It's my in-laws' 37th wedding anniversary today, and my F-I-L asked for a restaurant suggestion to bring the whole family for dinner. I cracked my head for the one place I knew would never diasppoint. Infuzi, at Biopolis, run by my good friends Purdey and Chef Freddie, used to be a part of the most renown French food chain in Singapore, so the food is undoubtedly top-notch.
Before dinner, Chubbs wanted Purdey to carry him so he could look through the "hole in the wall". He got a great view of the goings on in the kitchen and Head Chef, Freddie (extreme left), really liked playing with Chubbs.
My favourite part of the restaurant. Purdey hand-made these lamps with recycled old wine bottles, and custom-made frames.
The happy couple pouring over the menu.
The amuse-bouche for the night was seared tuna in anchovy sauce with eggplant and zucchini. It was one delicious mouthful that seriously whetted our appetites. For starters, we all ordered the specials of the day. Fuzzy and I shared the white asparagus with poached egg and truffle sauce, and the morels (French honey-comb shaped mushrooms) with Parma ham. Both were divine. Its amazing how "meaty" the white asparagus and morels were; bold, earthy and full-bodied flavours. I savoured every last bite. My F-I-L ordered the hand-picked mud-crab salad with a yuzu (Japanese citrus fruit) dressing, which he said was lovely. We were all so keen to pig-out that the task of taking pictures went out the window :/
Purdey very graciously sent us a bottle of Chambolle Musigny 2006 to further celebrate the occasion. The main grape is Pinot Noir (my favourite red) and it went wonderfully with all the seafood dishes that we ordered. She even provided complementary portabello mushroom salads for the couple of us who didn't order starters.
Shan's bouillabaisse main; French fish stew of lobster, fish, prawns, scallops, and crab. Served with croutons, mustard and grated cheese.
Fuzzy's black truffle risotto with mushrooms, asparagus and fried egg. The rice was al dente, the broth was light but flavoursome, and the egg gave the trademark richness and creaminess to the dish. I loved it.
In the running to be my death-row dish; Maine lobster capellini with konbu and lobster oil. A must-order for anyone eating at Infuzi for the first time. The lobster was extremely fresh and succulent. And they were so generous with the portions! I can't not smile while chomping of huge mouthfuls of lobster.
The other mains were really outstanding too. Gong Gong's lemon sole in caper butter was very delicate, sweet, moist and most importantly, not overcooked. I might actually consider forgoing my default order of lobster pasta next time, and have this instead. Fuzzy's aunts ordered a Kurobuta pork rack and the pan-seared Challans duck breast. Challans ducks are initially bred free-range, but as they get older and ready for the table, they are penned-up and intensely fattened. The story intrigues me, and despite not being a fan of duck at all, I had a few slices, and found myself really enjoying it. There was no gaminess, and the flesh was melt-in-the-mouth tender.
My M-I-L's dessert was the baked chocolate with vanilla ice-cream. The intense mound of unadulterated, warm, 70% cocoa chocolate is hard to beat. But there's one thing that makes Fuzzy and I go "oooh" and "ahhh" more so than a dense mass of chocolate. It is their souffle. The first time I brought Fuzzy here, he had this for dessert, and he has never looked at souffle in the same way since. I can't think of any other restaurant, other than Purdey and Freddie's culinary Alma mater that can top the souffle here. If you can believe it, it is mandatory for this dessert to go from oven to guest table in 10seconds or less.
Raspberry flavoured, served with vanilla ice-cream and vodka cream. To die for.
There are too many chi-chi French restaurants out there that churn out less than mediocre food with flavoured foams, decorative wafers/ tuilles and squiggles of sauces around the plate for the sake of pure embellishment. The fact that Infuzi doesn't go down that road is one of the reasons why I adore them so. For your next romantic night out, if unpretentious and perfectly executed, truly gourmet food at un-exorbitant prices, served by eloquent and friendly wait-staff in an elegant, chic room, framed by lush greenery, away from the hustle and bustle of the city is your cup of tea, then please do yourself a favour, and head to this little place called Infuzi.
It's easier for me to get Chubbs to take a good photo than the hubby. Go figure.
