Sunday, August 30, 2009

Highlight #224: Morimoto legacy - Restaurant: Zento (Singapore)

There is always something new to see in Singapore. Since I got married here last September, the city gained the Marina Barrage, a dam that divides the Marina Channel. Besides creating a freshwater reservoir, the barrage also provides a green space for picnicking and kite flying. What you see here is the underside of the green space I am referring to. Yup, the grass is grown on top of the bridge/roof structure.

Here is the view on top. That's the new lux casino development in the background.

After walking around, we drove out to Dempsey Hill to visit Zento, opened by Morimoto disciple chef Gunawan Wibisono. We tried a few of his signature dishes. This tuna pizza was quite delightful. A crispy toasted tortilla held up a base of seaweed salad, slices of tuna, and a house sauce that is somewhat based on Japanese mayo.

The scallop carpaccio was reminiscent of a dish I had at Morimoto years ago. The scallops felt sweet and cool on the tongue, a very soothing dish. Of a similar mouth feel was the mango tuna roll. Wrapped in sliced green mango, the roll was light and refreshing, perfect for the hot tropical weather.

This is a spicy salmon hand roll in rice paper. I actually really liked the texture of the paper, a little chewy and faintly sweet.

Mom-in-law loves miso butterfish, so we also got this classic. It's hard not to fall in love with the ultra fatty fish completely deserving of its name. The miso paste was not too heavy or sweet, but just sticky enough to stand up to the rich flesh.

Dessert was a chocolate tart. Toned down for the lower sugar and butter tolerance of Asians, it was enjoyably light, but definitely not decadent.

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