(Invited Tasting)
It is not just the eight kinds of caviar on the menu (they include the world’s number one Kaluga Queen as well as Oscietra, Sevruga and Beluga) that shine at Caviar (@cvr.sg) restaurant. The Modern European style of cuisine by Head Chef @leenkarleen and her all-Singaporean kitchen team deserves equal if not more of its share of the limelight too.
To be sure, the glistening pearls of fish roe reign in this eponymous restaurant, but think of it is being part of a strong ensemble cast of beautifully calibrated deliciousness that also showcases excellent produce and ingredients.
Formatted as degustation menus in varying sizes to please different appetites, the food is best enjoyed with a glass (or bottle) of champagne and wine. We trusted Restaurant Manager Rahul to recommend, and he chose very well - the Pinot Noir was an especially big hit with us.
For our hosted tasting, we were served the 8-course menu and this is how it unfolded:
1. Amuse bouche trio which we savoured with champagne - While the caviar toast of housemade white bread, egg yolk purée, avocado purée and 8 Gems Caviar’s No. 5 Royal Oscietra caviar as well as the crunchy tomato macaron laden with botan uni, Japanese uni cream and Sturia’s Oscietra pearls from France were lovely, we were most blown away by the first snack - the airy-light, fluffy Caviar Ball filled with crème fraiche and Polenco Oscietra Caviar.
2. Breads - Made in-house from scratch, both tasted original and superb. The larger, a twisted ball of Beef Fat Herb Brioche seriously tempted me into overeating. The smaller and paler Olives Semolina Bread was more complex than I’d imagined. To spread on them, an understated roasted yeast butter.
3. Botan Ebi Tartare - I am generally not the biggest fan of raw prawns but this was done deliciously with a light and tasty dressing of pomelo, chives, shallot, lime zest and dashi vinegar, plus two kinds of caviar: Polenco Oscietra Caviar and 8 Gems Caviar’s No.2 Superior Oscietra. Adding crunch was the crispy-fried prawn head filled with a tomalley custard. To finish, a buttermilk sauce with dill oil was poured on.
4. Italian Burrata - This little surprise was snuck in. The creamy cheese was whipped with honey and verjus, and decked out in slices of sweet green grapes and not-your-usual Canadian Uni.
5. Potato and Egg - One of the standouts from the meal was this delightful dish that had a confit egg yolk and Polenco Siberian Caviar laid on a bed of potato foam, diced potatoes that have been braised in kombu chicken stock, some puffed buckwheat and Iberico lardo. I really enjoyed the mix here.
6. Halibut - Love, love, loved this! Perfectly pitched with all the facets of flavour harmonising like the loveliest chorus, this was a truly magnificent course. The wild-caught fish which had been cured and aged for 3 days between kombu sheets, was exquisite on the tastebuds. It came in a pool of lemon-lifted pilpil sauce made from its own bones, swimming in Ikura which tasted as amazing as it sounds.
7. Caviar Tasting Platter - This other surprise item casted the spotlight on four different brands of caviar imported from China, Uruguay and France. It was an awesome opportunity to get to know the uniqueness of each.
8. Bressan Pigeon - Grilled over binchotan, the dry-aged French pigeon breast was plated with a brown butter celeriac puree, pickled blackberry, grilled plum and pigeon jus. It was spot-on in every way but the highlight for me had to be the juicy pigeon leg that had been confit in oil, grilled over binchotan and glazed with sherry reduction, then topped with 8 Gems Caviar’s No. 2 Superior Oscietra.
9. Fermented Cranberries - Not at all familiar a taste profile but fascinating and more importantly, nicely balanced, the first dessert of lacto-fermented cranberries came with cranberry sorbet, almond ginger crumbs and orange blossom foam.
10. Sake - It was this final dessert that took my breath away. Such wondrousness existed when the housemade sake lees ice-cream crossed paths with airy-light crunchy pieces of dehydrated lime meringue and the buttery pearls of Polenco Siberian Caviar.
11. Petit Fours - From the trio, the 8 Gems Caviar-loaded Financier filled with white chocolate ganache liquid ganache was the most irresistible. It’s so good, I was momentarily at a loss for words.

Thank you for a most memorable evening, Jason and Team Caviar.