I had a look at the lunch menu, priced $38++ for 3 courses, which was actually a bit disappointing due to the limited selection (It only had a couple of selections for each course). The fresh oysters ($12 each) came highly recommended, so I ordered a couple of them. They were in fact very fresh, with plenty of their own natural juice.
I decided to try a dish from the regular menu, and I chose the seared scallops with sea urchin emulsion ($24), as it looked most promising. The scallops were cooked and seasoned properly, although the dish overall didn't have anything special to communicate to my palate. In particular, the "sea urchin emulsion" didn't have the slightest flavour of sea urchin. I am a big fan of this ingredient, and I am generally able to detect its sweet and subtle flavour, but in this case I wondered if there was any sea urchin at all.
The rillette was quite nice, served as pictured with a slice of crispy bread, salad and a slice of fig.
The pan seared foie gras was also well prepared, served on top of a brioche and cranberry compote and topped by a thick and savoury sauce. Quite pleasant overall, as foie gras always is, in small amounts. I didn't particularly want to have foie gras, but given the fact that there were only two starters on the lunch menu, I had no choice.
Unfortunately, the main course was not as successful. The lamb was slightly undercooked. The 'demi glace' was almost certainly bought in, as it was too sticky and tasted like plastic. As it was poured all over the meat, it just spoiled the whole dish. This is where the touch of a skilled chef who cooks from fresh ingredients can be tasted, and Absinthe certainly failed the test.
The seared tuna was OK, but then again it was simply OK, not something I would want to order again. I just don't have much to say about this dish. I had better mains than these two at 7atenine, where I had a wider variety of dishes, and cheaper.
The dessert was also OK, not the kind of dessert I would choose, but given the limited selection I had no alternative. I can say that the ice cream was nicer than the cake.
At the end of the meal, and after paying the bill, we were offered 2 biscuits and 2 chocolates. Both biscuits and chocolates were nice and of good standard. The total bill was about $176, including sparkling water, oysters, scallops and set lunch for 2.Overall, I see no reason to go to Absinthe. I tried signature dishes from the a-la-carte menu as well as the lunch menu, and I wasn't impressed by any of them. As I already mentioned, if you fancy this sort of food then go to 7atenine and get the variety, instead of having to choose between 2 starters and 2 mains. If you are ready to spend and you want to enjoy your food, then this is not the place for you.
I was impressed by the way the dining room was run, as the staff was well trained, professional and attentive, and Mr. Pau seemed to be doing a very good job at running the business. This is something I must acknowledge and I can admit that if you are looking for a French restaurant with a cozy ambiance where you want friendly but professional treatment, then Absinthe might be the place for you. On the other hand, if you are a foodie and you are looking for a cheap but good lunch menu or an expensive and stunningly well prepared a-la-carte selection, then there are plenty of other places where you can splash out your money and come out entirely satisfied of what you ingested and how your money was spent.
Address: 46 Bukit Pasoh Road, 089858
Telephone: 62229068
Website (in construction): http://www.absinthe.sg/
2 comments:
have u tried OSO??
Yes, but that was a long time ago and I haven't been back since. Perhaps I should try again and review it properly :)
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