Restaurant Andre enters World's 50 Best Restaurant list this year. This restaurant is run by Chef Andre Chiang, a French-trained Taiwanese chef. His invention of OCTAPHILOSOPHY cuisine has become a phenomenon. It is created based on eight primary characteristics : Pure, Salt, Artisan, South, Texture, Unique, Memory, Terroir.
Before serving the main courses, we were surprised with four amazing amuse bouche.
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Hamachi Sashimi wrapped in Crispy Bread.
Sashimi was so fresh and it was combined ideally with bread which is crunchy. Once I ate it, I could not really get enough of it.
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Chicken Masala Skin.
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Chicken Masala Skin was in essence deep fried, paper-thin, spiced chicken skin. The skin was delightfully thin and crisp, to the extent that you could not actually believe you were eating a chicken skin.
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Vanilla Popcorn.
Fresh, tasty, and a perfect crunch from the popcorn. The vanilla flavor perfectly blend with the popcorn itself.
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| Porcini Mushroom Crackers, Patatas Bravas, Chocolate & Garlic Soil. |
The potatoes were served in a recreation of a potted plant. Everything, including the chocolate soil, was edible. It was delightful.
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| Pure. |
After those amazing snacks, we were finally served with the first part of Octaphilosophy, which is Pure - Seafood. The main point of this dish is, of course, to emphasize the purity of seafood themselves. It was prepared without any seasonings at all. It allowed for the natural flavor of each element of the dish to shine through.
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| Salt. |
Gillardeau Oyster Tartare, Apple Foam. The apple foam is a semi-solid disc sheltering the tartare, and is stuffed with Granny Smith apple matchsticks, olive oil and oscietra caviar. Moreover, seaweed and an emulsion of oyster juices are surrounding the dish. Just like Pure, no seasoning is used for this dish. It allows the salty flavor of its components to create the sensation of salt.
Artisan.
A piece of "Heritage Artisan Kyoto" aubergine is coated with smoked eggplant crème anglaise and topped with free farmed caviar. For your information, the plates that are used for Artisan were hand-sculpted by Chef Andre himself. Thus, no two plates are exactly alike.
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| South. |
South is a Chef Chiang's personal tribute to the South of France. This dish comes in two parts. On the left side, tomato and persimmon salad topped with raw flounder slices and Hijiki seaweed. One the right side, a chilled, delicate sea urchin risotto with sea bass and mackerel. I do love the harmony of flavors that were presented on this whole dish.
Texture.
Lobster, Airy Potato Gnocchi and Oscietra Caviar with emulsion. The lobster was handled perfectly and the truffle flavor will leave an unforgettable memory in your mouth.
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| Unique. |
Baby Kisu Fish stuffed with chopped kisu, Artichoke Barigoule. To be honest, this is the dish that i preferred least. The fish itself was cooked perfectly with the brilliant flavor and the barigoule had a nice richness, yet I expected something more from it.
Memory.
Memory is the only menu of Octaphilosophy that remains constant. It was considered as Chef Andre's signature dish, a foie gras gelee in a warm black truffle emulsion. Chef Andre's wife, who served us for that night, suggested to have a full spoon of both foie gras gelee and black truffle emulsion. I followed her recommendation and once I took a spoon of it, my mind was blown away. It was one of the best dishes ever! Everything just melted inside my mouth and the taste was simply divine.
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| Terroir. |
Terroir is the last of the total 8-courses of Octaphilosophy. Chef Andre used a young rabbit for this dish. At the first glance, I was hesitated because of the tiny piece of loin and rack. Nevertheless, it was all forgotten when I took the first bite. The loin was tender and perfectly combined with a butternut squash puree, dehydrated black cauliflower, braised Dijon mustard seeds and potato gnocchi. The plating of this dish was stand-out.
We were quite full after those snacks and main courses. However, it was not over yet. We still had some desserts before ending our dinner.
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| Nitro Frozen Berries. |
Nitro Frozen is one of famous culinary techniques. This dessert was so refreshing after those heavy meals. Colors and visual effects were striking, it must be said.
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| Snickers. |
Snickers comes out with an annual version. For this year, Chef Andre prepared a scoop of snickers ice cream with a combination of peanut and chocolate crumble, nougat crème.
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| Petits Four. |
Our dinner was ended with a good finish. Pâtes de Fruits, Popcorn, Lemon Madeleine, Strawberry and Vanilla Marshmallow, and Frozen Strawberry on Stick.
It was one of the best dining experiences for me. I should have expected the unexpected. Chef Andre surprisingly stopped by from one table to another only to greet his customers. He was such a humble and friendly person and now I do regret for not taking a picture with him. I would love to have another visit for lunch. Cheers! 🎀
Restaurant Andre
41 Bukit Pasoh Road
Singapore (near Outram Park MRT)
Tel: +65 6534 8880
Email : reserve@restaurantandre.com
