SIN: The Tavern
Citrus loves cognac in a dessert dish!
To celebrate the 3rd anniversary of the blog, we had a sumptuous dinner at The Tavern which is situated along River Valley Road. The restaurant was officially opened in 1994, and has been serving European cuisine since then. Below is a picture of the owner in action, creating a delectable dessert dish for us.
The friendly gentleman, Mr. Poh Say Eng, hails from Malaysia. He started his career at the tender age of 17 in Kuala Lumpur Merlin Hotel. He'll always be ready to prepare you his specialty dessert dishes!
Bread
The sourdough bread wasn't too hard on the outside and adequately fluffy on the inside, served with unsalted butter and aromatic pesto oil, comprising olive oil, crushed basil leaves and minced garlic.
Daily Soup S$11.00
Taste: 8.5/10
Upon hearing that the soup of the day had barley as the main ingredient, I decided to give it a try. The heart-warming soup was adequately thick and rich, full of enjoyably chewy and slippery barley. Carrot bits and smoked beef cubes were also swimming inside the bowl.
Pan-Fried Hokkaido Scallops S$34.00
Taste: 8/10
Seared with adequate amount of butter, the three Hokkaido scallops were mildly sweet. However, they weren't as springy as expected, and the leafy vegetables could be fresher. The orange slices were really sweet and pulpy though.
Passion Fruit Sorbet
Taste: 8/10
After all the crockery associated with appetisers had been cleared away, a tiny scoop of palate-cleansing passion fruit sorbet was given to each diner. It was pretty refreshing, having minimal sweet and sour taste.
Baked Cod Fillet S$41.00
Taste: 9.5/10
It might not look appetising, but the cod fillet which was baked to perfection really won my heart. Under the crispy and fatty skin was fluffy white flesh which was indubitably fresh. I shall invite you to take a look at the picture below.
Oozing with its natural juice, the thick cod fillet was made perfect with a dash of lemon juice. A quartet of moist asparagus, broccoli, carrot and potato completed the heavenly experience. Trust me, this one is worth hunting down for!
Rack of Lamb S$42.00
Taste: 8.5/10
The rack of lamb was cooked to medium as requested, paired with pepper-based brown sauce which was pretty light so as not to overshadow the taste of the meat. The mashed potatoes on the side could be more velvety, but I was delighted by the fact that each scoop came with fried garlic bits on top of it.
Crepês Suzette S$36.00
Taste: 9/10
Frankly speaking, the thin, adequately chewy pancakes weren't exactly the highlight of the dessert dish which is available only for guests of two people and above. It was the highly citrusy sauce which was honest-to-goodness, made of melted butter, orange juice, lemon juice and just enough cognac for a dreamy alcoholic sensation. It'd be great if I could have a bigger scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Melon's Rating
Taste: 8.5/10
Ambience: 8.5/10
Service: 8/10
Overall: 8.5/10
While the restaurant isn't big, I enjoyed the overall dim and relaxing ambience. Service was pretty much efficient, but could be more amiable. I actually took a video of the preparation of the dessert, but it seems to be too dark to show. Pika's advice: For those of you who enjoy liver, you may want to give their specialty Gooseliver Terrine, priced at $25.00, a try!
The Tavern
227 River Valley Road
Singapore
(Daily: 11.30am - 2.30pm, 6.00pm - 10.30pm)
*Prices quoted are subject to 10% service charge and 7% GST.
Have a nice meal,
Cliff(y)
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