When I started planning my holiday in Singapore, Odette was not that high up on my list of restaurants to visit, especially because all the tables were booked up on the nights that I could go there. My sister then told me that one of her friends strongly recommended the restaurant (basically the message was: save up and just splash out on a meal there). It just happened by chance that there’s a lunchtime slot becoming available on the day that I was free – I did have a second thought about it, as the night before I would have just dined at Zen the night before. Would it be too much to have two 3-Michelin-starred meals in less than 24 hours? But then I thought, what the heck, I might as well book it as it’s not often I would come to Singapore, let alone being able to reserve a table at Odette.
The restaurant was located inside the National Gallery Singapore. Whilst the decor was all soft furnishing and had this grandeur feel to it, it didn’t feel formal in any way – if anything, it was quite relaxing. I was quite impressed by the communications from the restaurant in the week leading up to the meal, as I was told that the table would be close to the entrance. Not a problem for me, especially it’s barely noticeable that it’s by the entrance (I had worse – when I was at the Fat Duck a few years ago, the table was by the entrance and every time someone entered or left the restaurant, it’s distracting and that did annoy me).
To start the meal off, three different dishes of amuse-bouche were presented together: Gougere, Fish Taco and Onion Tart. Sounded quite ordinary but they all tasted fantastic.
The next amuse-bouche was the Mushroom Tea with a Cep Sabayon and Mushroom Brioche. How cute was that cup with the mushroom-shaped lid, when it’s presented to the table? Opening the lid and the sabayon was revealed. The aroma of the mushroom was beautiful, and the dish was absolutely delicious.
Then three different types of bread arrived at the table, and that was served with olive oil, and also a butter flavoured with buckwheat. I quickly reached for the brioche – it was so tasty that it didn’t really need any oil or butter at all!
The first dish was the Normandy Brown Crab with avocado, nashi pear and coriander. The crab tasted very fresh and light – almost as if it’s just jumped out of the water onto the plate.
The next course was just so colourful – it’s the Heirloom Beetroot Variation. The beetroot was prepared in several different ways: as a sorbet, smoked, roasted and also as an emulsion. The different flavours really worked well in this dish – never would I have thought of a beetroot being prepared in so many different ways to give the various flavours and sensations. Another magical dish!
The next course was probably the signature dish of Odette: Rosemary Smoked Organic Egg. The presentation was dramatic – the use of dry-ice with the egg carton and smoked egg on top was effective and did give that wow factor. The egg was then tipped into the smoked potato syphon and chorizo. This was a magical dish, with the sweetness of the egg and smokey aroma of the rosemary working well with the saltiness of the chorizo.
Then a box of truffles appeared in front of us, and it’s for the next course: ravioli de langoustine with shiso and black truffle and a lobster bisque. One thing I really liked about Odette (and Zen for that matter) in Singapore – they were generous with the truffle! For years I have suggested to Nathan Outlaw in the UK to do a shellfish ravioli with his Porthilly sauce, but he never made it. I guess this would have been the closest thing to my suggestion!
Next up was the BBQ kinki fish with dukkah spice, carrots and Iranian saffron. The vibrant colour of the saffron sauce really enhanced the enjoyment of this dish – the fish was perfectly cooked, with the spices well balanced without overpowering the fish at all.
Before the meat dish arrived at the table, we were shown the venison saddle maki – that’s kind of cute.
One piece of the venison maki was topped with a “French toast” with orange and foie gras. The sauce was then carefully spooned into the oval mousse marking in the middle of the plate. The venison was tender and full of flavour.
The palate cleanser was just a citrusy sorbet – it did the job.
The dessert was a yuzu tart with a sable breton base, with shiso filling and basil leaves outside. It looked pretty cute with the unusual shape of the meringues – almost cartoon-like. Taste-wise, it was again refreshing and not too sweet, and it was a good way to finish the meal.
I was very glad to have visited this restaurant – I knew it would be good, but certainly didn’t expect it to be perfect, especially after the sensational meal at Zen less than 24 hours before.
Address: 1 St Andrew’s Rd, #01-04 National Gallery, Singapore 178957, Singapore
Telephone: +65 6385 0498
Website: https://www.odetterestaurant.com/
Opening Hours: Lunch: Tuesday – Saturday 12–1:15pm, Dinner: Monday – Saturday 6:30–8:15pm
Food: 10/10
Ambience: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Total: 20/20 [Based on visit in January 2022]
Chow With Chau 