Brussel Sprouts at The Pier at Robertson in Singapore
Also posted on Notes From Venus
Brussels Spro
uts used to be this green porridge I got in boarding school in the UK. Not anymore.
It's a hip, happening place minus the pretention in a well groomed part of Singapore. Oh yeah, they're ALL well groomed. It IS Singapore after all. Where even the wet markets are well groomed.
Brussels Sprouts is situated at a place called The Pier @ Robertson alongside Laurent Bernard's, The Chocolate Factory. But more of that later.
As the sign says, their specialty is Beer and Mussels. But a Belgian restaurant you say? What IS Belgian food? Unfortunately, I haven't been able to pin it down yet but I must admit, right out of the gate, that if this is representative of Belgian food, I'm a convert.
In actual fact, Brussels Sprouts was not a random choice for dinner that night. We had just arrived in Singapore and Allan and heard from a long time (not "old") friend that she had opened a new restaurant in Singapore. While the surprise was that she had done this in Singapore, Monique is an old hand at running restaurants in KL. What was the surprise however, was who her partner was. Ever heard of the "Chef In Black?" Yup. Emmanuel Stroobant.
Now, I've always liked Emmanuel's cooking from the time he was involved in Carmen's here in KL. I didn't frequent that place as much as I'd have liked, but when we saw him on TV quite a few years later, I was very happy for him. Having said that, it wouldn't matter if any restaurant had a celebrity chef on their list of partners/owners if the concept and food did not deliver.
And Brussels Sprouts does.
It's a smart, casual, hang out joint which encourages people to stay back after dinner and enjoy their huge selection of beers.
The design and ambience is clean, contemporary and whimsical. Down to the backdrop of silouhettes of Tintin and his dog, Snowy. Some Francophones may debate the name of the dog however, but a restaurant which uses a motif of one of my favourite comics (I wonder who will use Asterix) must figure highly on my list of recommends. Hergé the author of Tintin was Belgian. Just in case anyone was wondering the connection of a cartoon character and a Belgian restaurant/bistro/bar.
Brussels Spro
uts used to be this green porridge I got in boarding school in the UK. Not anymore.It's a hip, happening place minus the pretention in a well groomed part of Singapore. Oh yeah, they're ALL well groomed. It IS Singapore after all. Where even the wet markets are well groomed.
Brussels Sprouts is situated at a place called The Pier @ Robertson alongside Laurent Bernard's, The Chocolate Factory. But more of that later.
As the sign says, their specialty is Beer and Mussels. But a Belgian restaurant you say? What IS Belgian food? Unfortunately, I haven't been able to pin it down yet but I must admit, right out of the gate, that if this is representative of Belgian food, I'm a convert.
In actual fact, Brussels Sprouts was not a random choice for dinner that night. We had just arrived in Singapore and Allan and heard from a long time (not "old") friend that she had opened a new restaurant in Singapore. While the surprise was that she had done this in Singapore, Monique is an old hand at running restaurants in KL. What was the surprise however, was who her partner was. Ever heard of the "Chef In Black?" Yup. Emmanuel Stroobant.
Now, I've always liked Emmanuel's cooking from the time he was involved in Carmen's here in KL. I didn't frequent that place as much as I'd have liked, but when we saw him on TV quite a few years later, I was very happy for him. Having said that, it wouldn't matter if any restaurant had a celebrity chef on their list of partners/owners if the concept and food did not deliver.
And Brussels Sprouts does.
It's a smart, casual, hang out joint which encourages people to stay back after dinner and enjoy their huge selection of beers.
The design and ambience is clean, contemporary and whimsical. Down to the backdrop of silouhettes of Tintin and his dog, Snowy. Some Francophones may debate the name of the dog however, but a restaurant which uses a motif of one of my favourite comics (I wonder who will use Asterix) must figure highly on my list of recommends. Hergé the author of Tintin was Belgian. Just in case anyone was wondering the connection of a cartoon character and a Belgian restaurant/bistro/bar.
The beer list is literally as long as my forearm and when I heard they had fruit beers I couldn't wait to give it a go. My first experience with a fruit beer was at The Bull in Richmond, London, and I couldn't get over the fragrance of sweet strawberries mixed with a tartness combined with a hint of yeast, malt, and hops in the background of the flavour palate.
I ordered a Raspberry Beer and had my first sip. It was everything I remembered it to be and very soon, I was staring regretfully at the bottom of my beer glass.
There were 2 types of Peach beer. One which had a lighter peach flavour and one which was almost a peach juice with beer. Needless to say, the 2nd one was the favourite.
Thinking I should do a real Belgian beer, I opted for one of the more well known brands of Hoegaarden Witbier. Light, with a hint of citrus, it was a sparkling accompaniment to a great dinner.
I loved the light conceptual graphic of the mussel and the to-the-point names for the menus. Eat. Drink. Reminiscent of 7atenine's 'Solids' and 'Liquids.'
Snowy trotting along
We started with a sampler plate which had all sorts of goodies on it. The braised pork belly above and the prawn croquettes below. Gorgeous, tender, sweet pork layered beautifully with pork fat, eaten with a tangy mustard
The prawn croquette was a revelation. A crunchy outer shell hid a thick, rich bisque like interior of delicious prawny sweetness.
Mussels in brined vinegar were the next item to try on this sampler plate. Lovely tender, briny, taste-like-the-sea mussels contrasted with the acerbic hit of vinegar.A pressed cold pate accompanied this plate.
Lovely toasted farm style bread with a chopped cold cuts and diced vegetables coaated in a creamy sauce formed part of the samples on the plate.
For the main courses we gave in to Pork cravings and had these beautiful home made sausages with pickled purple cabbage to give it a sweet, and tangy counterpoint. The sausages were perfectly spiced, lovely and chunky unlike the processed stuff you get in supermarkets. A rich, succulent bite accompanied with the tangy counterpoint feeds my addiction to a pork druggie like me.
Veal Cheeks, exactly as they sound, are the cheeks of a young calf. Braised gently, these lovely morsels were tender, spoon soft and rich. The perfect bite consisted of a portion of veal cheek, a couple of beans and a bit of lovely boiled potatoes.
Braised pork belly lacquered with glaze was a sweet accompaniment with tender grated carrots.
And for some carbohydrates, we ordered a lemon pasta with salmon topped with a little caviar. Not sturgeon. But the salty hit was a delicous contrast to the creamy, tart, rich pasta and salmon.
After dinner, Monique had warned us, that there was a street magician ala Kriss Angel/David Blaine who would be entertaining. Visions of a tatooed goth swam before my eyes before Jack appeared.
As you can see, he is nothing like I imagined. Handsome to a fault with a body to match I could see my partner switch to flirt mode. Poor Jack might not have known what hit him. But he was thoroughly sporting as well as entertaining.
She's told to shuffle them and fan them out for a card to be picked, and Patrick pulls one out. He's told to put the card back into the imaginary deck face up. Patrick objects. "But you'll see it."
A good giggle later, Jack pulls out the actual deck, fans them out and pulls out a card which is face down, corresponding to the card that Patrick replaced face up in the imaginary deck. He asks Patrick what the card was that was chosen and is given the answer "Ace of Hearts." Jack flips it over and lo and behold...
...it was the Ace of Hearts! A quick round of applause and an extraction of a promise to return from Jack and we gave Vert a shout for dessert. Gavin comes along as well and suggests the cheese platter in addition to dessert.
Sweet, tart, Fruits of the forest crumble with vanilla pod flecked ice cream was not a favourite with those who did not like sour fruits but not me; warm crunchy crumble, sour warm fruits, and cold ice cream is one of my favourite combinations of textures, tastes, and temperatures.
No self respecting Belgian restaurant would be without their Belgian Waffle. A Waffle is a neutral base which you can flavour with whatever you'd like. In this instance, dark chocolate and cold ice cream. Sometimes basic is best. This waffle had a great crackly crust and a tender, cake like crumb. The chocolate was fantastic and the cold ice cream provided a fantastic foil.
A flourless chocolate cake was next. Lovely, chocolaty and warm with a little cream.
Allan's almost licked clean spoon.
Cheese Platter
Jeremy being artistic
Brussels Sprouts
http://brusselssprouts.com.sg
80 Mohamed Sultan Road
#01-12 The Pier @ Robertson
Singapore 239013
+65-68874344
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Filed under:
Brussels Sprouts,
Emmanuel Stroobant,
Mohamed Sultan Street,
Monique Kuok,
Robertson,
Singapore,
The Pier
