Iggy's Festive Menu 2010

Classy, intimate & outstanding. It was our first visit to Iggy's after it's relocation and this all-new, beautifully transformed hidden gem coupled with impeccable service welcomed our festive cheers in a perfect note.


Chic contemporary decorations adding edgy, modern vibe.


Our festive gastronomical journey begins...


Me likey flowers :D


It was very interesting overlooking the kitchen, watching the chefs at work. And yes, I did manage to "bribe" the cute-looking dessert chef to share his new creation banana chocolate (Not in the menu) that's being lined up infront of us.


We had two hors d'œuvre (appetizers) that teased our palate. First up was fresh oyster with crushed ice, sea salt (Gotten too excited and didn't quite pay attention to the server in the first dish) and foie gras creme brulee with pear.


Explosion of the taste of the sea with chilling combination of crushed ice and hint of sea salt tickled our appetite and the richness of foie gras with a thin layer of brulee crunch is a real awesome kick start!


Next up, we had Monk fish liver, lined with fish stock jelly consommé and topped with caviar and chives sour cream. I'm never a fan of fish liver but this dish surprised me with a great combination of richness, saltiness from the consommé, slightly crunchy caviar for texture and sour cream with chives for balance.


Kohada


Kohada/コハダ、is not the Japanese name of gizzard shad, but a generic name for the small fish as sashimi or sushi.


Here we have kohada lightly marinated in citrus, fresh garden tomatoes, clementine, mango, toasted quinoa and beets. A very playful dish with rich cheerful colors and a very satisfying layers of different textures that blends freshness from the sashimi, sweetness from the mango (honey sweet!) together with the rest of the ingredients.

Hokkaido Scallop

Iggy's is so cheeky! Ceviche of Hokkaido scallop lightly marinated in hints of lime and salt, beautifully transformed bacon foam, light fluffy celery snow and granny smith apples.

Needle Fish

Our first hot dish of the night is steamed needle fish over pink garlic puree, fresh dill and shallot vinaigrette. The cooking time was captured just right to retain the texture of the fish and served hot at the table. Aromatic garlic (yes, it's slightly pink) partnered with tender texture of the needle fish and slight crunch from fresh dill pleasured our palate.

Raviolo

Home-made fresh raviolo filled with duck confit, yam, a soft cooked egg and topped with duck bacon.

Presented like a piece of art, we delicately cut the raviolo with our spoon and the oozing egg tickled a warm smile to our face. *Ooohhh.... we went* The slightly firm pasta texture with rich soft fillings of duck confit and yam is well balanced. Companied by small glass of hot savory duck consommé and a delicious slice of *I-wanna-have-more!* duck bacon.

Iberico Pork

Oven-roasted loin of Iberico pork, sautéed winter vegetables, chestnuts and garlic scape oil.

Iberico pork, the new pig on the block. It has a delicate, nutty, with melt-in-your-mouth marbling and a nice hint of curing, goes very well with chestnuts and garlic oil.

Vacherin Mont D'or

The almost runny consistency and a rich, creamy flavor of the Vacherin Mont d'Or, beautiful golden rich, creamy Yukon potatoes with fresh mache and shaved Alba white truffle. Need me to say more?

Iggy's Pop

The chocolate ball, lined with strawberry gives you a outstanding surprise when it POPS vin cotto, a cooked down, wine-base syrup when you sink your teeth into it. Firstly, take 2-3 bites to chomp down the mandarin- orange, strawberry and gorgonzola sandwich. Italian blue cheese with a sweet twist, very very refreshing indeed.

Winter

Can you feel Christmas nearing? Yes we do! Chestnut mousse, coconut snow, coffee pudding and lemon sorbet is both pleasing to the eye and rounding up the meal with a satisfying note.

Chocolate bento! I felt like stealing the entire bento box home!



I had one each from the selection.


A heart warming pot of earl grey to blend with the wide variety of textures & taste from the last sweet finale.


Well done Iggy's! Happy Holidays!

Sago Pudding (Gula Melaka)

Ingredients

2 cups water
1-1/2 ounces pearl sago, rinsed and drained
1-1/2 ounces palm sugar
1 tablespoon and 1-3/4 teaspoons water
1/3 cup and 1 tablespoon canned coconut milk

Directions

1. Bring 10 cups of water to a boil in a large pot. Gradually stir in the sago so that it does not clump. Return to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cook until the sago turns translucent, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Pour the sago into jelly molds, and refrigerate overnight.
2. In a small saucepan, stir together the palm sugar and water. Bring to a boil, and cook until the sugar has dissolved. Strain through a fine sieve to remove grit.
3. Unmold the puddings, and serve with the coconut milk and palm sugar syrup (gula melaka) separately for each person to pour over their serving.

Caramel Custard Pudding

Ingredients

Caramel:
40g sugar
10ml hot water

Custard:
200ml fresh milk
10g sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence
1 whole egg
2 egg yolks
30g sugar

Directions

1. Caramel: Melt sugar in a sauce pan, stir until golden brown. Once it starts bubbling, stir in hot water then remove from heat.
2. Lightly grease the moulds, then fill each mould with about 1 teaspoon of caramel. Swirl the mould to coat bottom of mould when the caramel is still hot. Set aside for later use.
3. Custard: Bring together milk and sugar, bring to boil on low heat then stir in vanilla essence. Turn the heat off and set aside for later use.
4. In a mixing bowl, lightly whisk eggs with sugar. Then pour in milk in stream, whisk rapidly until well blended.
5. Sift the mixture then fill each mould with mixture, and steam on low heat for 15-20 minutes. If using oven, place moulds in a tray then fill tray with water. Cover tray with aluminium foil. Bake at preheated oven, 140ºC for 25-30 minutes.
6. Turn the heat off, let puddings stay in the steamer or oven for further 10 minutes.
7. Chill before serving.
   

Pâtisserie Glacé

Found a very interesting cake shop and tried the strawberry soufflé. Very delicate flavor with a well balance between cheese cake and a thin sponge cake base. Fresh strawberries and cream makes the cake very enjoyable. I have no idea why it's call soufflé as it has a denser texture to be called one. $5.30 / piece. Better to get it after 6pm Mon-Fri!

Strawberry Panna Cotta

I love this dessert and the great thing about Panna Cotta is that it demands to be made in advance. You can make them up to two days ahead and keep them well-covered and chilled. It's super easy to make!!!

Ingredients

4 cups (1l) heavy cream (or half-and-half)
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 packets powdered gelatin (about 4 1/2 teaspoons)
6 tablespoons (90ml) cold water
5 strawberries

Directions
1. Heat the heavy cream and sugar in a saucepan or microwave. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

(If using a vanilla bean, scrape the seeds from the bean into the cream and add the bean pod. Cover, and let infuse for 30 minutes. Remove the bean then rewarm the mixture before continuing.)

2. Lightly oil eight custard cups with a neutral-tasting oil.

3. Sprinkle the gelatin over the cold water in a medium-sized bowl and let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

4. Pour the very warm Panna Cotta mixture over the gelatin and stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved.

5. Divide the Panna Cotta mixture into the prepared cups, then chill them until firm, which will take at least two hours but I let them stand at least four hours. (Judy told me American refrigerators are colder than European ones. )

If you're pressed for time, pour the Panna Cotta mixture into wine goblets so you can serve them in the glasses, without unmolding.

6. Run a sharp knife around the edge of each Panna Cotta and unmold each onto a serving plate, and garnish as desired.

7. Place diced strawberries on top of the Panna Cotta.

To make Panna Cotta with sheet gelatin: Soften 25g (approximately six sheets) in a liter of cold water for 5 to 10 minutes. Wring the sheets out and stir them into the warm Panna Cotta mixture in step # 4, until dissolved.

Homemade Chocolate Mousse

In this dessert, I've adopted Nigella Lawson instant chocolate mousse recipe and it work wonders!

Normally, you need to make chocolate mousse a good few hours, or better still a day, before you want to eat it, so that the egg yolk sets and the whisked whites permeate everything with air bubbles. Forget that: here there are no yolks, no whites, no whisking, no waiting. Lack of raw egg, incidentally, also means that you might be happier giving this mousse to small children, though I certainly feel they shouldn’t be the only beneficiaries.

Ingredients

150g mini marshmallows
50g soft butter
250g good dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa solids), chopped into small pieces
60ml hot water from a recently boiled kettle
1 x 284ml tub double cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions

1 Put the marshmallows, butter, chocolate and water in a heavy-based saucepan.
2 Put the saucepan on the hob, over heat, though keep it fairly gentle, to melt the contents, stirring every now and again. Remove from the heat.
3 Meanwhile, whip the cream with the vanilla extract until thick, and then fold into the cooling chocolate mixture until you have a smooth, cohesive mixture.
4 Pour or scrape into four glasses or ramekins, about 175ml each in capacity, or six smaller (125ml) ones, and chill until you want to eat. The sooner, the better!