the night’s gourmet safari features two renowned chefs. dorin schuster, executive chef from the legian, bali who held the helms at iggy’s and made it world famous. chef kelvin low, executive chef from wildlife reserves, singapore who has touched many world leaders with his exceptional culinary skill.

after writing so far, i cant help but feel all privileged tt i got to sample their creations in one fabulous night under the stars, in the light wind and among the wilds! and when i say wildlife gourmet safari, i dont mean having exotic wildlife animals on my plate! haha

the (day) zoo closes at 6pm and its opened up for us thru (almost) the night for the gourmet safari event. e hospitable folks arrange for e guests to interact (and pics taking) w some cute animals.

one of them was the uber adorable hellabella. a cute little horse-like.. horse? haha.. tt’s barely taller than 3/4 of my leg length. a cross species i heard. so mild and affectionate, almost like a pet tt u can keep at home! i wanna bring him home!!!

hello my dearest sexy friend! hehe. i think its a malayan python or something. well, the zoo keepers refused to allow me to wrap him all round my shoulders for a cosy piccie. i’m really disappointed! well!

we were put on a guest tram ride to the newly opened ah meng (star orang utan and dearly missed wildlife ambassador of e singapore zoo) restaurant and were greeted happily by two female malaysian elephants. we got to feed them fruits like pineapple, melons, apples etc. they were so fast! just cldnt get them to pose for my measy hp-cam. haha

a beautifully set up dining table for us, safari style no less. i see tt the menu’s very enticing already. and we’re gonna have two starters here, one from each featured chef. cant wait!

freshly baked multigrain bread w soft butter. i’m not sure if i was hungry, but the bread sure tasted so good that i asked for a second one! :p

scallop carpaccio w sun dried tomatoes, cauliflower cous-cous and lemon vinaigrette by chef dorin. the concept of using cauliflower as a cous-cous was quite refreshing. but the real star was the fresh, cured scallop carpoccio. a fine balance of the sweet ocean with a mild tangy note from the tomatoes.

the air flown hokkaido scallops were juicy and the cous-cous was plesantly unique in texture. i thought it could do better with a bit of cracked pepper and a dash of rosemary and sea salt.

goes perfectly well with a 2006 saltram unwooded chardonnay. *sip sip* ahhhh~

pan seared yellow fin tuna with fennel, herbs and aged balsamic dressing by chef kelvin low. the tuna was very nicely seared on the outside while retaining the juicy, tender textur in the inside.

quite familiar to something i had before. this dish is quite a satisfying mix of fresh herbs, vegetables and flavourful tuna. the balsamic dressing was a combination of 3 diff balsamic varieties. sweet!

the chefs went on stay with host daryl david to present their dishes and to share w us the inspiration behind each dish. sound like wat i do each time i cook for my frens and before they tuck into each dish. lol!

after starters, we were ushered up an exquisitely decorated tram to our next dining location, in the wilds, no less. it was a visitor tram with a difference in configuration. instead of all seats (benches) aligned facing the moving direction, all the seats were fashioned in a cafe style setting, all facing each other and a dining table in between. all wrapped in safari prints and framed with coiffed wild plants and flowers.

the best shot i cld capture of the decorated tram with my humble mobile phone

refreshing kalamansi sorbet on board as we head to the next dining location

along the way, we were treated to an amazing tour of the night safari. there were interesting presentations of the liaons, tigers, hyenas, and very very amusingly, the elephants! i remember the male elephant who lives apart from the females (because its not mating season) responds to us and struck so many cute and majestic poses enough to melt countless hearts! of course there were the tapirs, deers and peacocks running freely all around the compound, just strolling leisurely right next to us as the tram proceeds!

an outdoor cooking area just next to where the zebras and giraffes were. notice tt i didnt take pics of e animals? no flash photog allowed! :p

there were two team of chefs at work. one headed by chef dorin and the other by chef kelvin low. i cant wait to sample their yummie creations!

the humble onion bread was surprisingly.. fabulous!! baked by chef kelvin low i suppose?

perfectly paired up with mildly salted butter arranged in a pretty flower

presenting from chef dorin – steamed zucchini flower stuffed with queensland spanner crab! its a very light cream soup based steamed flower (vege) bursting with the natural sweetness of the spanner crab. very flavourful, very fresh!

crab juices oozing out of the zucchini flower

conversation with chef dorin. we suggested that he could add a mild tinge of pepper in the crab mixture itself

presenting from chef kelvin low – oven baked wagyu tenderloin pea puree, baby carrot, turnip, truffle merlot jus! and he’s got this layered baked potato in cream (the yellow ‘box’) in the background.. is just as fantastic as the tenderly baked and marbled wagyu beef!!

bite and sip a little sip of heaven with the 2007 saltram makers table shiraz

little chat with chef kelvin low. he’s such a sharer for how he made the layered potato and that crispy decorative strip which turned out to be lotus root!

we were transported to our final dining location, the ulu ulu dining hall where fire twirlers from indonesia amazed us with their welcoming acts. cant take pics of them cos they were too fast! haha

king of the jungle plush toy in a souvenir mug awaits us at our respective seats as we waited for desserts to be dished

charcoal grilled seito tomatoes (very sweet) with fresh goat cheese, wild rucola and basil oil from chef dorin. i particularly like the warm sensation as i savored the cheese together with the tomatoes. something like i used to make for myself, but with a sweeter note from the seito species.

chempedak creme brulee with fresh fruits from chef kelvin low. on the sides, there were passionfruit jello and a sweet little spiral cookie. very nice! chef kelvin said its very tedious on making the spiral, which i think so too! the chempedak creme brulee was very pleasing, not too pungent a note for some who have not had chempedak before. it was rich enough, yet smooth on the palate.

a little signed momento from both chefs and lots of good chat with the F&B manager, Agnes and of course the chefs to round the beautiful evening up

i could feel that so much sincerity and effort has been put together for this gourmet event to be such a success! indeed, it was endearing to see all the staff and management work together and feel all the positive, happy vibes coming from everyone!

should the spore zoological gardens were to host another world gourmet summit event next year, i would suggest that everyone come and not just to experience how wonderful the food is, but also the one of a kind vip experience going around the day zoo, night safari and for next year, river safari!

yummie rating:

5 out of 5 charleswanmushi