RESTAURANT: Iggy's

After a day spent eating and returning to the hotel room to digest, the prospect of dinner didn't sound too inviting, even if the venue was going to be Iggy's, perhaps Singapore's best regarded restaurant.

But I'm a trooper, so I sucked it up, showered off the shame (mental note: bring steel wool next time) and headed up Orchard Road to the Hilton.

I'm beginning to enjoy the heat of Singapore. A humid day in Sydney sticks out and makes you feel uncomfortable as the city layout forces you to walk long distances. Here, the constant heat is like a cross between an embrace from nature and a never-ending class of bikram yoga. But if you get tired of it, just head indoors and enjoy some air conditioning somewhere.

(there's an egg under there, somewhere)

So, Iggy's, right.

My old pal sea urchin is up first, paired with a cauliflower puree and ponzu jelly. Refreshing, cooling, smooth and rich all at once.

A couple of other snacks follow. Sushi, wagyu tartare, vacherin cheese on bread with a slice of truffle, a deboned chicken wing (nuts; so good). All are delicious and come matched with a sparkling sake.

The main courses are pretty much modern French with some Asian influences. Smeared sauces rule supreme.

Tomato with a gazpacho jelly is ridiculously clean in flavour and cooling right down to the soul (even washing away the remaining shame).

The foie gras dish is probably the only dish that is just "good". A poached section sits on a cube of deep fried tofu with sauteed rocket, a sherry reduction and some yuzu zest. It kind of reminds me of lemon chicken.

The next course is the one pictured above. A poached egg with some poultry jus and mushrooms is buried hitchhiker-like in a shallow grave of black truffle from Alba.

The main course of pigeon with lentils and an orangey beetroot puree/smear is well executed too.

Desserts are excellent. First is a dish of flowers with raspberry, yoghurt, lychee sorbet and lime. Super floral and tropical, it's paired brilliantly to a tokaji.

Then to a combination of a chocolate tart, hazelnut biscuit, coconut ice cream and some sort of meringue that may have had a helping hand from liquid nitrogen (the dish is presented still smoking).

Overall, a very high quality meal. It never gets too "modern" and leans more to just getting good produce and cooking it well with very strong, clear flavours.

Service is as expected for this sort of level of dining.

Food and wine will set you back around SPD$450, which is pretty reasonable considering the quality of the produce and how big the wine pours are (pretty much full glasses with every course).


Iggy's
L3, The Hilton
581 Orchard Road