While the crabcake was crackalackin’, the other crab dish of the night at @yeastside.sg, the Mentaiko Mac & Cheese ($17++), was just lacking. In theory, this macaroni dish was supposed to be epic. Combining the creamy, deeply umami savouriness of mentaiko (pollock roe) with the creamy, carb-laden lusciousness of macaroni and cheese should be a match made in heaven, no?⠀
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Well, no. It wasn’t to be. I expected the briny saltiness of the pollock roe to take charge and dominate the dish, but instead the umami of the mentaiko was relegated to an afterthought in the background. The creaminess of the mentaiko mayo, the béchamel and the beautiful blanket of melted cheese all combined to be a mouthful of too much creaminess. Worse yet, the entire mac & cheese tasted slightly artificial due to a flavour that I can’t quite describe or quantify.⠀
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Sadly, with much regret, my palate absolutely refused to finish consuming this mentaiko mac & cheese. This is the first macaroni and cheese dish I have not polished off in my entire history, and it’s a bit of a shame that it had to happen here.