Jacques Reymond

I've heard and read so much about Jacques Reymond, it'd be a sin if I don't personally pay this three chef hat restaurant a visit.

Jenna and I initially planned to go for the 8 course degustation menu, but changed our mind at the very last minute. I went ahead with the 4 course, where as Jenna opted for the 3 course.

On arrival, we were served with a warm gougère each - choux pastry with gruyere cheese. It was something out of the ordinary, but a tad bit too salty for my liking.

What I really loved though, was the bread. We were given three different choices of bread - white, wholegrain and erm, I forgot the last one so I'd call it "crispy bread stick".

We were happily served warm bread with every course of the meal and I have to say, I particularly love the wholegrain one. 

Although the butter was just normal and nothing compared to Maze's seaweed butter (om nom nom nom), I think I had like 5-6 of the three types of bread throughout the span of the dinner, even Jenna was surprised. :P

Because according to her, my food portion is similar to that of a mouse. But seriously, the bread is good even just on its own. Okay okay, enough on the bread, on to our first entree.

Extremely well-grilled scallops drizzled with Japanese dressing, King island rock lobster dumpling wrapped in bok choy, served alongside with quinoa, caramelised sweetbreads with orange and coriander.

Whilst I loved how succulent and well the scallops were cooked, the lobster dumpling tasted very ordinary and plain meh.

Both Jenna and I concluded that the lobster wasn't as fresh as we'd expect it to be and there was a fishy after-taste that lingered on.

Wycheproof young pigeon like a peking duck sitting on a sweet purple garlic sauce, served alongside corn and potato galette, exotic mushrooms and beetroot bigarade.

I was quite skeptical as to how it would taste with the pigeon said to taste very much like peking duck, but I must say it was quite a way to infuse Asian flavours into French cuisine; I quite liked it.

Marron and bitter chicory with orange, lightly pickled cuttlefish and silky tofu with sauternes veil, a shallot and szechuan pepper dressing.

Jenna was very disappointed with the marron. It wasn't fresh to say the least, and Jenna actually had trouble finishing this dish. Very unusual for her, really. 

Served on four corners are the white Gippsland farmed roasted rabbit loin; the braised shoulder with parsley chlorophyll; snails and thyme oil; sago pearls and pickled shallots.

The rabbit loin and shoulder were very beautifully cooked, and I enjoyed every bite I took. The parsley chlorophyll did put me off a little though, but that's only because I ain't no big fan of parsley - Jenna on the contrary, loved it!

Haha yes, I am just taking the opportunity to post up vain pictures of myself. :P Just ignore me and skip through to the last main...

On one side you see the saddle of kangaroo drizzled with a light soy dressing, sharp Davidson plum and red cabbage relish; and on the other is the six hour oxtail with warm potato foam and apple jelly.

The meat was well-cooked and tender, and the flavor that added to it was great. Not too bad for a first-timer with kangaroo meat.

I have to admit though, being the non-adventurous person that I appear to be, I wasn't particularly impressed.

It was a little too gamey for my liking and I think I'd prefer sticking to beef, chicken, pork and lamb. :P

But gawd, I must say that this part of the dish was absolutely delish! The flavor combination was fantastic and the meat was so tender and juicy - simply perfect and yummers max! :D

I may sound a little exaggerated... But my main courses ended with an absolute bang, thanks to the fanbloodytastic ox tail! :D

If only I'd stop at that...

But of course, being the sweet tooth that I am, I would never ever say 'no' to desserts. Here, you see a dessert that is created only for chocolate lovers. I swear, this is not for the faint-hearted.

Different texture of chocolate and cacao, pure Caribbean sorbet and caramelized bananas, chocolate croquant and candied orange.

The texture was amazing to say the least, but taste-wise, way too rich for our liking. Then again, I have to remind you that both Jenna and I are not game for anything too rich... especially chocolate. :$

We also had the candied citrus and caramelized snow egg, apricot and almond bombe on pestinos, Tahinian vanilla and passionfruit envoltini.

Compare Quay's snow egg, and this - that pathetic-looking thingy blanketed over by the tuile. Well, Jenna and I had a good laugh at the "snow egg" for a good 5 minutes! :P

The desserts were a big let down though, and I was very disappointed - it just sadly didn't taste good fullstop. Considering it is a 3 chef hat restaurant, I was expecting more. A lot more, in fact.

They could have possibly heard my unpleasant remarks about the desserts, because just as we were preparing to call for the bill, they very generously offered us petit four on the house, which we sadly weren't very impressed with either.

Well, I ain't gonna put the blame on Jacques Reymond for the petit four, I'd just say that we might not have liked it because the flavors did not match our tastebuds.

But well, desserts aside, I really enjoyed myself. It wasn't the best that I've had, but it was a pleasant experience nonetheless.

I also particularly love how the dining room looked and the fact that we were dining in a mansion. The ambiance was just great with an elegant chandelier hanging down the hallway. It's a shame I didn't get any pictures of the atmosphere and surroundings.

And to the last comment I'd offer Jacques Reymond - service was simply impeccable and all the staff were super friendly - me like!

Having said that, I am not sure if I'm likely to return, because although I was pretty contented with the mains, the dessert was a big let down. It is also quite expensive, and I'm not sure if it's worth the value.