Index
Days 0 and 1: Flying
Day 2: Sushi Kimura
Day 3: Jumbo Seafood
Day 4: Odette
Day 5: Hawker centres
Day 6: Return
Singapore
Pretty sure that Odette, currently the #14-ranked restaurant in the world (as of this writing) and a Michelin 3*, doesn't actually serve meals-- they serve experiences. Four-hour-long experiences if you go for the dinner course and the cheese service, to be precise.
Head chef Julien Royer and his team live up to their reputation, starting off with a an amuse bouche that included little tiny donuts and a shrimp taco that was irresistable, then a soup and a tiny pastry I think was topped with strips of black truffle. Marukyo uni was served next, and while sea urchin atop a pastry lacks the appeal of sea urchin atop rice and seaweed to me, it too was delicious. Mussel cloud topped with Dauricus caviar accompanied the uni, complete with massive tin of caviar for presentation at the table.
Details of the wine pairings were hard to remember, but most were unique enough to be worth the trouble, and all were excellent matches to their courses. The bread and butter also were artfully presented, and if they lacked the emphasis that some of their competitors give, that was only because the rest of the food was so well presented. Kanpachi from Nagasaki, Japan (amberjack) that was dusted in a cloud upon service was a photo-perfect next course, and a great lead-in to the alba white truffle: langostine with leek fondue and vin jaune, with, of course, plenty of white truffle. The mildness of white truffle paired extremely well with the langostine, as one might expect from a restaurant of this caliber.
Scottish scallop was next, with more black truffle, this time as a sauce ("comme un mille-feuille"). Four seafood courses in a row might have been overkill, but in this case it didn't feel like it-- although the next course was perhaps the most conventional, a wild Atlantic turbot with watercress, Morrisseau mussel, and pink garlic veloute.
Pithiviers "grande cuisine" was next, a triple meat-filled pastry that I am still a bit uncertain how to appraise. It was excellent and a welcome break from seafood, not to mention something I clearly do not normally eat. The latter is perhaps why it is difficult to place? The pastry crust was excellent and everything was done right, but it was far enough out of my usual experience...??!?! The wine for this course, a La Petite Siberie 2019, was also perhaps the most conventional wine of the pairing.
Jennifer was then very excited for the cheese cart, with a vast spread of hard and soft cheeses, and the staff were able to prepare a very suitable spread for someone who had gone too long without a suitable spread of fine cheese. A raspberry glaze (?) atop an ice cream (?) was then next, and sufficiently good that it could have held up dessert all on its own. Instead, head chef Julien Royer came out to explain the blanc (sake, vanilla, Hokkaido milk) he makes for dessert, and then, of course, a quartet of finishing items. Marshmallows, fruit, some vanilla little morsels, and I think it was a cocoa bite?
The whole experience is worthwhile, the interior artfully spaced and well-lit, and even a large private room we didn't really see (and is probably terrifyingly expensive to throw a party in). That leads to the final wrinkle, which is the price. Odette clearly charges according to their status in the world of restaurants, and as awesome as they are, it is... shall we say... pricey enough to be an occasional experience, at best.
Spent the rest of the afternoon hiding from a pounding tropical rainstorm, then after the rain abated, went over to the Christmas Wonderland at Gardens by the Bay. The music, the lights, and even the fake snow (soap bubbles) make for a fun experience in a place that never sees snow, although even at night, Singapore is hot and humid. The display inside the Flower Dome reminded me of the Bellagio, only bigger and both less- and more-ridiculous, if that makes any sense. Supertree Grove, of course, is nothing less than both ridiculous and yet completely fitting for Singapore, especially the short walk over to the Marina Bay Sands, where near the edge of Gardens by the Bay you can get one last great view with the hotel in the background.
The rooftop bar at Marina Bay Sands was closed due to the rain, so plan B became the Raffles Hotel, home of the world-famous Singapore Sling. Was nice to sit on a covered patio out of the rain and relax.