Thursday 20 March 2008

Review: Bobby Chinn at Shook!

Restaurant: Shook! @ Feast Village, Starhill Gallery
Event: Wild Wild East Dinner with Bobby Chinn
Overall verdict: Simple and surprisingly good.

My dad's first words there were," Oh we're having Vietnamese? Good good." You see, he's been craving for Vietnamese food since Sunday.



First course: Amuse Bouche
Petrina comments: A small cup of something that tasted very much like very rich tom yum broth, served with some strands of enoki mushroom on the side. Something unusual but it wasn't fantastic.

Second course: Trio of Appetizer (L-R) - (1) Crab salad Nom Cua, (2) Seafood ceviche with mangosteen vinaigrette Qoi Hai San, (3) Prawns on sugar cane Tom Bao Mai.
Paired with: Goldridge Estate Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough New Zealand 2006.

Petrina comments: Surprisingly quite refreshing. Rommel slurped up all of the mangosteen vinaigrette in both his and my martini glasses. Mom and Dad liked the salad. On the wine, my dad said, "Not bad." - which usually means it's ok.


Main course: Black cod fish on braised banana blossoms, Ca Vuoc Ap Chao Voi Hoa Chuoi Om.

Paired with: Goldridge Estate Pinot Noir Marlborough New Zealand 2005

Petrina comments: Exceptionally fresh and good quality black cod. The light spices complimented the fish very well. The banana blossoms were really nice too. Mom and Dad both definitely enjoyed this a lot. My dad especially... He kept saying how the spices brought out the taste of the fish.

Rommel discovered something weird though... If you eat a piece of the fish, then took a sip of the pinot noir, you'll get an extremely fishy aftertaste. To use his words, it tasted like ikan kembung. I had the same aftertaste too when I tried it. Weird.

Dessert course: Coconut creme brulee, served with Vietnamese coffee

Petrina comments: Nice, soft, creamy, a twist to the usual creme brulee (which btw, is one of my favourite desserts.) The coffee was not as strong as the ones we had in Ho Chi Minh City but it was still nice.


And so, all in all, it was a pleasant, simple meal. Not too overbearing at all like most of the fancy dinners we attend sometimes. Just exactly what my dad liked it to be. Simple, clean and fresh menu. By 9.30pm, we were on our way home. Great!

1 comments:

Priscilla said...

Ooooh sounds good! You know how I'm usually not one for Vietnamese (can't stand the noodles) but this time, it really does sound good! Then again, that might be hunger talking :P

You know how we were supposed to give up something for Lent? I just realised how I unintentionally gave up meat for most (but not all) of Lent. Except for a few occasions, I've been practically all-vegetarian, and I didn't even notice!