Inspired by the trending healthy lifestyle, Capella Singapore has launched a series of wholesome programmes focused on health this year. To kick-start the series, The Knolls at Capella has invited award-winning French guest chef Oliver Rodriguez to present a healthy Mediterranean gastronomy. Hailing from Tokyo’s neo-bistro restaurant & éclé, Chef Oliver is known for his unique culinary technique, Coulicious – a blend of Japanese rice and fresh fruits and vegetables. Coulicious brings diners on a beautiful and bright gastronomical journey through the perfect harmony of tastes, texture, flavours and colours.
From 14 to 16 April 2017, Chef Oliver specially curated a four- or five-course menu to delight diners at The Knolls. With three options available for each course, diners are encouraged to come in groups of three or six so as to savour all the carefully designed dishes. The five-course menu is categorised into Starters, Coulicious, Ocean, Farm and Sweets.
Starters
As the only hot starter, the steamed apple and foie gras stood out the most. Garnished with a dry fruit compote and cardamom-flavoured apple coulis, the buttery foie gras simply melted in the mouth.
Steamed apple & foie gras with dry fruit compote and cardomom-flavoured apple coulis
If you are not a fan of sweets, the rich and savoury M.Matsubara’s ricotta will satisfy you. To contrast the rich and creamy ricotta, it is paired with a light spring vegetable composition and green tomato coulis.
M. Matsubara’s ricotta with spring vegetable composition and green tomato coulis
Coulicious
The highlight of the menu is Coulicious. The vegetarian option features a radiant beet coulis around spices-flavoured whole rice. This unconventional combination of sweet beets, herbs and rice packed a punch in both presentation and flavours.
Spices-flavoured whole rice with beet coulis, beet and aromatic herbs
Chef Oliver loves to incorporate fresh ingredients that are in season. We were excited to see the rare spring delicacy – white asparagus, in his creation. The combination of black rice, white asparagus coulis, sautéed asparagus and squid was not only delicious but also a nutrition powerhouse.
Black rice with white asparagus coulis, sautéed asparagus and squid
Complemented with the fragrant black olive-flavoured ‘gin no mikazuki’ rice and tender red wine-stewed beef cheeks, the bright and sweet carrot coulis was the favourite Coulicious course of the day at our table. We wished there was more of the dish to go around.
Black olive-flavoured ‘gin no mikazuki’ rice with carrot coulis and red wine-stewed beef cheeks
Ocean
With a blanket of golden crisp cumin crust, the light and delicate turbot fillet scored high in both the smell and texture departments.
Cumin-crusted turbot fillet with chickpea crepe and eggplant coulis
On the other hand, the herring fillet failed to make a fan of me; the fish had too many tiny bones, making the eating experience more challenging than it should be.
Delicately pan-fried herring fillet, seared lettuce and capers with spring onion coulis
Farm
Cooked at a precise temperature of 60°, the chicken breast blanquette was cooked to a plump and juicy perfection.
Chicken breast blanquette, young carrot and glazed shimeji mushrooms with parsley coulis
Another star dish of the night was the grilled Japanese beef loin with a delectable coating of savoury seasonings. Complemented with the rich morel coulis, the tender beef was succulent and bursting with flavours.
Grilled Japanese beef loin | asparagus & sautéed fiddlehead morel coulis
Sweets
No matter how full one is at the end of a meal, there is always room for desserts, especially beautiful ones. All the three desserts were stunning and gorgeous. If we were to elect a winner out of the three in the dessert pageant, the clear winner is Crémet d’Anjou which is served in a fancy martini glass.
Crémet d’ Anjou, oregano-flavoured strawberry compote and strawberry coulis
Flavour-wise, my vote goes to the dark chocolate “Galaxie noir” foam. The decadent dark chocolate foam packed a rich chocolate flavour with a light and airy texture. Hidden underneath the layer of indulgent foam is a bright citrus-flavoured banana coulis. The flawless match of the fruity and rich flavours resulted in a dessert that is not too sweet. It was the perfect ending to the wholesome gastronomy journey.
Dark chocolate “Galaxie noir” foam, passion fruit jelly and citrus-flavoured banana coulis
If you are flying to Tokyo, be sure to include a visit to Chef Oliver at & éclé in your travel itinerary. For those who are not travelling anytime sooner, you can still get your Mediterranean fix at The Knolls.
The Knolls
1 The Knolls Capella, Sentosa Island
Singapore 098297
Tel: +65 6591 5046
