The opening of world renowned Lady Iron Chef - Cat Cora's, restaurant in Singapore definitely made a buzz and waves of reviews around the island. Being owned by "the" first and only Lady Iron Chef, it's already a big brand not to resist. So when I heard about it, it was certainly one of my must visit dining places for this year. The perfect timing came yesterday to celebrate my birthday with the family. I've made the reservation more than a month in advance to ensure that we got the front row seat near the aquarium. Fortunately I did, because the kids really enjoyed watching the marine animals while waiting and devouring their food. Also, I wanted a not so formal dining experience hence, I opted for a lunch visit instead of dinner. (Read: the restaurant is more strict in their dress code during dinner).
A 3-Course Set Lunch Menu
This is what the restaurant promises to provide you and as far as the underwater dining feel is concerned, it did deliver.
I love how the hues inside the restaurant adhered to the Ocean theme. That's why, more shades of blue can be seen.
Even the cutlery stand and the towel resemble the colour of the ocean.
Kids enjoying the view
For the ambiance alone, this restaurant definitely has something worth seeing. For those who love the sea and its creatures (like us), it could be more than enjoyable. The restaurant is not big which is just nice so it wouldn't have that frenzy feel even when it becomes full with patrons. You can still have some privacy while dining.
Beyond the ambiance, for any restaurant, we always rate the dining experience based on the foods being offered, aren't we? First, I highly commend Ocean Restaurant, for serving only sustainably sourced seafood. With that concept, it makes dining here more worth while. Although there were a lot of negative reviews written about the foods in the restaurant, I will say otherwise. Generally, it's not that bad at all. I've been to worse of the most pretentious dining establishments and Cat Cora's Ocean Restaurant is still nowhere near that. I must admit that not all food choices are worth raving about but it's neither too bad that you'll dread coming back to the place.
42 C Sous Vide Salmon - Textures of Lemon and Dukkah Spice, this appetizer definitely sets a good start for your meal. Everything on the plate blends perfectly well in terms of texture and taste. That explains why it's one of the signature dishes.
Mesclun Salad - Roasted Beetroot, Goat Cheese, Walnut & Lemon Vinaigrette, one of the choices in the starters too. The husband ordered it so I was not able to taste it but according to him it's acceptable.
Braised Boneless Wagyu Short Rib - Celeriac Puree, Sautéed Mushroom & Caramelized Oatmeal, this was the perfect choice for the main course. I read a lot of good reviews about this dish so I made sure I ordered it. The meat is so tender and soft, it's done very well. This could have been perfectly executed if not for the bitter after taste of the caramelized oatmeal and slightly salty, burnt note from the sauce. For this one, I'd like to make a shout out to the restaurant for the improvement of the crusting on top. This is a very good dish meat but the other accompaniments are not doing good justice to it. I hope they make a review of the dish and make adjustments on the other ingredients that go with it.
Chocolate Passion - Banana Stew, 68% Cocoa Ice Cream & Passion Fruit Espuma, I opted for this dessert because it looked like among the choices, it has more taste dimensions. It's sweet, sour and creamy. Good enough in itself but it's short of wow factor to provide a sweet ending to a memorable meal. I guess it's the dessert menu that really needs big improvement as this is where I had a hard time choosing an option (not much choices perhaps?).
On the whole, Ocean Restaurant is about having a unique dining experience. It doesn't translate into food alone but it's on the entirety of the restaurant including its advocacy, the ambiance and the cordial service of its staff. Your overall take on it will vary depending on the choice of food and how high you want to raise the bar for a celebrity chef like Iron Chef Cat Cora. As for me, I visited without any expectations at all but still, I went home filled with a wonderful experience.
Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora
S.E.A. Aquarium
Resorts World Sentosa
Tel No. (65) 65776688
| Lunch: 11.30am – 2.30pm (last order at 2.15pm) Snack: 2:30pm - 5:30pm (last order at 5:15pm) Dinner: 5:30pm - 10:30pm (last order at 10:00pm) | |
