Friday, November 18, 2011

Novus: Latine est novus et nova

Well, if you do not know the meaning of the sentence, fret not! It's Latin for Novus that means "new and novel". Again feeling adventurous, Cuchi wanted to try something new and novel and using her lioness instinct, she thought of Novus restaurant which is located at the National Historical Museum of Singapore. The interior of Novus was classy and posh. However, the service staff was amiable and professional and made us feel very welcomed throughout our whole lunch experience.
Bread Basket

Amuse Bouche
While waiting for the appetiser to come, we were served a bread basket with condiments. The soft roll and mini baguette were lovely. Next up was the amuse bouche which was scallop infused tar-tare and caviar on top. A sublime way to begin the meal. It tasted of the sea and looked like a deconstructed nyonya rice cake. (But doesn't taste like one) That was the start of lovely pieces of food art. (We were in a history museum afterall right?)
Inverted Salmon Ravioli

Foie Gras Parfait
First up was our appetiser of Foie Gras Parfait and Inverted  Salmon Ravioli. The presentation of the appetiser was unique. The Inverted Salmon Ravioli was placed on a map of Norway which makes a good chat topic. And the foie gras parfait was on a slate which accentuated the rainbow colours of the dish. The salmon ravioli was exceptional, no doubt the salmon was fresh but it lacked character. However, the Foie Gras Parfait was unique. The consistency was like soft ice cream but it exploded with the flavour of foie gras in your mouth. The accompanying chestnuts and fruits were freshly sweet.
Yellow fin tuna on a bed of saffron risotto

Wagyu rump steak (Medium rare)
The main courses came out and we were surprised by the portion! Certainly it was a good deal as we were already half full. Cuchi took the fish of the day which was yellow fin tuna on a bed of bright yellow saffron risotto rice. The tuna was seared just nice. Nicely cooked on the outside but slightly raw on the inside to showcase its freshness. The sunny yellow risotto was chewy and flavourful. The wagyu, on the other hand, was a bit of a disappointment as it tasted ordinary. I was expecting something better as I had tried Chef Me's wagyu and it was only grade 5 and the wagyu here was supposed to have been a grade 7. However, not all is lost in this dish, the presentation was an art piece as I can tell the chef took pains to line the food in a symmetrical fashion. The baby port wine shallots tasted really good with a hint of sweet wine. The white paste that surrounded the beef was Jerusalem artichoke cream. Quite neutral tasting but also like a cross between potato and celery.




Desserts - what every lady craves for after a meal.... the parade of desserts did not disappoint. Mine was the Valrhona Chocolate Test - a must have for serious chocolate lovers afficianados. Chocolate was presented in 5 different ways. Varying in different cocoa content, the chocolate dishes were to be eaten from left to right. Cuchi's dessert which is the soylent green, is green tea ice cream on top of a rather craggy pistachio sponge cake. By that time, both of us were so full from the wonderful meal that we were having.

Apparently we were still not done with food after we paid the bill! On our way out, the friendly staff presented us with two chocolate muffins to take home (for tea break perhaps). A nice after lunch touch - we will definitely be back.

Here is our review for Novus

Price of food: 3 course lunch for $40++, 2 course lunch for $32++
Food quality: 8.5 pawprints out of 10
Ambience: 9 pawprints out of 10

Specials that you should try: Valrhona chocolate test, foie gras parfait and yellow fin tuna

They do have complementary parking too but do give them a call to reserve a place before going down.
 
For those who are interested in going there, here is the address and website

93 Stamford Road
#01-02, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore 178897
Tel: 6336 8770
http://www.novus.sg/

No comments:

Post a Comment