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Singapore, September 3, 2010 Read also:
A food writer recently told me that one of the downsides when visiting Michelin star chefs “guest cook” at local restaurants or events is that diners, who have enormous expectations about the food, sometimes get disappointed.
But there was no disappointment at Yantra’s three-day The Essence of Splendour event which featured a five-course dinner on Aug 27 by two-Michelin-star chef Vineet Bhatia who has been credited with presenting Indian cuisine with a modern twist.
The meal started with a coconut, chilli and lime soup with a prawn fritter which reminded me of a very light Goan prawn curry.
The flavours were clean, fresh and while I could taste the coconut, chilli and lime individually on first sip, the ingredients merged beautifully as I swallowed the fragrant broth.
I dunked the fresh prawn fritter, skewered on a bamboo stick with a light, slightly spicy batter, into the soup; it was a delightful combination.
The next course was a herb-infused chicken tikka with upma, a semolina-based south Indian dish made with mustard seeds and curry leaves accompanied by a slow-cooked tomato with a spiced balsamic dressing. I liked the idea that he combined favourites from the north and south Indian culinary palette to create this dish.
Usually I don’t like upma because it gets dry and stuck in my throat. Chef Bhatia’s version has turned me into a convert. It has the texture of polenta or mashed potato, so smooth that it slid down my throat without any effort.
He later told me that he added extra water to the dish in the cooking process to make it smoother than how my mother makes it.
The chicken tikka was moist and juicy with herby goodness. Combined with the upma, the mix of textures was fantastic.
The third course was a speciality from chef Bhatia’s London restaurant Rasoi: The grilled chilli lobster, with a spiced lobster jus, broccoli khichdi, dried broccoli florets and spiced cocoa powder. The cocoa powder added depth to a delicious grilled lobster with a bisque sauce. My fellow diners and I kept guessing what spices were used in the cocoa powder.
The aroma of the powder was familiar yet we couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was until we later grilled chef Bhatia who revealed that he had used powdered curry leaves and a smidgen of chat masala. Inspired.
Another surprise was the masala mashed potatoes in the tandoori ginger-flavoured lamb cutlet with dal bukhara (black lentils cooked overnight) laced with morels and truffle oil.
The potatoes were first boiled with ginger, garlic, green chilli and masala to infuse the flavours subtly into the mash which was perfect with the medium rare cutlet and the dal.
Of course, I never pass up on dessert and this one – caramelised pineapple infused with saffron and fennel with a pineapple and saffron halwa and roasted coconut kulfi – was the perfect sweet ending to an incredible meal.
The kulfi tasted like a cold liquid version of a coconut candy.
Chef Bhatia had told me earlier that he is trying to create memories and experiences with his evolved Indian food. I can tell you that I am not going to forget this meal anytime soon.
Feast on kebabs at Yantra
Yantra
