aly's wonderland

Singapore Slingin’ – Day Two: The Nautilus Project

Day Two in Singapore. I was still lovin’ the vibe, the convenience, the food. The cleanliness! Ah… it really felt like a foreign country. I know it is, but somehow I’d always imagined it was like Malaysia. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

The early part of the day was disappointing. Waking up early to a mediocre breakfast at the hotel displeased me. Needless to say, we skipped breakfast for the next two days. However, I did get to meet my colleagues in Hong Bao Media, (finally!) and spent a couple of hours getting to know them over lunch, then on to a long overdue photoshoot.

Thanks Mark! “Corporate Aly’ makes an appearance, if only for a few hours.

Lil’ Chef and I decided to take a leisurely stroll back, (because you can do that in Singapore!) and stopped for a drink at The Sanctuary by Indochine, on Orchard Road.

It’s just before ION Orchard(if it’s on your left),  and it was nice to be sitting out on the street without sweating, or any crazy traffic noise. Is there a law in Singapore that says cars must be – Shhhh – Silent? Because they are…

Anyway, back to the hotel, quick change and voila! Ready for our 5 minute walk back to ION Orchard where the Nautilus Project was.

That evening, we were meeting Lil’ Chef’s friends. Jason Dell hails from the land of Kiwi’s. New Zealand is his home, but he likes it just fine in Asia. Here’s a picture from his website.

His hair is shorter now, but his presence still recognisable.

Jason and his wife Tracy moved to Singapore over a year ago, and have not looked back since. He manages all the restaurants in the Society Group.

The transition from Executive Chef at Blanket Bay (an exclusive alpine luxury lodge between Queenstown and Glenorchy, Central Otago, with numerous awards under his belt) to Chef overseeing a group of restaurants was second nature to him. Check out Jason Dell’s Book Savvy.

Great recipes!

So we met with the man himself, at one of the group’s restaurants. The Nautilus Project, Bistro & Seafood Bar at Ion Orchard.

“Our philosophy is simple…We choose only the freshest ingredients available… Lastly,In the pursuit of excellence, our chefs are taught to constantly taste,taste,taste…”

-          www.thenautilusproject.com –

We started off with nice glass of white wine at the Ice Bar.

Unfortunately for us, there were no oysters available so we had to make do with drooling over the menu that teased us.

Raw oysters served natural on crushed ice with ponzu sauce, cooked oysters grilled with Worcestershire sauce, shallots, bacon and fine herbs, Marinated Mussels served with spicy chorizo sausage, mint couscous, zhoug and pita bread and Scottish lobster and crab salad served with tarragon and herb aioli. Those were the four dishes that caught my eye but alas, I would have to wait until next time. A pleasant chat catching up ensued, and we were soon shown through the sleek and trendy corridor to our table.

Once seated at our table by the window overlooking Orchard Road, I realized I was freezing.

Goosebumps pooped up everywhere and I started shivering. Thank goodness they are well prepared, and a smiling waiter speedily brought over a pashmina and draped it over my icy shoulders.

Ahh… much better! Kudos to the management for having the forward thinking to cater to their guest’s comfort.

To start, Jason ordered the Mediterranean Platter, recommended for sharing, for two. This consisted of goat’s cheese, olives, hummus chermoula and tabbouleh ($14.50) served with warmed bread and olive oil.

We chose our own starters and mains. I decided to skip the starter and go for a big main, but if I had ordered a starter it would have been the Ocean scallops with Moorish carrots, date filo crisps, chermoula and fresh cilantro ($18.00).

Lil’ Chef ordered the Signature lobster trilogy: Chilled vanilla lobster salad • Caramelised lobster custard • Warm lobster soufflé ($29.00).

Chilled vanilla lobster salad – refreshingly cool

Caramelised lobster custard – delightfully wobbly

And Warm lobster soufflé

I sneaked a taste and must admit I loved the subtle lobster flavor that was enhanced by the light and fluffy soufflé.

It’s always a little difficult to interrupt dinner with friends to take photos of their food. However, we did manage to sneak a couple of shots in and from my hazy memory, Jason had the Ripened Kikorangi blue cheese with pear, walnuts, pickled beetroot, wild rocket and evoo ($16.50).

Tracy had the Salt & pepper squid with Asian-inspired slaw and spicy peanut dressing ($13.50).

It was on to mains as the boys caught up with ‘chef-stuff’, and the girls got to know each other better, discussing children and school!

Now, I was a greedy bunny and went for a house specialty. Here is an extract from the menu that sold me straight away.

“Nautilus soup kettles”

At the front of our kitchen sit two imposing pots, where our resident chefs brew fragrant cooking stocks that gently simmer to develop rich, delicious flavours.

step one: choose your seafood combination

A - mussels • clams • reef fish • crab • pipis . . . . . . . . $39.00 per person

B - mussels • grouper • salmon • prawns • pipis . . . . .$37.00 per person

step two: choose your cooking stock

• Thai spicy coconut; complemented by steamed fragrant Thai rice

• Fresh mediterranean; complemented by toasted ciabatta

• Sweet & sour Sichuan; complemented by thick rice noodles, bok choy and crushed peanuts

• Clam chowder; complemented by crusty French bread

Mmm… I ordered the A, with the Thai spicy coconut broth.

Wonderful.

Fragrant. Succulent seafood. A must try, I highly recommend it.

Oh, and did I mention my side dish of Brussel Sprouts?

Brussels sprouts with rosemary, garlic, almonds and streaky bacon ($ 7.00). This was insanely good. The butter had seeped into every corner, every crack, and soaked into every leaf. The almonds added a wonderful crunch and sweetness that balanced out the saltiness from the crispy bacon.

Lil’ Chef was happy with his Whole flounder with popcorn capers, tarragon, beurre noisette and sautéed potatoes ($47.00) with clean flavours, while Jason tucked into his hearty portion of Crispy skinned duck leg confit with ‘drunken’ sherry prunes, cumin creamed parsnip and apple jelly ($35.00).

Tracy had the Clam Chowder, which looked wonderfully creamy and smelt oh-so good.

I was, of course, trying to make a good impression so didn’t reach over and dig my spoon into her bowl! Next time… next time…

In between courses we were given a tour f the restaurant.

The private dining room overlooks the open kitchen.

The table is impressive, carved out of one piece of wood.

We returned to our seats, and next up was dessert. Not much of a dessert fan, I let the others dig into the Liquid centre chocolate fondant with pistachio nut brittle and white espresso ice-cream ($15.00).

I let them have the Lemon and olive oil cake with lemon syrup, yoghurt sorbet and sugared almonds( $13.50).

I attacked the cheese instead. Selection of 3 artisan cheeses with accompaniments ($19.00).

I was in cheese heaven.

I loved the food. Our entire meal was so… pleasant. As Lil’Chef says, “It’s so Jason Dell.”

Inventive, fresh, and tasty. A clever twist on familiar favourites that leave you wanting more. We did want more, and ended up seeking out another one of the Society Group’s restaurant’s the next day. Yes, we made a beeline for the Society Bistro at the brand-spanking new Mandarin Gallery (after having a filling brunch at Ding Tai Fung). We also made a quick dash into Prime Society at Dempsey, before our dinner at Tippling Club. But that’s a whole other story.

Finally, a little something that made me smile. At the bottom of the menu at Nautilus Project, it explains some of the ingredients that you may not know:

“what on earth is that?!”

evoo - extra virgin olive oil!

ponzu - citrus Japanese soy sauce

moorish - spices inspired by the Moors people of North Africa

chermoula - North African marinade

tabbouleh - Arabic dish of chopped parsley, bulgar, mint, tomatoes, scallions, lemon juice and olive oil

bresaola – thinly sliced air-dried salted beef from Italy

zhoug - spicy Middle-eastern paste

kofta – Middle-eastern meatball

lavosh - thin Persian flatbread

kumara – New Zealand sweet potato

It was a wonderful meal, with wonderful company, and I expanded my vocabulary at the same time…

We strolled back to the hotel, stopped for a quick pint of ‘Erdinger’ at Santuary by Indochine.

We were serenaded by the band, whose name escapes me because they didn’t play my request.

And we  said goodnight to another glorious meal in Singapore.

Day Three: Marathon Eating in Singapore – coming soon.

CONTACT:

The Nautilus Project

Bistro and fresh seafood bar

ION Orchard, 2 orchard Turn, #04-09, Singapore 238801

+65 6509 1033 / +65 6509 1032

www. thenautilusproject.com