This afternoon, I returned to one of my favourite restaurants The Square for a leisurely lunch. Noticing significant changes in the tasting menu since my first visit at the end of last year, I decided to give it another go instead of ordering from the daily set lunch menu (which, as you would have seen from previous reviews, is extremely good value for money - but I wanted to spoil myself a little today!).
First course: autumn minestrone with a slow-cooked quail egg, Montgomery (Cheddar) stock, tarte fine of savoury onions and ceps.
N.B. The Montgomerys in south Somerset, a 70-year old family business currently in its third generation, are the most famous producer of unpasteurised farmhouse Cheddar in the UK.
This was a very pleasant start to the meal. A light and mildly sweet minestrone containing mixed diced vegetables (including swede, celeriac and Brussel sprouts as far as I could tell) was given a surprisingly luxurious edge and savoury depth with the addition of an intense Cheddar-based stock and cheddar shavings. The runny and velvety egg yolk contributed a further richness in overall texture and mouthfeel to the soup. A sprinkling of toasted sourdough breadcrumbs offered a nice crunch, which went very well with the firm and juicy bite of the diced vegetables. This warm and tasty soup was perfectly paired with an extremely aromatic mini confection consisting of thin layers of shaved cep, cep purée and onion chutney on a puff pastry base. A picture of truly understated sumptuousness, perfect for this chilly weather.
Second course: rillette of smoked Cornish mackerel with a vinaigrette of langoustine claws, oysters, sea water jellies, cucumber and caviar. Garnished with ice plant (a refreshing herb with extremely crunchy and succulent leaves) and served with toasted sourdough on the side.
In a small bowl bursting with flavours of the sea, every component was delightfully fresh and clean-tasting (the most important prerequisite for any fish or seafood product), and the combination of sweet (langoustine and cucumber), sour (vinaigrette) and savoury (the rest, but especially the smoked mackerel) flavours was precise and effective. The crisp and juicy bite of the jelly, cucumber, caviar and ice plant accompaniments was the perfect textural complement to the moist and succulent chunks of seafood. On the whole, this refreshing cold dish felt almost like a palate cleanser between the richer warm courses that surrounded it. A welcome relief indeed, considering the length of this pretty substantial tasting menu!
Third course: roasted Isle of Orkney scallop with new season's ceps and white onion fondue.
This dish was simple, well-executed and irresistibly tasty. Lightly seasoned with sea salt and cooked just right, the scallop had a nice firm bite whilst retaining all of its naturally sweet juices, and the roasting gave it a subtly charred edge in flavour that was simply delightful. Coupled with savoury roasting juices and a fragrant cep purée glazing, this was really a morsel from heaven. The white onion accompaniments (in a puréed form with cream and milk, as well as sautéed with bits of shredded cep) were very aromatic but thankfully without a sharp sulphuric pungence that would overpower the main focus, and their flavour was surprisingly sweet and delicate. A really intense yet well-balanced dish.
Fourth course: foie gras ballotine with a topping of Granny Smith apples, served with crab apple glaze and a spiced chutney of plum, raisin and apple. (Not pictured: a side of toasted hazelnut, raisin and fig bread.)
Crab apple: a special variety of small apples with an extremely sour taste if eaten raw. Most apt for use in sweetened preparations such as jams, purées and chutneys due to their high pectin content and intense flavour.
A surprisingly restrained foie gras dish, presumably intended to give the stomach another break and to set it up for the two main courses ahead. No doubt the foie gras itself was lavish - a dense and rather generous portion, with a smooth and creamy mouthfeel due to the retention of vein and fat structures - but the unusually fruity composition of the dish kept it feeling very light on the palate. The rich, musky and slightly bitter foie gras was very well contrasted by its sweet-and-sour fruit accompaniments. The mildly spicy chutney was especially effective in stimulating the palate and enhancing overall flavours, while the fresh apple strips were particularly refreshing with their crunchy and juicy texture. On the other hand, the side of toasted bread, with its deep nutty flavour, was a totally apt complement to the taste of the foie gras.
Fifth course: roasted fillet of turbot with autumn truffle & walnut pesto and a smoked celeriac & bay milk purée, served on a bed of Savoy cabbage and grilled smoked potato slices.
This was, without any doubt, my favourite course of the tasting menu. I have mentioned in previous reviews this restaurant's knack for handling fish, and this course certainly didn't disappoint. This very thick chunk remained firm but moist, with its delicate roasting juices given an nice savoury depth by the addition of fish stock (so my server told me when I commented on how tasty this dish had been). The equally chunky pesto, with its crunchy coarseness and intense nutty taste, enhanced both the succulent texture of the flesh and its naturally light flavour. The smooth and creamy purée, with its sweet and smoky flavour, added a further touch of luxury to an already luscious portion of premium fish. One minor snag though: although I could see bits of truffle shavings within the pesto, I couldn't taste or smell them at all, perhaps overwhelmed in their tiny amount by the surrounding nutty and savoury flavours. Admittedly this is being very picky; the dish had been thoroughly enjoyable even without truffles in the picture.
Sixth course: breast of grouse with pearl barley, strips of pancetta (cured pork belly) and a pancetta roasting jus, on a bed of swede & turnip mashes and Muscat grapes. Served with a croustillant of the leg topped by bacon foam, and celeriac purée on the side.
This was the most substantial course in today's lunch. The breast meat was roasted to a customary medium rare with moist pancetta strips in order to preserve its firm and succulent texture. Needless to say, the pancetta and its roasting juices also contributed an incredible savoury depth to the dish. The breast meat lay on two mounds of mashed swede and turnip, and a scattering of muscat grapes. The turnip mash was particularly memorable; I hadn't quite expected it to be so heavily seasoned, and the resulting taste and texture were exactly like a salted turnip condiment (chye poh) used in breakfast and egg dishes back home in Singapore! The muscat grapes used must have been unripe ones, as they were extremely tiny and astringent; they did serve their purpose though of cutting through the overall intensity of this dish. Similarly, the swede, pearl barley and celeriac purée (now plain, not smoked as in the previous fish course) accompaniments provided a mildly sweet and wholesome balance to this extravagant dish. In the foreground, a crispy croustillant pastry shell contained seasoned minced leg meat that was tender, juicy and just as scrumptious as the main focus - no doubt helped by its rich bacon foam topping. I can totally understand it if some people find this course too heavy and salty, but it suited my personal taste just fine and I enjoyed every bite!
Seventh course: a tasting of Beaufort (on hazelnut, fig and raisin bread) and Stinking Bishop (foam and bavarois, on a bed of pear jelly and diced quince).
Beaufort: a raw cow's milk cheese produced in the French Alps, with a firm and creamy texture and a mildly pungent aroma. It is commonly used to make cheese fondue because it melts easily.
Stinking Bishop: a soft and creamy washed-rind cheese from Gloucestershire. Its distinctive odour is the result of the process of immersion every 4 weeks in perry (a kind of pear cider) made from the local Stinking Bishop pear, while it matures. Amusingly, it was first brought to international attention by the cartoon Wallace & Gromit in 2005, in which it was used to revive Wallace (the human character) from the dead (and why am I not surprised!).
Relaxing slightly after the main courses, this small cheese taster was offered prior to another two rich desserts. Cheese usually comes at a supplement in fine restaurants such as this, so to have it included in the tasting menu at no extra cost is pretty good value, to say the least. I must admit that I'm no cheese connoisseur, and certain aspects of this dish were not to my liking - an acquired taste perhaps? I did find the Stinking Bishop (quite literally) too pungent and strong-flavoured (thankfully balanced by the astringent jelly-and-fruit base). The milder Beaufort cheese on toast was more suited to my palate, and its deep flavour was well matched by the sweet and nutty bread.
Eighth course: milk chocolate bar with salted peanuts, praline and banana ice-cream.
I had requested a substitute for the first dessert of cheesecake, which I had tried when I first did a tasting menu here (see my review from Dec 2011), and this alternative (from the à la carte menu) was arranged for me by the manager on duty. This was pure comfort food - you can't go wrong with a chocolate-and-banana combination. In fact, the chocolate part of this dessert seemed to be an elevated take on Snickers, with layers of sticky praline and crushed salted peanuts within the biscuit base, topped generously by a very rich and velvety milk chocolate ganache. Taken together with the light and smooth banana ice-cream, the result was a truly heavenly (read: sinful!) combination of flavours and textures. Edible pure gold flakes and a sprinkling of sea salt on the chocolate slab imparted a further touch of luxury to this already indulgent dessert.
Ninth course: rice pudding and prune soufflé with Black Velvet ice-cream and a chocolate macaron.
Black Velvet: a beer cocktail made from champagne and Guinness. Created in 1861 by the bartender of the Brooks' Club in London, as a symbol of mourning for the untimely death of Prince Albert.
Putting aside the funereal history of Black Velvet for the moment, I must say that the ice-cream worked really well actually. At the time of dining, this flavour combination was certainly not one that I had expected, but the crispness of champagne and the full-bodied bitterness of stout produced an ice-cream that was both deep in flavour and light in mouthfeel. This, combined with a fruity soufflé with juicy bits of prune and a strong hint of spices (e.g. nutmeg) in the rice pudding mixture, produced a dessert that was very rich in taste yet never quite as overwhelming on the palate and stomach as it all looked/sounded. The accompanying macaron had a nice combination of textures, from the crisp and airy shells to the thick and smooth cream layer, though I found its taste somewhat underwhelming (strangely closer to cocoa butter than cocoa, despite its looks) compared to that of the soufflé. To be sure, it wasn't in the least offensive but I didn't miss it either.
Four more pieces of soft chewy nougat to finish as petit fours, and I was done. I was definitely full, but thankfully not as stuffed as I remember I had been after I did the tasting menu here for the first time. Service was stellar as usual, particularly from the duty manager and a very smiley English server called Andrew (a recent addition to the restaurant staff). I look forward to returning soon!
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