European

Who knew there could be so many variations of sourdough bread? Each crusty, wood fire-baked slice we had was on point and made even more stellar with our choice of spreads: that smooth, luscious Norwegian butter, and the Greek pine honey that can only be described as exquisite.

New chefs and new menu in the house = lots of unique dishes, and all of them exquisitely plated, too.

As always, Bridge delivers quality and finesse. Nothing on the plate is dispensable, and those soft leaves of Napa cabbage peppered with crunchy quinoa are the perfect complement to the tender bite of amberjack draped with monkfish liver.

Bristling with crackling scales and boasting pristine white flesh beneath, this golden snapper dish is indeed, gold. Shallow as it might be, its bath of clam and basil is brimming with umami richness – a delicious complement to the natural emollient oils of the fish.

What a stellar rendition, elevated with four kinds of cheese – gruyere, emmental, cheddar and parmesan – and a heady dose of truffle oil. Totally my kind of comfort food!

Beef-lovers, heads up. @thedisgruntledchef does this amazing, amazing roast beef (that's first sous vide so perfectly such that it's ultra-tender, but still retains a lovely bite) – so divine that God forbid you miss it. It's best savoured medium rare, and honestly tastes so good that there's no need for any more than a modest splash of that accompanying bordelaise sauce, delicious as it is.

This is meant for sharing – though I won't blame anyone for being selfish – so the platter also entails three sides that are each stars in their own right. There's the baby romaine salad, the salt-baked onion, and my favourite truffle macaroni & cheese; made with parmesan, emmental, gruyere and cheddar.

Life is good.

It's been awhile since I was here, but this classy joint hidden round the bend at the top of Ann Siang Road is one of the most stellar restaurants I've visited this year.

Pictured here are supple swaths of pasta knotted round king oyster mushrooms – each of the trio a sizeable parcel that requires at least two or three bites to polish off – and served with parmesan foam and an immaculate oozy egg.

I'm definitely forcing the boyfriend to bring me back here for date night.

An egg-and-truffle lover's wet dream come true: a whipped egg mousse that's fluffy, airy and creamy all at the same time, imbued with the distinct aroma and flavour of truffle, and topped with a smattering of caviar for a pop of saltiness. Scrape down to the bottom of the egg shell "cup" to unearth bits of mushroom.

I'm always amazed at how masterful the dishes at @bridge.sg are, and how they insist on serving fine dining-quality food without the exorbitant price tag.

This black seabass exemplifies precisely what I'm raving about – perfectly pan-seared with a crisp skin, on French white bean stew and a gorgeous white wine sauce that complements the oiliness of the fish.

Mascarpone risotto infused with nutty, earthy flavours from shimeji mushrooms and paper-thin hazelnut slices; the crowning touch of luxury are Alba white truffle shavings descending upon the bed of creamy rice like falling autumn leaves.

Never been a fan of this tentacled creature – I still can't bring myself to eat it raw, although exposure to excellently cooked renditions of it in the past couple of years has cajoled me into increasingly impressed acceptance.

So it is quite surprising, even to myself, to find that my favourite dish off Bridge's new "tapas" menu is this: tender slices of kombu-marinated octopus sous vide and presented in a dainty roulette layout, with molecular olive oil droplets, tobiko, frisee and yuzu salad. All the flavours of these harmonise seamlessly, resulting in an ultimately refreshing dish that I could have polished off on my own had I not been forced to share.

Luxury on a plate is what this is – approximately 120g of fresh lobster meat sous vide and then seared off in the pan for an alluringly smoky finish, complemented with briny lobster jus and squid ink foam.

The chunks of immaculately cooked lobster surround a bed of tightly-packed seaweed-flavoured cous cous and tender diced squid – gorgeous in texture and wildly flavourful.

You'd be surprised to learn this costs only $48++; more than worth every cent.

So Bridge has rolled out a new dinner menu and of all the intriguing items they've debuted, I think this dish is probably the one that will be the biggest crowd-pleased.

The amalgamation of textures is so winsome, from the crispy, crackly scales, to the succulence of the naturally oily fish meat, to the crunch of those particularly tasty Savoy cabbage ribbons lying beneath the cod.

Presentation is delightful as well, and it's all in the details. The yuzu bouillon is puddled to resemble a pond, with dainty cut-out spinach leaves supporting molecular "caviar" – masquerading as dewdrops on lotus leaves.

This ticks all the right boxes, and at $29++, it's a real steal.