New menu and new team @ db Bistro Moderne, Marina Bay Sands.

If you have been to db Bistro Moderne recently and noticed a little change, a little difference in the menu, the promotions and events happening there, you are right. There's a new Executive Chef and new Executive Pastry Chef in charge of the kitchen now.



Things are getting exciting under the new Executive Chef Jonathan Kinsella and Executive Pastry Chef Benjamin Siwek.

Feeling a little curious about who Chef Jonathan is, I did a search on Chef Jon and he's quite amazing. He learns from his father at a young age, and his father is a certified Master Chef faculty member at the Midwest Culinary Institute. He has worked in a few places and he decided to come to Singapore this year. His previous stint was at sister restaurant Epicerie Boulud in NYC.

For Chef Benjamin, he's got an IT background. (just like me!) He decided to enrol in pastry school and have been rolling dough and making luscious and delicious bread and desserts. (Maybe I should too eh?)



This was an invited tasting by Marina Bay Sands and db Bistro Moderne, to taste the food by the kitchen team led by Executive Chef Jonathan Kinsella and Executive Pastry Chef Benjamin Siwek.

Always loving the breads here. Still looking the same and as enjoyable.



db Bistro Moderne has concocted 2 interesting drinks for the monsieur and mademoiselle when want to have a drink just before your food.

On the left is "Exit The Dragon" for the gentlemen. It's white rum infused with mandarin. Shaken with Chinese 5 spice syrup and fresh lemon juice.

The shorter glass is "Pink Floyd" for the ladies. A very interesting pomegranate-infused tequila shaken with fresh lemon juice and organic egg white!




Introducing Executive Chef Jonathan Kinsella. He's been cooking professionally since the age of 22!
Here's the tasting menu prepared for us that night.

Some of these items are available for the on-going Mondays at Daniel Boulud. The new "Mondays" menu starting from April 8 will feature the best from Chef Daniel's New York "originals". As part of their 20th anniversary of Chef Daniel's flagship Restaurant Daniel, dishes from the iconic Restaurant Daniel and also other New York restaurants will rotate on the menu here in Singapore every Monday.



Seafood and Vegetable Aioli.

A very light and quite satisfying start to your meal if you order this. A platter of poached seafood like cod, mussels and prawns with a variety of seasoned and raw vegetables. 

I know if I order this for the wife, she will be very happy. She mixes this and eats similar stuff for her lunches. 





I just thought this piece of vegetable is just too beautiful not to show! Isn't Romanesco broccoli / cauliflower so captivating?

This dish is available during Brunch / Lunch / Dinner time.



Boulud Sud's Mediterranean Mezze

This is a "Monday Night's Only" Classic NYC Dishes masterpiece. A combination of Herb Falafel, English Pea Hummus, Sheep's Milk Ricotta and House Made Socca Chips. I heard people really the falafel here.



A peep behind the Socca Chips, chopped olives on English pea hummus. I like the hummus and it goes well with the socca chips and falafel.

This dish is available only on Monday Nights.



Cheese Choux Pastry

For our nibbling.....



Chardonnay, Au Bon Climat, Cuvée Daniel, Santa Barbara, CA 2010

That was served with our next dish.



Seared Diver Scallops

This was the appetizer portion (main course portion available too) of a very delicious scallops. Nicely seared scallops that was served with crispy smoked bacon! Every since I was introduced to hand picked scallops picked by divers, you pretty much want it when you see it. (My sis will agree with me about hand picked scallops!)

It was nicely seared on the sides and tender and juicy inside, the picture above and below both hides the nicely done scallops. (It takes practice to do this, I have ruined lots of scallops trying to do this at home. )



A top view of it, the scallop was resting on English Pea Mousse and whole peas and surrounded by Carrots Lemon Chicken Jus. DB is American and so is the chef. Carrots and Peas are something they grew up with. I think Americans will love this. A quail egg rest on top giving it a nice pretty touch.

This dish is available during Dinner time. 



Saffron Tagliolini

Chef Jonathan was saying that he tasted one of the chef's spanner crab dishes at recent Epicurean Market and was captivated by it. He thought he will use spanner crab as one of the ingredients for his dishes. This is it.

The saffron pasta is from Chef Daniel's recipe. Other ingredients includes tomatoes, chilli, Italian Parsley and Lemon and Olive Oil. I am sure you can imagine the taste profile from the ingredients listed.



We had the appetizer portion. (also available as Main Course portion). If you like pasta and one that taste a little tangy, a little hint of heat (spicy kind) with some simple seafood like spanner crab. This might be your kind of pasta.  A nice alternative for those who don't like tomato based version of pasta.

(I like that plate!)

This dish is available during Lunch and Dinner time. 



Herb Roasted Organic Chicken Provençal.

This was one awesome chicken that we tasted! Yes, if you remember about the French Chicken, born in French, grew up in Malaysia and cooked in Singapore in a previous post, it's the same breed of delicious chicken.

The chef brought out the chicken that has been nicely roasted for us. On the same pan were Heirloom Beans, Carrots and the herbs stuffed in the cavity of the chicken that was used to roast it.



It's not ready to be eaten, but we were already salivating when Chef brought it out for us to view for like 5 seconds before it was taken back into the kitchen.




While the chicken was cooking, we had Sancerre Rouge, Les Romains, Gitton 2008 to go with the chicken.



Chef came back with the chicken and poured the sauce made from reduction of wild mushrooms and natural chicken jus. (with other things that I can't taste haha)



This dish is something that you should try and get truly satisfied. It's good quality chicken, so no matter which part of the chicken you have, it's very enjoyable. The texture of the meat is just so tender and succulent.

The sauce which has the very flavourful chicken jus and wild mushrooms really makes you want to lick up every drop of it. I really liked the beans and carrots too. It's one of the must orders here.

This dish is available for Dinner every night. 




Executive Pastry Chef Benjamin Siwek

I think this guy is bold! He's making interesting desserts and using the King and Queen of Fruits! Yes, durians and mangosteens! Not only is he using Durians, he is using Jackfruit another fruit that has a strong smell in his desserts!


Milk Chocolate Mousse Cake

It just reminds me of a scouts bonfire. No, it's not going to be flambéed. It's plays with texture and taste for chocolate lovers. Crunchy and smooth bits with different kinds of chocolates.

This dish is available during Lunch / Dinner time. 




Durian "Royale" Soufflé‎

Ooops, when this was served, we were busy eating the previous dessert, we forgot the soufflé‎ will sink. Caught it in time before everything flattens. This was durian soufflé‎ from a French pastry chef! We were told by MBS PR lady, they had lots and lots of versions before they could settle with this one.

My parents would probably not have it because they will only eat their durian by the fruit and in nothing else. They always wondered why people even eat durian ice cream when you can get fresh durian. They will freeze durian if they want it cold and ice cream like.

The wife who don't eat durian might eat it if she has it with the mangosteen sorbet (on the right) together with the durian soufflé.

The durian smell is not that strong until you put it in your mouth. If you have the mangosteen sorbet, it kinds of mask the smell of durian after. 


This dish is available during Brunch / Lunch / Dinner time. 




Rhubarb Tart.

Sorry, but I am not a fan of rhubarb. To me, it's just not my kind of food. Rhubarb to me is tart. So it's a tart tart. I am not saying the above is not nice, it's just not for me. It's my brother's kind of food. He orders Rhubarb whatever when he sees it on a menu, something which I can't fathom!

I know there are fans of rhubarb out there just like my brother, so this is for you!

This dish is available during Lunch / Dinner time. 



Jackfruit Verrine

Chef has used local ingredients we are familiar with and make them into a nice little French-Peranakan dessert! Made from Coconut Tapioca, Lime, Jackfruit and Palm Sugar Ice Cream.

French dessert techniques and local ingredients. Something that works and works well for me.

This dish is available during Lunch / Dinner time. 



Signature Petit Madeleines

Always a nice little sweet touch to all meals at db Bistro Moderne.


It was a very interesting night of tasting the food of the new team at db. Some of the food we had are available on Monday nights. Others are only available for dinner. Do check out their website for more details.


Baby Sitting by Chef Benjamin Siwek
For parents who are wondering how to 'deal' with the children during the coming school holidays, here's some good news. Let Chef Benjamin Siwek baby sit them! He's conducting the db Bistro Moderne "Junior Pastry Academy".  A series of specialty pastry workshops will take place at 3 PM across the five Saturdays in June. It's opened to children aged 5-12 years old! The 90 minute session will focus on different theme as follows: 1 June - Yogurt Cake, 8 June - Brownies, 15 June - Cupcakes, 22 June - Cookies, 29 June - Candy Bars.

Priced at $75 per child, this includes sweet treats and champagne for the child's accompanying parent. For more baby sitting details, contact db Bistro Moderne.


db Bistro Moderne
B1-48 Galleria Level
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (across from the theater)
2 Bayfront Avenue
Singapore 018972

Tel: +65 6688 8525
Hours:
Lunch: Monday to Friday: Noon to 5pm
Weekend Brunch :  Saturday – Sunday: 11AM – 5PM
Dinner : Sunday & Monday: 5:30pm to 10PM, Tuesday – Saturday: 5:30PM – 11PM

Skirt @ W Singapore Sentosa Cove

It's our parent's anniversary, and my father in law likes steak, so the wife and I booked a dinner at Skirt to celebrate their special day. This is my 2nd time at Skirt, the first time was with the HungryGoWhere review folks to test out food which was very good, because we were invited guests.

So this second time which is about 2 months later, where we went in 'stealth mode' and we were there just to enjoy ourselves and pay from our own pockets. The service was still as good. Like the previous visit, there was a host/hostess to take care of you from start till the end of the dinner. We were served by a lady from Taiwan. She's really knowledgeable, you can ask her anything about the menu and she can tell you. In fact, she's better than the first visit there.

We did have a chat with her and found out she's being rotating amongst the different W properties around the world. She's here for a year or two and probably will go to another destination. So cool ya?

Skirt is W Hotel's first ever grill house from all their properties. If you go there, you will notice the world restaurant has the 'cow' theme. Elaborate deco like this, are inspired by the cow's udders. The hanging lights are made from cow leather. If you notice the host and hostess, they are dressed very sleek but their uniform or outfit is inspired by butchers!  Quite "W" cool!



Just like the first time, the bread roll are in the shape of a flower. When you go down the steps from the lobby to the restaurant, you can peep into the open concept kitchen. You will see they have lots of these bread. The burnt marks are there because they have been heated up on the grill.

These nice warm bread are served with seaweed dip and a bottle of chorizo lard oil.
(It's like Western version of our favourite lard in oil form and spicy!)


Terra Rossa Malbec (by glass) - $18

Dad ordered a glass of wine. It was a red that was recommended after we ordered our meal. It was recommended based on the meat he ordered.


SKIRT Made Blackmore Charcuterie for 2 - $38

I had this before and thought it was really good, so I told the parents that they should try this too.
I just love food that's being served on big wooden boards. Look at the thinly mandolinned vegetables. If you are serving food at home, you can do this too. (ideas ideas!)



This bit of pulled meat with some far and crispy onions on it was delicious.

From the previous tasting, I asked what it was so I know what this is when we had it with the parents. It's meat from the leg that has been sous vide at 65 for 1 day. It's just so tender. If you are adventurous and not so health conscious, eat it with the semi soft fats.



Two kinds of cured blackmore. I remembered that I prefer one to another, but I can't remember which ones. I think one's cured and the other just air dried cold cuts. If you dine there, you can confirm with them.



Liver pate. It's way too much for me personally. Everyone liked it except me, because I am not a liver person. ;-)



The pretty and hard crusted bread that comes with it. I preferred the softer bread that was served before your meal though. I prefer soft breads.



The details of this place. They have custom made cutlery!

Do you feel like you are dining in some big huge ancient castle maybe in King Arther's time, that people used such cutlery?



If you ordered meat, you will be served this before your meal.
On the left, apple bourbon juice. I think it's a bit strong, but it cleanses your palate before you have your meat. The right, a bottle of BBQ sauce.


Blackmore Australian Full Blood 9+ Wagyu, Skirt Steak (250g) - $48

The wife ordered this. She wanted to try this signature skirt steak. It's a nice piece of steak. It was done medium, and came out nicely as what she liked. I suppose you can't do wagyu any other way. It made the wife rather happy.


Donald Russell Irish Aberdeen Angus Grass fed 21 day Dry Aged Tenderloin - $40

Dad had a hard time deciding because there was too many choices. He end up having the Irish tenderloin. We all thought he made the best choice for the night after we all took a bit of his meat.



We thought the wife's skirt steak was nice, but after tasting dry aged meat and the tenderness that comes with it, I wished I ordered this too.  A good piece of meat, just grilled was just so so good. The price for this delicious meat was only $40!


Grilled Baby Barramundi - $47

Mum is more of a seafood person and she thought she will have the catch of the day. We were told they had a nice baby barra that day and mum thought it's a good choice too.

We thought it was quite an expensive fish, but it was really well done. Nicely grilled, it was nice, soft and juicy inside and we think mum did enjoy it.


Iberico Pork Skirt, Asparagus, Crackling - $40

When I ordered it, I imagined it to be a pice of "sio bak", with nice crackling skin on top by the description. I was wrong. It came as above. Yes, we laughed. It was piece of pork skirt with crackling separately on top.

It was OK. It was slightly over done, so it was a bit tough. Even with King Arthur's knife above, I had to use a bit more energy to cut it. So when I tasted Dad's dry aged beef, oh... I wanted to take over his whole plate.

We thought we would share some side dishes, so we ordered 4 different sides. Probably 2 or 3 should had been enough if you ordered the starter. You would be quite stuffed!


Grilled Pumpkin, Sprouts and Goat Cheese - $8

Nicely grilled pumpkin with leaves from probably 2 Brussels sprouts and goat cheese over it. Pumpkin had a nice aroma. You know how some people like harder pumpkin and some like soft mushy ones. This was the harder kind.


Sauteed Wild Mushrooms - $8

We are a family of mushroom lovers, so we ordered it when we saw mushrooms on the menu. We really liked this. It's a combi of different mushrooms with black fungus. We always forget about black fungus as mushrooms. Surprisingly, it goes so so well. We will be having this combo when we prepare this at home next time!


Baby Carrots, Beans and Radish - $6

A nice dish of carrots. Nice but not wowing. Yes, it's just carrots and beans and radish. Order it for beta carotene for your eyes.


Hand Cut Garlic Fries with Mayonnaise - $5

We saw the word garlic and fries and we kind of automatically order it. Frankly speaking, I can't remember now how it tasted because I did not take notes. Can't remember it was super crispy and super soft inside, but I remember we ate up all of it. No fries were spared!


Chocolate Forest Cake - $18

We ordered this dessert because dad loves black forest cake. It's more like a deconstructed black forest cake. Very interesting indeed!



Pop the 'cherry' on top and you have this thick mix of cherries. You should take a bit of everything you see on the plate and put it in your mouth. Taste it that way. You might just enjoy it.

Unless of course you think all these deconstructed thing is not your way to enjoy food. ;-)


Crepes - $15

A very alcoholic dessert! The two rolls are crepes and there's 2 different cocoa powder and granules over it. Their variation of crepes suzette.



The booze on fire has just melted all the chocolate. Enjoy!

We had a very good time. We arrived earlier before dinner and enjoyed walk around to admire the yachts there. Service staff was very good, but not very intrusive. 

Total cost was $336 which includes the various taxes and 4 other drinks that we ordered.

Oh yes, if you are Points and Miles collectors for hotels, you can redeem SPG (Starwood Preferred Guest) points. Yes, I gave them my SPG number.

SKIRT
W Singapore - Sentosa Cove
21 Ocean Way
Singapore 098374

Tel: 6808 7278
Hours: Tues - Sun, 7 pm - 12 midnight