Ash & Elm @ Intercontinental Singapore - Launches New Sunday Champagne Brunch

This April, Ash & Elm at Intercontinental Singapore launches a new Sunday Champagne Brunch, taking inspiration from the country synonymous with gastronomy, France. Helmed by newly appointed Chef de cuisine Adrian Chan, the brunch buffet features a medley of sophisticated flavours through the use of fresh ingredients and French cooking techniques from duck confit and braised beef brisket to ratatouille.

Using fresh produce from three different categories of land, sea and garden, the three iconic tasting platters of Ash & Elm’s Sunday Brunch comprise nine a la minute petite plates featuring the best of France’s rich culinary history.

From the Land menu, we have the Le Porc - this classic dish of pork belly is slow cooked in duck fat to achieve a tender consistency, crisp exterior, and its rich flavours are balanced with the tangy flavour of orange and piquant charred leeks.

The Le Boeuf - the beef brisket is braised in Bordeaux red wine for over 12 hours for that melt-in-the-mouth texture and is perfectly complemented with garlic infused pomme puree, and French beans to add a nice crunch to the beef brisket. The Le Canard features fork-tender pan-seared duck with spiced and vanilla infused carrots puree to bring out its luscious flavours.

One of my favourite from the Sea menu is the Le Flétan - the slow-poached halibut has a soft tender texture with crisp oat crust and topped with caviar beurre blanc and broccolini to enhance its flavours.

Some of the highlights from the Garden menu include the Le Champignon, where the mushroom takes centre stage in this dish with handmade tortellini generously filled with creamy porcini puree, adorned with lashings of truffle and wild mushroom duxelles.

While the La Tomate features a modern take on the common French vegetable stew. The ratatouille is colourfully presented in a stuffed oven-baked tomato paired with pesto.

Besides the petite plate selections, indulge in the array of brunch items from the counter such as the Poached Eggs doused in a creamy hollandaise sauce atop bacon, spinach and English muffin.

From the roasts section, the Slow Roasted Herb Crusted Beef Ribeye was well seasoned and perfectly executed.

Don't miss out on the caviar station, where diners can get to enjoy piles of Avruga (smoked herring roe), Wasabi Ebiko, Ikura, Tobiko, Queen Kaluga (sturgeon roe) on soft fluffy blinis.

Complementing the platters is a showcase of delicacies including a selection of French Cheese, as well as Fresh Premium Seafood on ice, such as the scallops, oysters, Boston lobsters, clams, prawns, mussels and more.

End your meal on a sweet note with their wide array of delectable desserts. The experience is further elevated with Taittinger Brut Champagne, house wines, soft drinks, juices, coffee and tea.

Some of the highlights include the Mint Mont Blanc, Rum Orange Baba, Citrus Meringue Tart, Lychee Rose Raspberry Macaron, Pistachio Cherry Eclair and more.

Ash & Elm’s Sunday Champagne Brunch is available every Sunday from 12pm to 3pm, and is priced at $148 per adult, inclusive of unlimited Taittinger Brut Champagne, house wines, beers, soft drinks, juices, coffee and tea; $98 per adult, inclusive of Bloody Mary cocktails, soft drinks, juices, coffee and tea; and $48 per child, inclusive of soft drinks and juices. Prices are subject to 10% service charge and prevailing government taxes.

Photos and words by Crystal. A girl who likes to eat, photograph, and write about food, and dreams about travelling around the world one day. Note: This is an invited tasting.


Ash & Elm
InterContinental Singapore
Level 1
80 Middle Road
Singapore 188966
Tel: +65 68251008
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Nearest MRT: Bugis (EW Line, DT Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 1030pm

Direction: 
1) Alight at Bugis MRT station. Take Exit C. Walk to destination. Journey time about 5 minutes. [Map]

Fussy Duck Private Dining @ Sampan Place - Modern European Cuisine With Indian Influences

With the private home dining scene getting popular in Singapore, new players have also emerged in the scene. Is it too late into the game or there is still a market for them? My view is there still an opportunity for them as the popular ones are fully booked up to 3 months or more. Their prices have also increased by 30% or more since they started. This means diners may go for shorter waiting time and cheaper options instead.

One of these new players is Fussy Duck hosted by Chef Raj offering modern European cuisine with some Indian influences. He has worked in professional kitchens for over 13 years including under Daniel Boulud in New York and at MBS. His place can host up to 8 person per night. Currently he is only open for weekends. We had the 5 course meal at $99 per pax. They even have a vegan 6 course menu.

Our dinner started with some freshly baked bread and butter. Not sure whether this really good or we were hungry, the bread disappeared from our table within minutes.

Ravioli 4/5

Next we have the amuse bouche,  homemade Ravioli filled with Shiitake and Button Mushroom, topped with shaving of black truffles. Love how the earthy flavours from the mushrooms shone through the pasta shell. It can be a lovely pasta dish by itself too.

Truffle Leek and Potato Vichyssoise 4.5/5

We started the dinner proper with the Truffle Leek and Potato Vichyssoise. It is a cold soup that comes with potato chips and burnt figs. A very refreshing soup that kind of brightens up the palate for the next dish.

Vegan Eggplant Caviar and Tomato Tart with Earl Grey Infused Tomato Water 3.8/5

Our next dish is the Vegan Eggplant Caviar and Tomato Tart. I actually quite enjoy this. It is like have a toast with eggplant and tomato jam spread on it, except that the base is a flaky tart. The dish also comes with a cup of Earl Grey infused Tomato Water with a few drops of chilli oil.  It has that strong tomato flavour, yet not overwhelming, probably the addition of earl grey and chilli oil helped to harmonise it. It is quite complex in taste but yet light and refreshing.

"Palak Paneer" Risotto with Pan Seared Scallops 4.5/5

I have to say Fussy Duck serves an awesome plate of risotto. Inspired by chef's Indian heritage is the "Palak Paneer" Risotto with Pan Seared Scallops, served with paramsen and ricotta cheeses. There was a silent at the table followed by "wow this is really good". The infusion of the different palak paneer into the risotto simply elevated the whole dimension of the traditional risotto dish. I have not tried or seen anywhere incorporating Indian influences into a risotto dish, at least for my food journal. This is a winning dish.

Duck Confit with Pea Fricassee and Pumpkin Puree 4/5

For the mains, diner can choice between the Duck Confit and Roasted Lamb Rack. For the Duck Confit, it is served with pea fricassee and pumpkin puree. You get a whole duck leg which is really huge and tender.

Roasted Lamb Rack with Pea Fricassee and Spiced Carrot Puree 4/5

As for the Roasted Lamb Rack, there is additional $10 charge if you want to have it. Similar to the duck confit, it comes with pea fricassee but the pumpkin puree is changed to spiced carrot puree. I understand NZ lamb rack that is less than 3 months old is picked so it doesn't have not strong gamy flavour. Simply cooked with some spices rub to showcase the beautiful piece of red meat

Saffron Creme Brulee 4.2/5

Wrapping our dinner is the Saffron Creme Brulee. Creme brulee is quite common but spiced with saffron is an unique take to the classic dessert. It even comes with crushed pistachio, rounding it off with a nutty finish.

Overall we have a lovely time at Fussy Duck. Chef Raj and his partner are great host too. We even get to bring some homemade cookies home and they were delicious. For Fussy Duck to stand out among others, it may need to incorporate more Indian influences into is modern European cuisine or even a traditional Indian menu which is something not available in the market as for now.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


Fussy Duck Private Dining
RiverEdge
21 Sampan Place
Singapore 436593
Tel: +65 90146386
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Nearest MRT: Mountbatten (CC Line)

Direction:
1) Alight at Mountbatten MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to bus stop at Mountbatten Road (Stop ID 80279). Take bus numbers 12, 14, 30, 158, 196 and 401. Alight one stop later. Cross the road. Walk to Kampong Kayu Road. Walk down Kampong Kayu Road. Turn left onto Sampan Place. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Mountbatten MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to Mountbatten Road. Cross the road to Jalan Benaan Kapal. Walk down Jalan Benaan Kapal along the canal. Cross the canal onto Kampong Kayu Road. Turn right onto Kampong Kayu Road. Turn left onto Sampan Place. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]