Iggy's

I've put off writing about Iggy's for a few months now. Mostly because of how underwhelming a dinner it was. What a pity though...I'd been looking forward to being blown away at Iggy's, one of Singapore's most prolific and celebrated restaurants. Apparently, I'm not the only detractor. A couple of my friends, who we serendipitously bumped into that very same night, found Iggy's disappointing as well. 

Service was competent and professional, but frosty, which only served to exacerbate the stuffy formal ambiance. It was like dining at the Miss Manners School of Etiquette. Or with the Queen. As you can imagine, dinner was a restrictive and prissy affair. I really really didn't enjoy that.

The minimalist descriptions on the menu compounded the pretentiousness of the restaurant. I mean, what on earth is "stone and pate"?!?!! I get that dining at Iggy's is supposed to be a cerebral experience, BUT I use my brain well enough at work, thank you very much, so it would nice to not have to do a dissertation on my dinner. By way of background, I'm the type who likes life uncomplicated and appreciates directness, so Iggy's convoluted highfaluting style doesn't suit me at all.

In line with its stodgy, chi-chi vibe, the food was inventive but contrived, delicious but soulless. There are only 2 menus for dinner, the "cheaper" $235 for 8-courses or the more extravagant $275 11-courses. We opted for the more substantive 11-course dinner, to really get a sense of Iggy's offerings. It turned out a good idea to get the 11-course menu, as each course was amuse-bouche-sized, so 11 rounds of 'baby-sized food' was quite filling. 

The Stone and Pate comprised a couple of baby potatoes, skins-on and charred into a stone-like appearance, sided by a truffle mayonnaise dip. Served amongst a bunch of actual smoothened stones, it's quite the inspired plating. 

The Octopus Carpaccio showered with edible flowers and snow was delicate and evoked memories of a crisp winter's morning, just after the first snowfall.

This was soon countered by a comforting Mushroom Consomme, dotted with shimeiji caps, and floating above a smooth egg custard

Next up was a trio of snacks, meant to be eaten from left to right: a refreshingly clear Saba cucumber roll crowned with caviar and cream; a meaty Lily Bulb angel hair roll; and a crunchy Hokki fritter.

The Burnt Scallop, encrusted in an inky casing, revealed a plump succulent scallop, was balanced against a curried tomato sauce.

The Toro Sashimi, with beetroot, arugula, baby carrot, mascarpone powder, was a wonderful medley of the sweet, peppery, creamy and bitter.

The Anago with green pea, fava bean, and urui was uneven; the nutty undertones of the greens did little to compensate for the fishy eel.

The Spaghetti, with shirako, kujo-neghi, sansho, and yuzu suffered the same consequence, the fish overwhelmed its delicate counterparts, and copious lashings of yuzu zest and fresh leek failed to save the day.

The meats were extraordinary; the Wagyu was absolutely sublime, complemented by a capered jus laced with alba black truffles. This was accompanied by grilled fat stalks of white asparagus, new potatoes and shitake.

The Pork was glorious as well, with nary a whiff of that "porky smell", lush and fork-tender.

I really liked the Setoka Orange, with kintan, granite, osmantus, an excellent palate cleanser that tread the fine line between the sweet and sour.

The red and white chocolate, with red fruits, and hibiscus was pure edible art.Outstanding in form, less so in substance.

The finisher was a lovely Hinoki Chocolate Box, with macarons, chocolates of the white and truffle varieties, and gummies.

Iggy's freshly baked bread, the peanut and cheese featured here, were the highlight of the meal. These buns were so soft and fluffy and fragrant on their own, they rendered the luscious butter redundant.


Iggy's
The Hilton Level 3
581 Orchard Road
Tel: 6732 2234
Open for lunches Mondays to Fridays from 12noon to 1.30pm;
Dinners Mondays to Saturdays from 7pm to 9.30pm;
Closed on Sundays
Website: www.iggys.com.sg

Comments

Aiwei Allan said…
I wish you could hear me laugh...you're hilarious! I was trying to find the potato.
Bern said…
We had the hardest time finding the damn potatoes too...had to poke and prod each and every one of them. it was like striking the lottery the 2 times we found something that wasn't rock-hard.

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