Would you believe me if I told you that this is presently my sixth attempt to write this post, and that for the last five times I'd actually had quite a couple of paragraphs before I got pissed and deleted the whole thing off?
It's ridiculous.
It's frustrating.
It's mind boggling, even.
I could understand if if there were, say, a lack of pictures, a lack of content or a lack of impressions, whatever.
But that's not the case.
I guess sometimes the words just won't flow.
And I don't know why.
Might it be that I'm a little more tired than usual?
Might it be that so many things have taken place between now and then that I'm a little hazy about it all?
I doubt so.
Indeed, this was brunch at OSCARS during Chinese New Year season, and it might have been that lots of things have happened in between, but surely, a meal like this I would not soon forget.
How does one forget something as good as this?
Now, at first sight it mightn't look much but this will mark as one of the most memorable dishes I've ever had at OSCARS thus far.
At the heart of this dish is a thick slice of warm brioche toast, over which there is a generous spread of avocado upon which then there is a piece of well-grilled foie gras, and finally, a smattering of pine nuts next to what I think is a slice of marinated cherry tomato.
Of course one must not be averse to carbohydrates, goose fat or the sensation of warm oil dripping down your throat as you bite.
You would not appreciate this otherwise.
Then again there're lots of other offerings one can help themselves to.
Amongst some of the other foods I tried that afternoon included this plate.
This plate.
And this plate.
You'll see that there was quite a bit of salad.
Oh, I don't mean the greens, which, come to think of it, I really should have tried, but then there were four different kinds of salad at the table there that day, and so instead of just pure lettuce, I took a serving of Prawn Salad with Clementine, a bit of Pasta from the Pasta salad, a couple spoonfuls of corn, a couple of sliced cherry tomatoes and cubes of feta cheese.
Let's just say that I liked the corn so much I had it twice, first with the prawns from the prawn salad, the small cute little oranges and the quail eggs. After that I tried it with the roast beef topped with (my choice of) applesauce and surprise of surprise, it tasted pretty good.
Looking back now I wonder why it was I didn't take more of the Chinese food.
I mean, they had fried rice and fried noodles and stewed vegetables and steamed fish all of that, and the only foods I took were a couple pieces of what I call Chinese Wine Chicken.
Next time I shall help myself to more.
Would be a pity to miss out on some of their culinary skills otherwise.
I'm glad I got to try out some of the kebabs and meat and sausage from the tandoori this time round.
I'm also glad I got to try the laksa, which is, if you ask me, one of those dishes that you don't realize you have a craving for until you have it and then you want some more.
I loved the noodles, the cockles, the taugey, the taupok, quail eggs, and rich gravy of coconut cream.
It was dessert time right after this gorgeous, delicious bowl of laksa that I added extra quail eggs into.
And straightaway I went to their dessert table, which, by the way, this year looked like this.
Amazing, don't you think?
You know, I'm generally not the kind who insists only on having desserts that are delicious and pretty to look at- usually I just eat- but coming here this time I learnt to appreciate the value of finesse, technique and detail.
I learnt to appreciate the beauty of a little mango mousse cake shaped like a golden pillow with a pretty yellow ladybird resting on top.
I learnt to admire the adorable charm of a small cute little orange mousse cake made in the shape of the kumquat fruit that I could only bear to look and not eat.
I learnt that it's possible to not devour everything even though you really, really want to.
I had a fine time admiring all these mochis modeled in the shape of fruits and flowers that reminded me of the snack sold in Thai street food stalls.
And then there were all these little glass cups of vanilla mousse with cute little slices of clementines on top.
Seeing their display I began to understand the meaning behind color, shape, texture, and balance.
Everything reminded me of a spring garden in bloom.
Best part, it weren't just the aesthetics that were so pretty to look at.
The taste was lovely too.
I wish I had gone for more of their cakes, their glass mousses, their warm desserts and their ice cream.
But I was careful not to fill up, and so, instead of trying out one of everything, decided to have a couple of cookies, one slice of kueh lapis, a tiny little round of cheesecake, a really sweet red velvet mousse that had words of blessings on it, and two very sweet, very rich-tasting dark chocolate mousse rounds.
Oh, and I had green tea.