Nicholas Le

This is a no photo post.  Well, they said photoghraphy allow, but no flash!!!  I could not manage my shaky hands, so none of the photo turned out acceptable, other than the starter, which i used flash.  I was stopped after the first photo..Sigh

The restaurant was just a block away from the famous Ember, and was relatively small, with approx 6 tables. and a private room.  It was a open kitchen concept, so you could actually see the chef cooking.  Well, at least you know that you are not eating monkey's brain.

We chose the Wine Pairing Tasting Menu, a 8 courses dinner which started with some crackers as well as complimentary free flow of bread.  The bread were warm and soft, and we had to control ourselves to prevent overeating before the main course!

Crispy bread with duck terrine (In addition to the warm bread)

First Course - Starter

Pan Fried King Prawn.  Well, only 1 king prawn, though the plate was big.  Prawn was chopped into 2 pieces, with different sauces.  I would say that it was a piece of art.

Second Course- Starter

Soup, some clams

Third Course - Starter

I love this one.  It was an egg.  According to the waiter, the eggs were from Japan.  Inside the egg, there was some sauce or soup that tasted like truffle, mixed with the egg.  There was also a piece of cripsy biscuits in the egg.  On the side, there was a piece of crispy pork.  Totall unique combination.

Fourth Course:

Pasta, with some caviar.

Fifth Course:

Grilled pigeon.  Very small portion, but grilled to perfection, and served with different garnishing and sauce.

Sixth Course:

Dessert, a waffle, a chocolate pudding and icecream.  I love the desserts, because there were not as sweet.

Seventh Course:

Coffee

Of the 8th courses, 6 were served with wine.  We ended with a sweet wine, which was not as sweet.  What's the name?  i could not remember either. 

So where is the missing 8th course?  There was one more before the pasta which I could not remember what was that.  We finished the meal with a cheese platter, where we could select from a variety of cheese.  I chose blue cheese, my fav brie and 2 others recommended by the waiter.  The brie was of an older age, not the usual super market quality.

Overall, the food was excellent, you could feel the love and the dedication of Chef Nicholas put in.  My only complaint was that they do not allow photoghraphy with flash!  With my shaky hands, I could not manage shutter speed of less than 1/50, so most of my photos turned out blurred.  It was a shame, because only good photo could do his art pieces justice.   Wine pairing is recommended too, because it can bring out the flavour of the food.  Definitely a place to go for special occasion.

Overall:  9/10

Nicolas Le Restaurant

31 Keong Saik Road
Singapore 089138
Tel: +65 62242404

Gunther's (without flash!)

Gunther's belongs to the same group as Garibaldi, which is just next door.  It seems to be a notch higher than Garibalid from what I have heard a lot about Gunther's.  Friends who have tried, food reviews and food bloggers had mostly given rave reviews about it.  Most of them said that Gunther's is a must try, served good quality food.  Of course, it is almost very expensive, and they recommended lunch, unless your pocket can afford it.

Finally it was my turn to try Gunther's!  And i chose to go for lunch instead, since it was quite a value at $38+++, and also i did not want to burn a big hole in my pocket.  I made a reservation for 1230pm lunch, and they called the same morning to confirm my reservation.

Upon entering the restaurant, S & I were greeted by friendly staff, and we were shown to our table.  And the table stood there to help you to pull out your chair, and also with your napkin.  Ok, service pass.  The next question was the standard question that you would get in any upmarket Italian or French restaurant "Sparkling or Still?"  When i am in the mood to spend $10 for water, I will say "Sparkling".  If not, I will usually pass, and asked for "Ice Water" later.  You get the same kind of sparkling water for $2 in super market, not sure why I need to pay 5 times more in a restaurant. 

When the water was served, the captain pushed out a trolley with the "Special of the Day", which include a live lobster, a musk melon from Japan, an huge Japanese Oysters, among many others weird looking fish.
We skipped all these, and focused on the set lunch instead.  I was not happy with my photo this time, as I forgot to bring my external flash.  The place was just too dim to have proper lightings for the photo...sigh
Set lunch includes a starter, a main, dessert and coffee/tea.

For starter, you can choose from
Ravioli foie gras, bordelaise

Scramble egg, smoked salmon
Chilled gazpacho

Main:
Gunther’s creation - Today's creation was grilled fish

Coquille pasta, summer vegetables, Scarmoza cheese
Grilled striploin, béarnaise

Dessert of the Day:
Yogurt Raspberry icecream

We went for Ravioli foie gras, bordelaise and Chilled gazpacho as we thought that smoked salmon was common available elsewhere.

Chilled gazpacho.  Tasty, the black thing which taste salty gave the soup a nice flavour.  Chill and smooth, good way to start your meal.

Ravioli foie gras, bordelaise. 

Today's creation:  Grilled Fish.  The skin was crispy and not oily.  There was not any hint of fishy taste or smell.  However, I thought that the display was a bit messy.  I was expecting more creative display since it is Gunther's.

Grilled striploin, béarnaise.  The beef was tender and the display was more interesting in terms of colour.  The strip of corns gave the beef a bright yellow look. 

Dessert

The canelé that looked like a cylinder had a soft and tender custard center and a dark, thick caramelized crust. I found the crust a bit too hard for my liking.  The financier was a bit hard too.  Probably i just loved my dessert soft.

Coffee.  The coffee was served in a traditional Belgium cup.  Coffee was fantasic, strong and nice aroma.

Overall:  8/10 for the value.  I expected more from Gunther's, but well, maybe it was lunch, and the best was saved for dinner.

Recommended for romantic candle light dinner.  Not recommended for photo taking of food.

Address: 36 Purvis Street #01-03 Talib Centre Singapore

Tel: +65 6338 8955