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2010-06-29
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If there is a time for certain things to happen -- I must admit I was rather lucky to have gotten into the world of food when I was little -- when my friends were flipping through comic books I was reading cookbooks -- from glossy pictures of fanned out dishes and pictorial procedures of how to slice meat paper thin. I might have no kitchen experience, but every now and then when the idea of a recipe is brought up, two imaginary hands would dance in my head following the mentioned recipes. In ti
(Continued from previous...)
Midway through the second course, we were on cloud nine tasting the lamb rack, little did we know the next onslaught of dishes would cause us a deadly fall from the sky....
Steamed Sea Bass, Artichoke and Crispy Squid -- From the plating, it resembled a naughty baby squid crawling onto the fillet of sea bass. The silvery specked skin was glossy, with white flaky flesh underneath. The sea bass was steamed, and tasted as light as anything can ever become of, especially labelled "Steamed". To call it light is to be nice. I longed to give it a euphemism as 'plain', but I was suppressed by the crunchy squid that's lightly fried and seasoned, quite nicely enough on the coating while the content inside was chewy as in "overcooked". The artichokes were nicely done though. We gave it up halfway through, and I firmly believed that fish doesn't and shouldn't taste this bland, even if it's steamed.
Wagyu Skirt Paillarde, Confit Porcini, Rocket and Parmigiano -- The dish in question of the entire brunch. The skirt steak is one of the tougher cut of steaks out there. One would expect some pounding involved to call it a PAILLARDE, and this one did. The theoretical approach is that after considerable pounding to loosen up the meat, it will become tender, if not soft. This steak, wagyu or not wagyu, failed miserably even remotely touching the surface. It took us from lamb rack heaven straight to the burning steak hell. The fine flakes of Parmigiano and musky rocket went well with the Confit of Porcini -- soft and rich on the flavour. Yet the skirt steak was so tough that when Mr. KC tried to cut across it, the knife slided to make a shrill squeak across the plate (with the steak attached to the blade of the night, cut mark absent) The steak dares us to chew and digest, and halfway through our jaws grew weak and gave in, as another conversation sparked, a very interesting one as the chef came strolling by.
Knowing that Stefano, the new executive of Aspasia is sick that day, the other half of the Piscedda brothers, also at Aspasia to man the kitchen (unfortunately his name was lost in the shuffle of information) The chef did the routine as he asked about the quality of dishes served. While boasting earlier of an all-rounded chef who mastered both meat and starch cuisines, we held back from the sordid details, but when the chef decided to go through the menu course by course, we had to comply. We covered the lack of heat from the All'Arrabbiata -- which the chef admitted the use of Thai chilies this time instead of the Italian Pepperoncini, yielding a milder, less intense heat, and he openly admitted the use of TABASCO (hot sauce) to adjust the heat level. Am I dreaming this confession? It only got worse as he swallowed the doubts we had on the tordelli and replaced with a boyish grin with lips sealed so tight that any words about to come off from there would sound defensive. The pride he felt from the lamb quickly diminished as asked of the ideal texture of the steak, which he delivered flawlessly the textbook answer only to realize his creation was miles away from it. The chef wasn't pleased, and five minutes ago, neither were the diners.
Desserts are on the self service style as well. PANNA COTTA is jiggly and creamy with a dot of berry coulis on the top to cut through the rchness. MIXED FRUIT TART was alright except the golden cube of mango was so lip-puckeringly tart that it seemed to bite back on anyone who bites into the tart. TIRAMISU was ok, but the chocolate spoon was too hard and failed to deliver anything remotely chocolate except for its colour. CHOCOLATE CAKE is presented in cubes, and the layers of chocolate cake and chocolate mousse are well balanced. MARSHMALLOWS DIPPED IN CHOCOLATE, however, is a major disappointment. It was as chewy as one of those white pencil eraser dipped in dark chocolate, and tiny sugar crystals are contained within the supposedly soft confection. The best bet for anything sweet, however is the DANISHES, which remain flaky and only slightly sweet even after it has gone room temperature.
A hot latte at the end rounded off a less than perfect meal. It goes way beyond what can be considered a perfect getaway from work, but let's face the fact that food at Aspasia is not generally at this level as I have had better meals here than this. It is worth the try if one chooses the dishes right. Time, for me is not something I can easily afford to take my attention away from what I do -- the tightly packed schedule can be overwhelming at times, but luckily enough I take the pleasure in everything I do for it, and to get away from that and hang out with the people I know will enjoy what I enjoy as well, is just as good as anyone can ask for, as I was told once -- We're all just a bunch of people who are serious about food. We love food and we love eating. Time and turbulences have passed, with the rise of dramas and endless blaming finger wars later, some things haven't changed, and I'm glad for that.
Thanks editor M and Openrice for inviting me for this opportunity, and to anyone who's patient enough to read this till the end -- Thank you for letting me share what I love, and know that it loves me back indeed.
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