Sept 4, 2012 (noon – evening)

As we head far upstairs for lunch at Sky on 57, my heart filled with anticipation of what I will encounter there. Will it succeed in bringing back my appetite? I bet it will! Not to mention also the kitchen tours at Waku Ghin and Guy Savoy, then a fancy dinner at db Bistro Moderne tonight! It’s gonna be a-w-e-s-o-m-e!

I let my childish side plays the best of me while posting this kind of entries. It’s not my usual post and while remembering my last interview with Fimela, I thinks it’s just fair that once in a while I’ll just let go my ‘Dear Diary’ personality. Tone it down a bit and make it more playful than usual!

Traveling up 57 floors felt so swift once you’re using MBS elevators but the downside is that when you’re having flu symptoms like I had that time, it’s just annoying. The pressure made you ‘deaf’ but you can’t just swallow your saliva one time to cure it. All it took was an effort to do it and by luck, you’ll get your hearing back. Although in the end, we all frequently used the elevators and that’s making all the efforts futile.

Sky on 57 is not Skye on 56

We finally arrived at Sky on 57 and it was just pristine white and fancy. With the 360 degrees view of Singapore and the sea, you’ll just have to decide where you want to sit for today and choose a different angle for your next visit. For example you can rest easy at the porch during colder days or simply have it romantic inside, both with a view to kill – the Singaporean skyscrapers!

Well, that’s not the case for us since we’re already set to sit somewhere. But the coolest thing was that Chef Justin Quek welcomed us personally and happily explaining some of his achievements while also introducing his selected products used exclusively for the restaurant.

The lunch was exquisite, though did not really involve expensive ingredients that much. We started with a demitasse of mushroom cappuccino which was Chef JQ’s signature dish. The second appetizer was even more enticing, the slow-cooked organic egg with foie gras emulsion. Then I had to choose between lamb and fried rice which of course, I voted for Asia. To end our lunch, Chef JQ prepared us a unique jackfruit tart.

Well, it was a fine lunch and helped my appetite a lot. I’d thank him personally but he went missing. It was a shame that I didn’t have the chance to take any photographs with him alongside. Well, after all celebrity chefs are the latest idol in entertainment industry.

Kitchen tours at Waku Ghin and Guy Savoy

After the much needed an-hour break back at my room, we then assembled again for the kitchen tours and furthermore to know more about Waku Ghin and Guy Savoy. As you might already knew, Waku Ghin is side-by-side with Guy Savoy also overlooking the casino. Ms Matsumoto welcomed us again at Waku Ghin and brought us on a tour to the exquisitely designed dining rooms. She also said that Chef Tetsuya Wakuda often came here even for a few hours inspection before heading next to Sydney, where his other flagship restaurant resides.

Later Ms Matsumoto introduced us to Waku Ghin’s private chefs and the one responsible to demonstrate a preview dish was Chef Kazu. Though he’s pretty much silent during his cooking demo but I found out that he’s a very resourceful persona. During a Q&A session, we asked a bit about his background and he explained it in very fluent English, unlike most Japanese who still keep their accent but Chef Kazu speaks clear English. His samples of lobsters were also delectable, though I would really like to see them demonstrating us on how to grate a wasabi, as presented in front of us alongside other fresh ingredients from the sea.

From here we continued for Guy Savoy where we Chef Charles Benoit welcomed us warmly but quite the contrary with Chef Kazu, he’s apparently quite nervous with his English. Guy Savoy is pretty much similar with Waku Ghin. We encountered the dark side of them first, a luxurious lounge, and then came the main dining room.

Here, Chef Charles demonstrated us on how to make a summer dish all made from different kinds of tomato with a hint of sauce and gelatins. There he also presented a neat technique on how to please the customers – a dish under a dish. Well, basically it’s two different dishes on the same plate but masqueraded by a layer of plating to conceal the base. After you finish the upper dish then the waiter will come by and remove the plate. Voi la! You have your surprise!

Before we leave, we were also served with an artichoke and black truffle soup with a mushroom brioche. A warm soup that healed my soul a lot! I suppose I’m gonna be ready to hit db Bistro Moderne for the much-anticipated dinner. Before that, I returned back for a while to my room for another rest.

A ‘superb’ dinner at db Bistro Moderne

Chef Stephane Istel and Pastry Chef Benjamin were perhaps the liveliest French guys I had ever met aside from the feisty Chef Antoine Audran of Java Bleu back in Jakarta. Not only that Chef Istel served us ‘superbly’ (well, he said the word ‘superb’ a lot and always doing it in high spirit), but also punctually. We’re supposed to gather at the Theatre for the Snowshow at 8 and he’s doing the best he could to clear the entire dinner course before that.

We were served generously first with Alsatian flat bread and wild mushrooms alongside the beautiful tuna carpaccio for the starters. The feast then continued with huge seafood platters filled heartily with oysters, lobsters, shrimps, clams, whelks, scampi, and crabs. Not stopping there, Chef Istel further treated us with the restaurant’s signature dish, The Original db Burger which was a combination of sirloin burger filled with braised short ribs and foie gras served in a parmesan bun plus the French fries of course! As for the sides, a potato gratin, mashed potato, asparagus, and roast chickens were also there. What a treat from db! Hats off for these kind chefs and Mr Daniel Boulud, of course!

Pastry Chef Benjamin then treated us with beautifully made dessert, so eloquent and yet colorful! Everything from apricot clafoutis, peach melba, tarte fine aux figues, vanilla soufflé, profiteroles, and chocolate fondant were all served for everyone. It was unlucky that we had to finish them all quick because of the not-so-important Snowshow. Of course, I finished last and had a chance to thank the Chefs personally, wishing that next time I could visit again and taste the ‘superb’ goodness of db Bistro Moderne again.

The Snowshow and a cup of jo

Needless to say, we’re a bit late for the show and weren’t permitted to enter for a while. Not to mention that everybody’s busy with depositing their cameras. Imagine if I could stay a bit longer for dessert and I need not had to witness all this. I was even imagining myself hopping from one dessert to another alone (because everyone already left) and savoring it all like a Sir upon a long dinner table. There’s no telling that I could have conversed a bit more with Chef Stephane and Chef Benjamin about food!

Well, the harsh reality was that I had to witness this expensive Snowshow and it better be good!

Slava’s Snowshow is a clown show with an abstract and artistic presentation, audio and visually. They’re changing from one scene to another and sometimes doing silly things, sometimes also mimicking certain moves that can make people laugh or a bit tearful. Well, it was quite brilliant but it’s not really my kind of show. Some of my colleagues were already disappearing. I had my chances to escape but I decided to just return and ask everyone to join me later for a cup of jo somewhere in the city.

We finished at around 9.15 and rushed ourselves to Bayfront MRT station. Well, to tell you the truth, I actually had this secret mission to undertake every opportunity to visit third wave coffee shops all over Singapore. Unlucky that my schedule was full so I can only visit these coffee shops at night. Even so, most of the coffee shops are already closed at around 6 or 7 pm. The only one still open until 11 pm would be Oriole at Pan Pacific Suites just beside 313@Somerset.

As fast as we can made it there, we had to accept the fact that we started at the edge of the line – Marina Bay MRT station, thus the train kept us waiting a bit longer than usual before leaving. We finally arrived at Somerset around 10.40 but it was too late. The last order was supposedly around 10.30 and we’re just late for about 10 minutes. It’s a shame because on the first day I got sick and the only opportunity I had on the second day was wasted only by an inch.

I guess Fate wanted me to steer away from coffee that time, but I was still very determined to do it on the third day even though the schedule will be full as well. We then all returned back to the hotel, exhausted and dejected. Well, on the bright side, the second day activities were all went well and I had a fantastic experience back at the celebrity restaurants and interesting Heart-of-House tour. The exhibitions of Andy Warhol and Harry Potter were all exciting as well. Looking forward for the third day then!

TO BE CONTINUED TO DAY 3