After our little exploration at Monte Risaia a few weeks ago, we ventured into Restaurant JAG helmed by chef-owner Jeremy Gillion who owns L’Epicurien, a one Michelin-starred restaurant located in the ski resort region of Val Thorens in Southern France.
We were ushered into an intimate and exquisite dining room with 7 tables that can accommodate 26 guests. The interior design felt romantic and comfortable with heavy curtains and soft, warm lighting. The space was not very big but the elegant and simple setting is set to impress any date.
We chose the Oppulent Indulgence and went on a seasonality driven indulgent culinary journey. Dinner started with bite-size portions of Canapé – The interesting saniette corn and a aspenule (wood ruff herb) odorante parsnips. The strange thing was the corn smelled like the old school Mami snack (yes the one with the blue monster and red nose), tasty and gone in a bite.
The sourdough bread was very good and comparable with the one in SFO, this was paired with in-house-made butter. We tried 3 types, the original, herbal and the lemon-based. Our favourite went to the lemon-based that refreshed the palates and complimented the sourdough. We didn’t quite taste the herb and original one likely due to the overpowering taste of the sourdough.
“Amuse bouche” in French translates to means mouth amuser, here it was a rather exquisite showcase of play and fun with a french lentil veloute with basil oil, bread crumbs. The basil oil brought a fragrant aroma faintly reminiscent of anise and a warm, sweet, aromatic, mildly pungent flavor that paired well with the earthy lentils.
Our next dish was a Smoked haddock sitting on top of a biscuit with different textures of fennel vegetables, black olive powder, pickled olive and flavored with Thym Cilron. An interesting blend of sourness with enriching textures of fennel.
The texture play came back again with the soft and creamy cooked to perfection Foie Gras paired with raw heliantis (vegetable) and heliantis chips which tasted like fried Cassava chips. The fluffy bread made with absinthe gave a chewy texture and it was also stuffed with heliantis mousse.
Hiroshima Oyster had a very deep umami flavor with a slight hit of sourness. The sauce was just amazing and the texture of the oyster was firm on the outside while still being soft on the inside.
When the dish first came, the fragrance reminded me of a Thosai. However, it was clearly a lot more exotic with winter black truffle, crosne commonly known as “Chinese artichoke” that is pan-seared and glazed with chicken Jus.
The whole dish was enveloped in vegetable jelly and garnish with sureau and curry leaves. There was warm from the dish that came from curry leaves and I loved the texture play on this dish with the soft jelly and slightly crunchy crosne. The truffles were surprisingly very mild and earthy in flavor and gave a very mild fragrance.
Seafood: Pan-seared Spanish squid served with braised and raw ocas du peru(veg) and spiced with monarde. The tender and perfectly cooked squid went well the tangy red monarde herb which brings out the freshness in the seafood. The vegetable in the dish was just as exciting as the seafood, the potato-like texture was bursting with flavor and the natural sweetness of the vegetable was pronounced.
Seafood: The Pan-seared Arctic char was lean and meaty, the white puree was a root vegetable that tasted more hazelnut and vanilla, we felt that it tasted like Kuih Bangkit (Tapioca Cookies)! The brown sauce was fish Jus that harboured a deep umami flavor.
Palate cleanser: Our midway point in the culinary journey was marked with the intense mint-based sorbet(wild mint, peppermint, ricola mint, and a very mild chocolate mint) garnish with a lemonrind. The lemonrind tasted just like a zesty lemon and gave a good contrast to the carefully mint layers. It did remind us of toothpaste but the balanced sweetness between the mint and zesty flavors helped refreshed our mouths.
Main: Our mains were pan-seared Venison from New Zealand with some Capucine tubereuse (a root vegetable) in two styles, there was a raw thinly slice one and a braised version. We were given a pleasant surprise with the pork flavor emitting from the potato-like texture of the braised Capucine. At the base of the dish was an almond crumble with achilee herbs to give some texture to the overall dish. To bring everything together our server poured a rich venison jus which tasted like a condensed almost Chinese-like traditional herbal soup. The polenta(cornmeal) served at the side had nutmeg, chives and olive oil and tasted like a smooth porridge. The venison was cooked to a medium-rare and had quite a strong iron taste, if you are not a fan of red meats ask for a substitute.
We tried a few kinds of cheese paired with an assortment of sides such as grapes, biscuit, and an apple lime jam. Each of the cheeses brought an interesting new flavor profile when paired and each sip of red wine matched like a tight-fitting glove to a hand. Tip: if you are not into blue cheese ask for a smaller slice.
Pre-desert: When the dish first came, the zesty lime was very pronounced and with the first mouth full, a very fragrant coconut espuma (foam) gave a very fine bubbly texture of mini pops. This paired seamlessly with the refreshing and slightly sourish pine sorbet with coconut brown sugar finished with lime zest. A playful marriage of sweetness blended against the sourness.
Dessert: Dark chocolate mousse cover with basmati rice crumble, chocolate shell with a chocolate biscuit, stuff with rice espuma (foam), dark chocolate sorbet and another sorbet made from a.odoranle. At the risk of sounding dramatic, this was a dish that connected with me. I felt mixed emotions while eating the dessert, sadness, bitterness, and sweetness just like life, on a plate exchanging and transmitting emotions and moments in time. It was a very complex layering of flavors that worked well together, the only thing that we did not quite like was the basmati rice crumble that made our throats slightly itchy but perhaps annoyance is part of life as well.
In summary
Chef Jeremy Gillion and his team of chefs delivers on point, unpretentious and bespoke dishes that will excite and intrigue the palate. It is not hard to see why it has won a Michelin star, as a restaurant that pays great attention to layering flavors that compliment while showcasing each ingredient’s unique qualities. The prices are on the high side but worth the splurge for a special occasion.
Lunch menu
The 3 Expressions – $58++ | Wine Pairing – 3 Expressions – $48++
Measured Indulgence – $175++ | Wine Pairing – $148++ | Add a whole 30gms tin of Beluga Caviar – $198++
Oppulent Indulgence – $223++ | Wine Pairing – $250++ | Add a whole 30gms tin of Beluga Caviar – $198++
Dinner menu
Measured Indulgence – $175++ | Wine Pairing – $148++ | Add a whole 30gms tin of Beluga Caviar – $198++
Oppulent Indulgence – $223++ | Wine Pairing – $250++ | Add a whole 30gms tin of Beluga Caviar – $198++
Restaurant JAG
76 Duxton Road, Singapore 089 535
Reservations and inquiries can be made at +65 3138 8477
Lunch: Tuesday – Friday
12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Dinner: Tuesday – Saturday
6:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Bar: Tuesday – Saturday
6:00 pm -11:30 pm
Closed on Sundays, Mondays and public holidays except for those that fall on Fridays and Saturdays, the following Monday will be closed.
Special notes: children should be 10 years old and above only
Dress Code: Smart Casual (shorts and flip flops are not recommended)
This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.
