I've been craving Beef Wellington off and on for a lonnggg time since I first saw it on Hell's Kitchen (Gordon Ramsey makes a mean wellington) and the one attempt we did was a little less than successful. The British Club is one of the few places (if not only) in Singapore which serves this hard-to-make dish, and even if you're not a member (or not even British) the restaurant is open to you so long as you call to make a reservation.
Located up Bukit Tinggi just off Dunearn Road, a car is pretty much required, else you cab up and down. Salivating at all the multi-million dollar mansions on the ride up is a good way to work up an appetite.There's also a dress code: so no jeans, collarless shirts or flip flops! The poshness of the place clearly warrants said dress code. Seating space was fairly large and we were but the fourth table to be seated that evening - quiet lovely place with a nice view of the foresty swimming pool.
{ Amuse Bouche }
Asparagus cheese pastry with marinated salmon
We weren't too hyped about the appetizers so we settled for two mains, a side of baby spinach and a dessert to share. Shortly after ordering, we were served an amuse bouche - light, salty and sweet sweet salmon. A little thimble of minty watermelon to cleanse it after.
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{ Bread basket }
Our attentive waiter soon came along with a basket of bread. We were pleased with the selection, which included dense and crunchy breadsticks and some kind of sesame bread-crisps. It took some effort on our parts not to stuff our faces silly with these. So moreish! The olive-sundried tomato paste was a great complement.
{ Green Peas and Mint Risotto ($28) }
fennel, parmesan cheese, vermouth and basil pesto
Wasn't really up for a meat-heavy dish, so I settled for this vegetarian risotto and was not disappointed! The hint of mint gives an interesting twang along with the slight depth of the herbs and cheese. Fennel was crunchy and went nicely with the nicely cooked risotto and soft peas. I really liked this - to me this is a good illustration of tasty, wholesome 'rabbit' food :P
{ Beef Wellington ($48) }
goose liver, mushroom duxelles, seasonal vegetables, and Madeira veal jus
Voila ... what I've been waiting for. After a generous dollop of unadulterated Colman's english mustard and a light dash of pepper from Ye Old Giant Pepper Grinder, the aroma from the veal jus started to become apparent. Strong, winey, rich and buttery, it's an amazing pairing with beef. And just look at that golden glaze on the pastry! Cross section time (pardon the overexposed photo, not the best lighting for photos).
Lovely, lovely pink on the beef, generous duxelle over the top and bottom, and just a little more beef juice oozing out as you knife through it. Beef ultra soft and tender, and the combination of the crispy pastry, decadent foie gras / mushroom duxelle, Colman's mustard and not forgetting the rich jus is just ... ooOOO!My only gripe was that the bottom of the pastry was not well cooked (still doughy) but I'm not sure if it's intended to be that way. I figured it'll be thick so the liquid from the beef and duxelle won't flow out and make the pastry soggy (like ours did), and also because it's at the bottom so might be harder to cook in the oven. Anyways, I finished everything. Oh. My. Dayum.
We had a bit of a show to end our very lovely meal that night. A trolley was wheeled to about a metre from our table, and our waiter started preparing our dessert of crepe suzette.
{ Crepe Suzette with Orange Liqueur ($16) }
vanilla bean ice cream
It was really interesting to watch how this was made - the flambe-ing was quite impressive (which is probably why they do it at some distance away from your table). I really do think that seeing how your food is made/assembled gives you better appreciation of not just how it looks, but how it tastes. And this looked and tasted pretty damn good! It's amazing how the sauce was reduced to such a thick, rich, sweet gloop from a whole lot of fresh orange juice and orange liqueur. If there is ever an orange heaven, it was in our mouths lol. Oh, and the vanilla bean ice cream just pairs so perfectly with the sweet crepes. You should have seen how we scraped at the plate to finish this. Holy ... that little bow tie of orange crepe sure tastes SO MUCH better than I expected. The combination of butter, caramelized sugar, orange juice and orange liqueur flambé-d gave birth to this thick orange goop of pure joy. Sweet jesus. The Mountbatten Room is one of those places where I kinda wish people wouldn't find out about so that it remains our little secret-4-paws-rating restaurant.. but it's too good not to share! Food was great, service was immaculate. So there you have it folks. The British Club is where it's at.
Mountbatten Room @ The British Club
Main website : http://www.britishclub.org.sg/dining/mountbatten
HGW Link (100% recommended at time of posting [not sure if same place] - http://www.hungrygowhere.com/singapore/the_mountbatten_room/
Rating (out of 4) :
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