i can't believe myself with all these dangerous venturing into fine dining places, one by one, and my love-hate affairs with them. love - the ambience, the chef's creations/presentations which are like works of art, always, plus impeccable service to boot. hate? probably just the price. if money was never an issue, i forsee going to these places umm..daily? haha. but i was so glad i went to jaan, coz it had been an eye-opener for me. i've been to semi-fine dining restaurants but this one...it just tops all of those i've been to, and i don't just mean the price.

helmed by chef andré chiang and located 741 feet above sea level at the top of swisshotel stamford, jaan has always been a place i wanna visit, except i thought it used 2b indian restaurant. put off by the price initially ($58++ for a 3-course set lunch), i plucked up the courage to go, or rather threw all cautions to the wind and consoled my guilty conscience that i will just survive on sandwiches for the rest of the month. which i never did, of coz :p

we started off with the parmesan & squid ink grissini breadsticks, or is it a table decor? you decide. served with something on the side, a dip, which i can't remember what it is exactly. while mindlessly munching on those sticks, i couldn't help but wonder how they do 'em soooo thinly? hmm.

3 choices of bread rolls, i picked the onion. crusty on the outside, and soft on the inside. i'm glad they serve the rolls with salted butter, my favorite. i dislike unsalted ones!

the set lunch also comes with a complimentary bottle of still or sparkling water.

for starters, we had the panache de fruit de mer - panache of seafood in multi textures, toasted brioche & potatoes, tapenade de provence. don't you think its really beautifully presented? like i said, a work of art! while i didn't think too much of the brioche, i love the seafood!

foie gras a la forestiere - hot foie gras jelly topped wild mushroom fricassee under buckwheat brioche crust & black truffle coulis. i don't really care for these bombastic culinary terms and i only have two words for it - MIND BLOWING! it was soooooooo good! i've never tasted anything quite like this! the foie gras jelly was soft and the texture akin to chawanmushi, but the taste of foie gras was just so distinctive you feel like you're eating foie gras by the piece. there was a mixture of mushrooms in there (can't remember what they are, morel for one i know), and the coulis tasted really really savory. i could eat this over and over again. wish i didn't hv to share :p

for mains we had the joue de kurobuta grille - chargrilled kurobuta cheek & romaine, caramelized baby onion & smoked basil oil. i found the pork pieces a little too tough but i enjoyed the belly, which imparted this really nice smoky aroma.

macaroni de boeuf - thirty-six hour braised short rib, duxelle macaroni & crispy vitelotte chips & shallots. the beef was really good, i love it! i also enjoyed the stuffed macaroni and crispy vitelotte chips (which is purple sweet potato chips i think). the macaroni vaguely reminds me of intestines haha.

a close-up of the duxelle macaroni & crispy vitelotte chips & shallots which i took, for the fun of it.

for desserts, we had the tarte au citron - lemon tart on mini churros, grapefruit campari granite & its confit. since i made the tarte au citron not too long ago, i naturally expected this to look like, well, a tart! i was wrong. this is a deconstructed version but tastewise nothing short of amazing! while i didn't really like the churros, the grapefruit campari granite was SO GOOD. totally refreshing and zesty, its perfect for our weather. and the orange zest was really fragrant, much much better than my homemade ones (i used pierre herme's recipe ok!) *hmpf*

snickers bar version 2009. frankly, i was too momentarily distracted to really notice whats in that chocolate ball. besides being awed by its presentation, questions that went thru my mind were "wow, vanilla bean ice cream! how did they scoop that quenelle?", "is that burnt caramel gelee?", "oh my whats that, chocolate soil?", "did they use micro arugula for the decor?" blah blah.

so yea sadly, can't really remember its taste, but here's the innard pic!

compliments of the chef - raspberry white choc lollipops & fizzy orange choc. i was amused by the popping sounds the fizzy orange choc made in my mouth. love 'em!

ended the lovely meal with a cappuccino. you know, i really wish chihuly lounge uses crockery like that! the ones they use hv got such thick gold trimmings that look real unglam and worn with all the scratches.

oh, and lastly, chef andré chiang!!!!!! *squeals in delight* he's VERY HANDSOME. in fact, all too annoyingly handsome. tall, slim, athletic built, young, cute, and above all, talented! *teehee* did i mention he's soft spoken & humble too? thank you chef for posing for me!

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heck the $58++, i'm SO going back again. soon.

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JAAN PAR ANDRE
level 70, equinox complex
swisshotel the stamford
website : http://www.equinoxcomplex.com/

Labels : eat-outs