Dipping Sauce

15 tb  Rice Vinegar
  6 tb  Brown Sugar
  6 pc  Chili Padi, sliced

1. Marinade the chicken pieces with all the ingredients
    listed, and chill for at least 2 hours.
2. Line the plate used for steaming with some fresh pandan leaves,
    placing the chicken with the marinade for steaming.
3. Combine the vinegar and sugar, bring to boil,
    then reduce to half its volume.
4. Add the chili padi into the dip, and serve with the steamed chicken.

Beef and Enoki Roll with Sweet Potato and Galangal Mash

J: Having tasted this dish in various places, from a simple and tasty version from Sushi Tei to a deliciously luxe Wagyu version from Akane (blogpost coming soon!), I wanted to re-create the same meltingly tender sensation on the tongue. However, the beef, which was pan-seared, was slightly overcooked and tough when reheated in the oven. The time lapse allowed the beef to be (more than) well-rested, but the juicyness was glaringly absent- quite disappointing. 

The sweet potato and galangal mash was inspired by my Perth housemate Xinyi, (who’s a great, and VERY precise baker) who once wanted to try a sweet potato pie online recipe. We ran out of ginger at that time and I suggested using galangal (same rhizome family as the ginger), which she hesitated at 1st, but only a small bit was needed, so she decided to try it. The result was astonishing (for me at least). The simple pie now had greater depth because of the flavour of the galangal. I’ve yet to find back that recipe, so I came up with my own for this dish, assimilating ingredients and steps used by Stef (an earlier Perth housemate in Perth) who loved making baked mash potatoes (this was the carbs that made me put on weight!!!) Ok, I’m digressing majorly; thankfully, I’m quite pleased with the end result of the mash, although I think not everyone took to it!

V: The mash really took most of the attention away from the beef. As mentioned, the beef was overdone and over-stuffed with enoki mushroom. It was darn chewy and hard to eat. I thought the mash was outstanding though.

J: It was not THAT bad lah!! Just not perfect what!

Sweet Potato and Galangal Mash (Serves 10; Side dish portion)

4         Sweet Potatoes (medium-sized), peeled, boiled and mashed
2 tsp    Minced Galangal
2 tb     Minced Garlic
2 tb     Chopped Chives
3 tb     Honey
3 tb     Unsalted Butter
1/4cup Evaporated Milk
           Freshly ground Black Pepper
           Salt

1. Saute the galangal and garlic in some butter briefly.
2. Mix all the ingredients together with the sweet potatoes.
3. Do add more of any ingredients you like to suit your tastebuds:
    more milk to make it creamier, more salt for some. You may substitute
    spring onions for chives, or brown sugar for honey if you wish.

Watermelon, Lime and Mint Granita

J: Simple and refreshing. I combined ingredients from various recipes found online. Really great as a palate cleanser, which I loved serving it in my mum’s teacups.

V: I love granitas. It was sweet and a tad tart which made it perfect.

Spicy Asian Seafood Bolognaise with Farfelle

J: Shuying loves chiili crab, but I wanted to add my own twist on the dish, so I added a can of tomato juice, and 2 cans of whole peeled tomatoes to tone down the spiciness and for better pairing with the pasta. I made the rempah from scratch though, chopping and blending the shallots, ginger, garlic, chilies etc, and I added a little chicken stock. I was quite pleased with this dish, although depending on whether you’re a conservative pasta lover or strict Chili Crab supporter, you might find the taste too ‘fusion-ised’. Nobody finished this dish though; it was too large a main course especially after being stuffed with 7 (albeit bite-sized) courses before this.

V: I felt that the test version of this was better. In the test version, there was egg and the sauce tasted more like the chilli crab sauce, which was what I liked. This sauce was more watery rather than thick. It tasted different from the test version which had a stronger Chilli Crab taste. I didn’t like it as much as I liked the test version.

Spicy Seafood Pasta (Serves 10)
1 pkt        Pasta
800g        Prawns
500g        Crabmeat
15           Shallots, sliced
1 inch      Ginger, sliced
6             Garlic cloves, sliced
8 pc        Chilies, chopped
10g         Dried Chilies, chopped
750ml      Stock (chicken or prawn is fine, I used a mixture)
3 tb         Ketchup
3 tb         Soy sauce
2 tb         Oyster sauce
2 tb         Fish sauce 
2 tb         Sugar
1 tb         Sweet chili sauce
3 tb         Rice Vinegar
1 can       Whole peeled tomatoes
1 can       Tomato juice
               Cooking oil
2             Eggs, beaten (optional)

1. Process the shallots, ginger, garlic and chilies in a blender.
2. Fry the rempah paste in a little oil, and add the sauces. 
3. Add the juice and whole peeled tomatoes,
    while mashing the tomatoes.
4. Add the stock bit by bit until desired consistency (some
    people prefer it thicker, some more soup-like).
5. Add the prawns and crabmeat.
6. To make it more ‘chili-crab’ sauce-like, add the beaten eggs
    while stirring the boiling sauce; if you prefer it more
    pasta sauce-like, omit the eggs.
7. Boil the pasta till al dente, and serve with the sauce.

If the rempah is not blended to a fine puree, you may choose to strain the sauce before step 3. You may also add chili flakes if you wish to have a spicier sauce.

*There was also a side of salad consisting of butterhead lettuce, red cabbage, raisins, almonds and apple cubes, with a splash of red wine vinegar, olive oil and fresh cracked pepper. This is not pictured due to Marv’s contempt for anything less than meat.

V: Salad sucks!

Pear Strudel with Creme Anglaise and Chestnut Cream

J: This was the main source of terror. I have never made desserts, (being less inclined towards sweet stuff), let alone from scratch. The exceptions (attempted in Perth) would be lava chocolate cake, which I messed up when water entered the bowl in which I was melting the chocs in; and lime sorbet, which was pulpy and never set, so we never got to eat it. So you see, savory food is my security blanket- it’s what I (think I) know. But my girlfriends loved desserts, so I thought I’ll venture into the unknown.

And silly, ambitious me flipped through my French Laundry by Thomas Keller cookbook and thought, “This looks nice”. However, it has sooo many steps, and because sometimes I cook by feel, and baking is so precise, the recipe intimidated yet intrigued me.

To summarise, I had to make the Creme anglaise, wine-poached pears (more like stewed) and Chestnut Cream a day in advance as instructed by the cookbook, and I assembled it all on the day of the dinner. (Marv ’sugared’ the puff pastry and assembled the pastry and pears!!) Of course I cheated by buying shelled, roasted chestnuts (I don’t have the vat to roast the ‘gao-luck’ myself!), and substituted expensive Vanilla pods with Vanilla essence. Thankfully, my fretting had not gone to nought, most of them liked it. But I’m definitely not attempting it again anytime soon.

V: Yes, I assembled this desert.muahaha. It took me quite a while to get it right. The pastry skins were frozen at first, but as it started to condense, the pastry dough got really gooey and a little disgusting. I felt the dessert went well with the sauce. The pear was well poached, absorbing all the essence of the wine too.

J: To all who came and made my day: Thanks, you were great guests! (Now, who’s the next to host us?! haha..)

Recently, I spoke to a friend on exchange in the States and she was heading to Florida over the weekends for a short holiday. That got me really excited because I was just in Florida over the December Holiday.

Florida, or more specifically, Disneyland, is a place where I have been making constant Pilgrimages to since i was young. The last trip my family made was before 9-11, so it’s been quite a while and it’s been a much anticipated trip.

After a gruelling 26 hour flight from singapore with stops in Taipei and a cross-country flight from LA, we finally made it to Florida. We weren’t expecting much good food here, especially in all the theme parks we are going to.

Upon arrival, we decided to head down to downtown disney, a extension of the Disney Theme parks. It’s boardwalk styled shopping strip and it’s filled with different retail and FNB outlets. Dad decided to try Wolfgang Puck’s franchise here. This was probably our best meal during our Florida trip.

Sauteed Maryland Crab Cake, marinated tomatoes, basil aioli and micro green salad

I think my brother (Marcus) had this…it looked pretty decent.

Pan Seared Diver Scallops

Now, this one was interesting. It came together with white corn parmesan polenta with braised lamb shoulder.Scallops with lamb shoulder….that’s quite a unique combination. My sister lapped it up so it must have been pretty good.

Agnolotti with sweet corn

This looks boring…..then again, it has my favourite corn in it. It’s really mascarpone cheese stuffed fresh pasta with agana cheese and sweet corn.

Duck three ways- Seared Hudson Valley foie gras, foie gras mousse with an apricot tartlette and duck prosuitto

Now, I had this. I was happy I made this choice. Foie Gras was done to perfection, however there was this undescribable difference in the taste of the foie gras. It just didn’t taste the same like the regular french ones. The flavours were pretty light and not as strong as the French ones I feel. The duck prosuitto was an interesting touch to this dish.

Slow Braised Center Cut Beef Short Ribs

ahh…I had this for my main. Well, I have eaten my fair share of braised short ribs. This one was pretty well done but not outstanding. It was soft, tender and very flavourful. I really enjoyed this one.

Braised Duck Pappardelle

Gwenda had this one and she really had trouble finishing this. I had a chance to try it and found it a little too dry and the duck flavour was a tad bit too overpowering.

Wienerschitzel Kartoffelsalat

Marcus had this, which is really a deep fried breaded veal cutlet.

Wolfgang’s Apple Strudel- Warm Pink lady and granny smith apples, hand-pulled strudel, vanilla bean gelato

We shared the desserts. The first being a apple strudel. Nothing really special about this. It was sweet yet slightly tart.

Crispy banana beignets, creme anglaise, banana jam, vanilla bean gelato

Honestly, this simply reminded me of Goreng Pisang. What was really interesting was the banana jam. It really made the dish just abit more special. If not, this was just was local hawker fare, served at exhorbitant price.

Now this was a pretty good start to our holiday. There wasn’t much other notable meals in the week to come. The next set of photos was taken at the epcott center’s French Pavillion. It’s nothing special but really, it was the best meal we had in all the theme parks.

Soupe A L’oignon Gratinee

This was a a classic onion soup. It was a warm and hearty drink in the cold night. The generous portions of cheese and onions made it even more enjoyable to drink. The cheese was thick and creamy and went well with the thick broth.

Demi Poulet Fermier a La Broche Pommes Rissolees et Tomate Braisee

Despite it’s fancy name, this was only a roast chicken. It was tender to the bone and easy to eat. Nothing to shout about.

Creme Brulee a L’ancienne

The Creme Brulee was a little too sweet for my family’s liking but it was just nice for me. I couldn’t help cracking the surface of the brulee a’la Amelie, which was pretty fun. Well, that concludes my gourmet adventure in Florida. Next up, Stars in San Francisco.=)

Some weeks ago, I had the pleasure of working with Janice, Michelle’s cousin. It was a private catering gig for a company function. It was held at the client’s place and was for a party of 26pax. Janice a budding chef and if you noticed, she might look a tad bit familiar to you. That’s because she was a contestant in Ch 8’s Super Chef competition. Janice did very well and was the only girl that made it into the finals. She has since started a venture in private dining and will be opening her own cafe soon. She’s someone with great passion for cooking and great courage too. Upon graduation from NUS, she packed her bags and did a stint at Le Cordon Bleu, learning from some of the finest chefs in the world. The above pictures gives us an insight on what goes on behind the scenes.

Foie Gras Pate with Lumpfish caviar on toast

This was one of the two pre-meal Canapes item available. Very simple, straight-forward dish that looks good and tastes good. The tiny pieces of bread were toasted to a crispy biscuit state before the Foie Gras was applied onto them.

Bouquet of Grilled Prawns, truffle mayo

I can proudly say I helped skewer ALL the prawns for this dish, yet another Canapes item. It was real fun doing this as I did not really expect to do any real kitchen work. I think the presentation of this dish was really cute and caught the attention of all the guest. By itself, it’s yet another simple dish. However, the presentation that Janice did here was really creative and attractive. In fact, the set up is pretty simple too. She had a small plastic tray, filled it with sand, stuck in wheat grass and then skewers.

Watermelon, Smoked salmon, Feta Cheese

This is yet another attractive dish. The contrast in colors between the watermelon and the Feta Cheese does not show how well the cheese goes with water-melon. It seems like an unlikley combination, to have cheese with water-melon, but it does go well together.

Prawn Bisque Cuppuccino

The prawn bisque was fantastic! It was rich in flavour and a very heart-warming soup. I manage to sneak a cup for myself and it was really gorgeous. From what I saw, there was a constant cooking of the prawn heads and shell for a very long period of time. This makes the broth really rich and luscious.

Lime and basil Granité

This is a palate cleanser. Strangely, the guests asked for 2nd servings, which is always a good sign. Clearly, they loved it very much.=)

Pan-seared Black Bass with Honey vinaigrette dressing, Sautéed fresh beans

This was one of the 2 mains available, the seafood course for the night. The sea bass was fresh to start with and was done to perfection. The honey vinaigrette complemented the fish immaculately. The slight tinge of sweet and sour of the vinagrette worked really well with the fish.

Chicken with Honey vinaigrette dressing and garden salad

This was an alternative course to the people who could not eat fish. It went just as well like the fish. The chicken had a nice wholesome taste, making it a great alternative to the fish.

Duck with Truffle mash, lingonberries, Vine Tomato stuffed with pilaf riceI love tomatoes very much and I literally popped the whole tomato into my mouth, pilaf rice and all. The duck was done to perfection and was well accompanied by the mash. Perhaps the mash outshone the duck. The guests clamoured for more mash and we had to bring the whole pot up. The guests lapped it up and duly cleared the whole pot of mash. Amazing.

Roast Beef with Truffle mash, lingonberries, Vine Tomato stuffed with pilaf rice

This was the alternative to the duck. Somehow, i preferred this to the duck. Perhaps, I am more of a beef eater, but this really struck a chord with me. It was done till medium rare, allowing the juices of the meat to naturally flow out with ease. Simply lovely.

Coconut crème brulée, Carpaccio pineapple, mandarin orange in rum

This was the first of 2 deserts and it was Janice’s interpretation of a Pina Colada. I loved the way she used the blow torch on the creme brulee. It was wicked! The pineapple carpaccio was really sliced till wafer thin. Pretty amazing! I helped myself to the pineapples which was really nice.

Unfortunately, the dinner took a little longer than I had expected. I had to leave slightly earlier, missing the last desert, only to be an hour late for my movie with michie and mohmoh. Overall, it was a great experience for me and I really had fun. I can’t wait for the next one to come!

This is a long overdue post…

Jazzfoodie: I first heard about this place from a Perth-based blog. So when Marv visited me during Winter break, we made this 1 of our culinary priorities- and our 1st-time there was definitely delightful. The service was warm and prompt, yet not intrusive- so unlike those waiters who skulk around your table, refilling your every sip. We were ushered to a rather private booth near the back of the restaurant, having made an early reservation. It had an elegant feel, and it was kinda romantic. We were greeted by a basket of warm bread, a cute assortment of herbed rolls and sesame grissini (breadsticks).

We wanted the 9-course Tasting Dego (Oz’s Degustation), and opted for the “Big Dego” which included an extra 3 courses chosen by chef Neal Jackson. Although the place was rather full that night, it didn’t stop the wonderful chef from stuffing us with 3 more complimentary dishes. The only ’interesting’ thing (or maybe a trademark of theirs) was having the table set with the cutlery for the entire dinner, meaning our elbows were each flanked by 20+ forks and knives at the start of the meal.

Cornet of Salmon Tartare with Pea Ice Cream

J: I immediately thought of a similar recipe I saw in my French Laundry cookbook which I’ve yet to attempt. The smooth clean taste of the pea ice-cream contrasted refreshingly with the savory tartare and the earthy sesame wafer.
V: Similarly, I also thought of the French Laundry’s signature dish. The Pea ice-cream was creamy and sweet. I thought it really went well with the salmon tartare and the cornet. This was a good sign that more good things to come.

Ocean Trout Tataki

J: The trout was nicely paired with the slivers of seaweed and the juicy salmon roe full of bursting flavour, but was not a ‘wow’ dish.
V: For me, this dish was just ok. The trout was fresh and the seaweed and slamon roe did its job of complementing the trout. It brought out a slight hint of sweetness in the trout.

Tuna Tartare

J: I like my seafood, but the fish tartare dishes have become almost repetitive at lots of restaurants. I think the accompaniment was some cucumber-mint sauce, which did go nicely with the tender fish and crunchy pea shoots.
V:The Tuna Tartare isn’t the most creative dish but they did a good job here. The sauce was slightly tart yet it was complementing to the tartare which was really quite fresh too.With the first dish having a tartare already, this wasn’t really too special.

Icefish, Fennel & Orange

J: The orange sauce went well with the icefish, while the fennel was too subtle, being overpowered by the tiny olives at the side. This is the 1st time i’ve tasted icefish, and it was rather tasty, its firm flesh which was more tender than lobster/crayfish meat, and made the dish a delectable tempura roll.
V:This was a very interesting dish. I have never had icefish before either. The orange sauce was not too sharp and it went well with the fish. The icefish was wrapped with seaweed and fried tempura style. Despite this, the icefish remained much in focus with its fresh and firm flesh. I wasn’t too big a fan of olives so that didn’t bother me.

Scallop, Black Pudding, Pork Belly and Chick peas

J: The scallop was lightly and nicely seared, while I profess to still be unable to appreciate black pudding (pig’s blood and oatmeal i think) which was like some strange-tasting dense bread. I like the different textures used in this dish, from the soft scallop to the firm and slightly crunchy pork belly cubes. However, I felt the flavours were not integrated enough, resulting in a confusing ‘chinese pork belly’ contrasting with the indian-inspired chickpea dahl, and the ‘irish’ black pudding.

V:I was deeply fascinated by this dish. I wanted to see how irish black pudding would defer from our chinese pork blood cubes. It was a really interesting combination to have Scallops with a typical English breakfast accompaniment. The chickpeas added an asian touch, making this dish truly multi-cultural. The pork belly were slightly overdone and the black pudding had a rather maltish taste.

Scrambled eggs with truffles, caviar and toast.

J: This was simple, smooth and delectable.
V: This was a complementary dish again. This was yet another breakfast item that seem really understated. The scrambled eggs were very elegantly done, carrying hints of truffle and the bursts of caviar were brillant.

Foie Gras stuffed Pigeon with Truffled Leeks

J: The pigeon ’steak’ was soft, tasty and not overcooked, and went well with the simple braised truffled leeks. The fried pigeon ‘dumplings’ (far end of picture) were only alright though.
V: The Foie Gras stuffed pigeon was tender. The Foie Gras was rich but not overwhelming, allowing the pigeon meat to shine. I am a sucker for leeks and it was nice and sweet.

Marron and Fish in Oxtail Jus

J: The fresh fish was well paired with the firm-fleshed marron, but I felt both were too delicate to be paired with the heavy but tasty oxtail jus. The potato crisp at the top was a nice touch.
V:I found this pairing really special. Marron together with fish, 2 seafood together accompanied by a meat sauce. This may seem weird but it actually went quite well with one another. The potato crisp was just like a very delicate potato chip.

Vegetarian Springroll with Tandoori Chicken with Crayfish stuffings

J: This was an unexpected dish. Tastewise, the springroll was crisp, but nothing special, and the chicken was a little dry. However, I like the unusual pairing of the indian-inspired meat and the japanese-inspired seafood.
V: This was another dish that had a unique pairing. The vegetarian springroll was pretty normal. However the uniqueness comes in the pairing of the tandoori chicken with Crayfish. The chicken had strong flavors of spices but the freshness and sweetness of the crayfish complemented it nicely.

Rabbit with Beetroot Risotto & Horseradish

J: I’ve heard others gush about this dish, which I consider to be interesting but not neccessarily amazing. The rabbit was nice and tender, and the risotto was creamy, but other than a beautiful deep hue, I didn’t think the beetroot enhanced the taste of the risotto.
V: I have never eaten rabbit meat before, so this was a first. The rabbit was really tender. The beetroot risotto on the other hand was average. The beetroot’s sweetness did not set into the risotto although it was creamy.

Pumpkin soup

J: Instead of a palate-cleansing sorbet, we were served this lightly-spiced creamy pumpkin shot as the mid-course ‘filler’. It was simple and heart-warming, as a winter dish should.
V: This was a very simple yet heart-warming soup. It breaks the tradition of a cold palate cleansing sorbet.

Braised Beef Cheek & Mushrooms

J: This was a beautiful winter dish. The wild mushrooms infused a earthy flavour to the jus and complemented the beef cheek wonderfully. The beef cheek was tender and the soft chunks flaked so nicely it could be eaten with a spoon.
V: The beef was braised to perfection. It was extremely tender and flavourful.

Cheese Plate

J: This was one of the most interesting dishes I have ever had. Usually, cheese courses are plated with croutons or biscuits, but this was something else. The complex flavours and textures of 3 types of cheeses, sweet juliennes of fruit, crunchy walnuts, crisp pea shoots, soft beetroot slices and a tangy vinegrette blended perfectly and tantalised the tastebuds.
V: This cheese plate was really special. It was more like a salad where fruits, nuts and vegetables complemented the 3 different kinds of cheese. There was sweet pear,beetroot and walnuts which strangely complemented the variety of cheeses with their different taste and texture.

Blueberry Mini-Milkshake with Millefeuille

J: I have to admit that the mini-milkshake was rather adorable, it was creamy, and the millefeuille was light, flakey and yummy.
V: I liked this simply because this was really really cute. They came in tiny cups with the millefeuille. The blueberry milkshake had a nice berry flavour.

Trio of Apple: Custard with pashmak, caramelised slices with apple jelly, and sorbet.

J: This would have been a nice ending to the meal. The cool green apple sorbet, and apple jelly were nice, but nothing great. The soft custard went well with the candy-floss-like pashmak.
V: I have never tried pashmak before but Mich was raving about it when it was served. It’s indeed like candy floss but with an asian twist I guess. This desert trio was nicely done, accentuating the flavours of apple, mixing it up with different textures.
J: Hey! I wasn’t raving about it- it was more of a “I’ve heard about this” AND I don’t think it’s asian at all!

 

Strawberry Jelly with passionfruit, and Hazelnut Cream Rolls

J: The hazelnut cream rolls were great, but the strawberry shot was too tangy for me.
V: This was the last free dessert for the night. It was a pleasant surprise and a nice way to end the evening.

J: I was very impressed with this place overall; great value for the number of courses we had. Most of the dishes were excellent, not the best I’ve had, but I would say it’s one of the most innovative in pairing ingredients together.
V: This restaurant really surprised me. Especially, coming off the tail of our visit to Tetsuya’s. I loved the creativity displayed through their dishes. I would not mind coming back again. They were very generous in giving complimentary courses which makes me really happy. A very satisfying meal indeed. Thumbs up for Jackson’s!

Jackson’s Restaurant
483 Beaufort St
Highgate, WA 6003
Perth, Australia
+61-8-93281177
http://www.jacksonsrestaurant.com.au/