2am:dessertbar

2am:dessertbar (Desserts on the House) - 21A Lorong Liput, Holland Village

The 2am:dessertbar team has given me yet another unforgettable evening spent with my taste buds in glorious rapture. To top that off, everything was on the house as my spoils of the 2am:dessertbar Facebook Challenge! Simply “like” their Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/2am-dessertbar/186445036547) for a chance at 2 free desserts till New Year’s Eve.

Here's my first shot with a celebrity chef, Singapore's own Janice Wong!

I started off with a 2008 Kiona Late Harvest Gewurztraminer from Red Mountain, Washington State, it was absolutely spectacular. Being a late harvest wine, it had a definite sweetness but which remained decidedly delicate and un-syrupy along with just enough fruitiness to be refreshing. This left the path clear for the wonderful white-fruit notes of peaches and apricots to suffuse the senses.

The wine was paired with a gorgeous Cheese Avalanche of white chocolate cream cheese with figs, melon, hazelnut biscotti and salty smoked kiko nuts. The luxuriously smooth cream cheese was quite light and reminded me of yoghurt which made this dessert’s flavour profile reminiscent of a cheesecake-meets-parfait. The sweet-salty contrasts were varied and harmonious with the cheese and figs being my absolute favourite while the biscotti added crunchy bite and was wonderful all on its own if not with a smear of more cream cheese.

This was followed with Dulce Tintoralba, an oak-aged sweet red from Almansa in Spain. The Spanish like their wine full bodied and this was no exception, possessing truckloads of berry-based character that linger on the palate. Not much in the way of a nose (my only gripe), it was sweet and intense on the tongue with particularly clear notes of cherry and cassis.

I was so focused on my study of all its nuances that I forgot to snap a shot till it was almost all gone. Check out that rich ruby colour!

This was matched with a Chocolate Tart with Blood Orange Sorbet. I adored the tart base which was delicate, buttery, crumbly and crispy; perhaps Sable Breton? The lusciously velvety chocolate ganache was extremely rich and had an intense orange perfume to counterbalance the strength of dark chocolate. The best part of it all –I’m biased – was on the side though: blood orange sorbet. I know I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again, the sorbets here are unmatched in terms of their extremely fine ice crystals which keep the confection perpetually soft and cause it to melt beautifully instantly upon contact with the tongue. Light and judiciously sweetened, the spotlight remained on that refreshing citrusy tanginess to refresh the palate for another mouthful of chocolatey richness.

I will always have a soft spot for oozy chocolate desserts. Can one possibly get enough of chocolate souffles, fondants and tarts?

My surprise nibble for the night was Chocolate Shortbread which I will henceforth crave whenever I have a cup of coffee. Gorgeously intense with chocolatey depth, it was boldly bitter from dark chocolate, crumbly and buttery; exactly the way I love anything chocolate. I tried my best to make the 2 little chunks last and suppressed a sniff when the last crumb vanished.

Sakuraya

Sakuraya – 154 West Coast Road, #B1-50 to 52 West Coast Plaza

This place is one of my not-so-rare indulgences whenever a sashimi craving hits hard. Sakuraya fish market has a substantial selection of fresh seafood which they expertly slice as well as garnish gorgeously with shiso leaves and mounds of julienned radish. Ark shell ad geoduck clams are the more exotic offerings aside from the popular hamachi (yellowtail), uni (sea urchin gonads) and - of course - salmon belly. They charge by weight and dining in costs the same as there is no service charge so a lavish feast for two came up to just $82.70.

The Mongo Ika - Cuttlefish ($7.60 for 96g) was sticky, sweet and silky-smooth; topped with Tobbiko - Flying Fish Roe ($6.30 for 100g), it was absolute bliss as the salty explosions of rich, marine character and crunch provided a resonant contrast of taste and texture.

The serving of roe was so generous that I could eat entire spoonfuls of the stuff and have a generous coating rather than a thimbleful with my Ika, things I could not dream of anywhere else. I finished a fair portion of the vividly orange microscopic spheres with fluffy, fragrant and delicately sweet-sour Sushi Rice ($3).

Another indulgence was the Muki Hotate - Fresh Scallops ($8 for 2) which had excellent mouthfeel that magically blended moist softness with a hint of crunch. Almost sugary with natural sweetness, the thin, glossy slivers were rich and creamy too. However, it was with the sweetish wasabi that it truly shone. The condiment added intensity, depth and amplified character in a way nothing else could, clearing your sinuses in the process too.

The sizable slab of Salmon Sashimi ($10.15 for 130g) was polished off in a flash for the slices were lusciously moist, rich and smooth. However it paled in comparison to the choicest Salmon Belly ($8.45 for 96g) which left me - as always - in speechless ecstasy with its divine butteriness. It harmonized wonderfully with the wasabi for a balance that was spunky yet mellow, sharp yet creamy.

The most extravagant thing we ordered was the Hamachi - Yellowtail ($18.20 for 140g) which worked out to over $3.60 per slice; but it was worth every cent. Creamy, rich, oily, meaty and yet so delicate; I struggle to piece together a description that would do it justice.

I can never resist octopus. Enrobed with batter in takoyaki or marinated in antipasti it is amazing but its invertebrate glory only truly shines in Hokkai Tako – Raw Octopus ($9.40 for 94g). Crunchy and salty with a subtle gelatinousness, it is juicy and indisputably better uncooked, unlike the manner typically served; note the paler colour of this specimen. The tentacles and suckers are vastly different in taste and texture. The former is softer and creamier while the latter has more spring and crunch, but I would be at a loss to pick one over the other.

Squaring things off was Ika Shiayaki – Grilled Squid which taught me the valuable lesson of quitting while you’re ahead. Next to the amazing sashimi, its mediocrity was quite jarring. One thing that piqued my interest was how the whiskers were a gradient of texture; crispy at the tip, it gradually softened to a springy chew at its thickest point.

Ayam Penyet Ria "Smashed Fried Chicken"

Ayam Penyet Ria "Smashed Fried Chicken" - 304 Orchard Road, Lucky Plaza #04-25/26

You know you're in for some authentic Asian food when you walk into a restaurant and nobody is conversing in English. This eatery may be tucked away in a near-inaccessible corner of a mall, requiring you to navigate labyrinthine rows of money changers and camera shops just to get there, but be prepared to wait in a long queue of hungry pilgrims chattering deafeningly in bahasa indonesia come lunch time. Needless to say, the chicken was smashingly good.

The eponymous Ayam Penyet with Rice ($6.90) is an absolute must-try. Roughly translated as smashed chicken, the bird is coated in a thin layer of batter, deep fried before being summarily beaten to a pulp; and they said KFC was Kentucky Fried Cruelty. The brutality is well justified in my book though, the chicken was wonderfully crisp on the outside yet dripping with juice within. Lightly spiced and not too oily, it was easy to separate meat from bone in its pulverized state and smeared with a thick, tangy, weapons-grade sambal chilli sauce; the sort that is eaten with relish despite the sweat beading on your forehead and the tears filling your pleasure-glazed eyes. The batter-rubble from the chicken was a decadent indulgence with fluffy white rice and still more chilli. Also eaten with a daring amount of this sauce were chunks of crisp-fried beancurd and - my personal favourite - tempeh; bars of compacted, fermented soybeans with a salty, crunchy shell that yields to reveal a moist, creamy and buttery interior.

My dining partner's Lele Penyet ($6.90) was absolutely phenomenal. The moist, flaky and near-delicate flesh of the catfish was a delightful contrast to its sinfully crispy skin. I'm far from a fish lover (sashimi and beer-battering aside) but I could appreciate how it lacked any fishy or muddy off-flavour that I typically find in catfish, more sambal helped sway my opinion too.

Sop Buntut ($7) or Indonesian Oxtail might eclipse chicken stew as the comfort food archetype. Massive chunks of fall-off-the-bone beef were spiderwebbed with rich and gelatinous tendon for a peerless mouthfeel and a richness that made it all very satisfying. Despite the weight of the meat, the broth was conversely ethereal-light and clean-tasting, spiced subtly in a manner not too different from mee soto.

Less spectacular was the Tahu Telor ($5.90) which I usually polish off with relish elsewhere. Soggy with oil rather than crispy and with far too little jullienned cucumbers to give it satisfying crunch, this was the big disappointment of the meal. Worse still, they dressed it with run-of-the-mill satay peanut sauce rather than the pungent, sharp-tasting, character-filled kicap manis that is - in my opinion - the only standard.

I spotted Teh Botol Sosro ($1.90) on the drinks menu and could not hold myself back. The last time I had one of these was years ago on a community involvement trip to build a library on Bintan Island and it hasn't changed one bit. Strong tea is added with as much sugar as possible without crystallization occurring in this bottled drink, the result is a simultaneous caffeine and sugar high as both hit the bloodstream. Your pancreas will not thank you but it feels so damn good.

We rounded things off with an Es Cendol ($3.50) to share and I was not overly impressed. The sugary coconut drink was a bit too sweet without being salty, creamy or thick enough, the grass jelly and green chewy bits were a tad gummy too. I'll stick to the roadside Malaysian vendors with their 1RM Indian Chendols, despite the inevitable Lomotil I'll have to pop an hour or two later.