Sage

Sage the restaurant is situated at Robertson Walk. It is a tastefully designed restaurant tucked away in the corner of the 2nd level. Warm cosy lights and soft jazz playing in the background made up a wonderfully romantic ambience. So it was no surprise there were couples enjoying themselves in little corners. There were two other small groups that Friday night. Our group of 10 trotted in happily with our trigger-happy fingers at 8 , ready to attack.

The food…

Amuse Bouche (Complimentary) A small shotglass of minced pork topped with tomato puree. I’m really not a fan of pork and was very apprehensive when this arrived first. But I was pleasantly surprised. The savoury tasteof the meat combined with the tangy tomatoes certainly prepared my stomach for the dishes to come.

Scallops Seared King Scallops on a salad of homemade squid ink capellini, marinated ocean trout and avruga caviar, braised scallop lips and leek & potato vichyssoise First up was the very fresh scallop served with on a creamy soup (potato vichyssoise). The scallop was well-cooked with a slight crisp on the outer layer, while still maintaining its texture inside. The soup that came with it was not too creamy and had many of us grabbing the bread for a good dip.

Foie Gras Pan-seared Duck Foie Gras with pistachio crust and fig compote, Granny Smith apple puree and a dressing of red grape mustard vinegar I have to admit. This is my first time and I’m glad it was here at Sage. The crisp on the outside and the lightness of the inside was a great combination of texture. The foie gras practically melted in my mouth and was definitely far from overwhelming. I loved the apple puree too!

Cod & Bouillabaisse Effeuille of Cod and and grey prawns in a seafood bouillabaisse with ratte potatoes and garden vegetables accompanied with rouille on toast I was so happy that I picked this dish! (There was Beef and Lamb) It’s because it’s not on Sage’s regular menu and if I didn’t pick it, I wouldn’t have tasted such goodness! The cod just melted in my mouth… and the bouillabaisse tasted just right. I can still imagine the taste.

Crème Brûlée Lavender Crème Brûlée with blood orange sorbet on redcurrant jelly and Navel orange meringue When the dessert was served, I was really full and satisfied by the main already and didn’t feel ready to tackle anymore. But the nicely sour sorbet helped a bit. I liked how the jelly and sorbet went together as the jelly was a little bland but gave a different texture to the sourness of the sorbet. I enjoyed the crème brûlée but not the meringue which was too sugary sweet for my liking.

The damage: $1022 for 10 of us (inclusive of a bottle of wine) Individual damage: $96 (I didn’t drink)

It was expensive, but strangely enough I didn’t feel any heartache. Maybe that’s what great food and good ambience does to people.

More pictures here

Had lunch at Sage, The Restaurant. Perched on the second storey of the picturesque Robertson Walk, Sage is dressed up in modern chic, with a small dining area that can only hold about 30-40 people. Run by the husband and wife team of Jusman and Kimberly, reservations are almost always necessary especially during dinner as the place can get quite packed. I'm sure you wouldn't want to be turned away do you? Set lunches go for $25 for a 3-course set (no dessert) or $28 for a 4-course set and the menu is changed once every fortnight. As always, the more the merrier, so both of us opted for the 4-course set. I had the Braised beef shortribs topped with marinated shallots, puree of butternut pumpkin and brunoise root vegetables for my main course while LS had the Pastilla of braised lamb shank with mascarpone cheese, provencal ratatouille and cassoulet of summer beans.

Appetiser was Seared yellow fin tuna topped with avocado mousseline, lumpfish roe and an aged balsamic glaze. The tuna was nicely done with a cooked exterior and raw interior. It was light on the taste buds with the overpoweringly raw fishy taste noticeably absent. Coupled with the avocado mousseline and the house special concoction of the balsamic glaze, it made for a truly appetising appetiser.

When I first set eyes on the Cappuccino of cauliflower veloute, it looked exactly like a cup of Cappuccino with its frothy top layer and creamy base. A rather interesting concept, but I didn't quite take to it. For one, I found the cream taste a little too overwhelming in the froth and in the soup itself. It tasted like a slightly better version of the Campbell soup, albeit a lot more creamy. If you love boiled milk, you might fancy this more than I do.

The mains followed and my Braised beef shortribs was very well done. The meat was first braised until fall off the bone tender (there's no bone by the way) then pan-fried till the outer layer was slightly charred and crispy. Atop the meat lay slices of marinated shallots which had a slightly sweet taste and melted cheese. Extremely fine chopped spring onions were drizzled over to give colour, smell and taste. Butternut pumpkin puree with cuscus came as a side for this dish and it was commendable as well. The sweet pumpkin taste blended in well with the cuscus. I had a bite of LS's lamb, but didn't quite fancy it because of its strong lamb taste.

Dessert was Vanilla panna cotta with Granny Smith apples and its own sorbet. The sorbet came with thinly sliced green apples (Granny Smith apples) that complemented it very well. However, I did find the texture a little lacking although I must complement it for its smoothness. I did like the panna cotta though. Wobbly, chilled and a little sweet, you can seldom go wrong with this dessert. Having said that, I still prefer the Panna Cotta at Pontini because the flavours are more robust with a nice slightly creamy aftertaste.

Our 1.5 hours lunch cost us $62.20/-, which is a tad expensive for such dainty portions. As LS puts it, fine dining is supposed to be fine in the quality sense, not portions wise. I can't help but agree. The dinner menu looks inviting, but can easily set you back by $60 /pax (after taxes) just for the basic 4-course set. Although the food is good, service faultless and ambience romantic, I rather take my money elsewhere for that kind of pricing - somewhere where I can at least fill my stomach. But if you are a small eater and crave for a romantic place for dinner, this might just be the place for you. If not, just go for the set lunches.