Although, eheh, officially it was called "salmon confit" on the menu. It sounds like a main course, but this was actually another appetiser on the menu of Saveur Art, ION Orchard @ Singapore. Perhaps you could say it was more of an hors d'oeuvres, since it's fit to be a mini meal in and of itself. And well, it's also a French term, so it would be in keeping with Saveur Art's French theme.
Anyway, I wanted to feature this dish because... well, just take a look at the exotic flora on it! Yeap, colourful but edible flowers. And interesting leaves. The blue flower is borage flower, and the small yellow ones on top are fennel flowers. The kinda octagonal lotus-looking leaf to the left and slightly to the bottom is nasturtium leaf. The round white discs lined with magenta are thinly sliced discs of small red horseradish. The little bits of crumbly white stuff under the salmon are chopped cauliflower. The only thing I didn't get was that sprout-looking pair of leaves in the middle foreground.
Well, unfortunately, I didn't get to eat the most exotic leaves, so I can't comment on the taste.
The Gustatory Experience
The salmon was done perfectly - almost medium rare, somewhere in the sweet spot between raw and cooked. True to its name of "confit" indeed, which refers to meats that are slow-cooked. This is totally different from seared salmon, as the effect went all the way through the piece of salmon rather than just being cooked on the periphery and raw in the middle.
As a result, it was mostly opaque but still translucent, and was really soft and moist, yet having the creaminess of cooked salmon. It's hands down the best-done salmon I have ever eaten.
Art Critique
I would like to highlight the amazing crockery and overall artistic effect that Saveur Art treats feature. There's no real theme in general for the menu I think, but each piece of crockery complements the food very well.
For instance, this particular dish is kind of reminiscent of a Japanese zen garden, with features of ikebana in the floral arrangement, a koi pond effect of the orange salmon and ikura (salmon roe), and the water-smoothed surface of the stone slab on which the dish was presented. Not to mention that horseradish, salmon and ikura are foods that are very congruent with Japanese cuisine.
I especially loved the stone slab plate. Although it looks so natural and stone like, it was cut really thinly, like a 2-4mm in thickness, so it also came across as really sharp and intentional.
An amazing feast for the eyes as much as for the stomach, if I've ever seen one.
Ooku Main Theme
Anyway, I wanted to feature this dish because... well, just take a look at the exotic flora on it! Yeap, colourful but edible flowers. And interesting leaves. The blue flower is borage flower, and the small yellow ones on top are fennel flowers. The kinda octagonal lotus-looking leaf to the left and slightly to the bottom is nasturtium leaf. The round white discs lined with magenta are thinly sliced discs of small red horseradish. The little bits of crumbly white stuff under the salmon are chopped cauliflower. The only thing I didn't get was that sprout-looking pair of leaves in the middle foreground.
The Gustatory Experience
The salmon was done perfectly - almost medium rare, somewhere in the sweet spot between raw and cooked. True to its name of "confit" indeed, which refers to meats that are slow-cooked. This is totally different from seared salmon, as the effect went all the way through the piece of salmon rather than just being cooked on the periphery and raw in the middle.
As a result, it was mostly opaque but still translucent, and was really soft and moist, yet having the creaminess of cooked salmon. It's hands down the best-done salmon I have ever eaten.
Art Critique
I would like to highlight the amazing crockery and overall artistic effect that Saveur Art treats feature. There's no real theme in general for the menu I think, but each piece of crockery complements the food very well.
For instance, this particular dish is kind of reminiscent of a Japanese zen garden, with features of ikebana in the floral arrangement, a koi pond effect of the orange salmon and ikura (salmon roe), and the water-smoothed surface of the stone slab on which the dish was presented. Not to mention that horseradish, salmon and ikura are foods that are very congruent with Japanese cuisine.
I especially loved the stone slab plate. Although it looks so natural and stone like, it was cut really thinly, like a 2-4mm in thickness, so it also came across as really sharp and intentional.
An amazing feast for the eyes as much as for the stomach, if I've ever seen one.
~~~
And now a song for the ikebana and koi in the zen garden...
Ooku Main Theme
from the original soundtrack of the movie Ooku: The Lady Shogun & Her Men
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