Penned Thoughts: Anniversary Degustation: The NEW Sage

As usual, we celebrate this memorable date at our favourite fine-dining restaurant, The Sage. It has moved to the new place at Mohamed Sultan, just the opposite where they used to be. The new Sage has modern and stylish feel, yet the ol’ personal warmth service standard remains –which is why it gets our highest vote for best fine dining place in Singapore.

To Manfred and I, The Sage is more than excellent food quality, romantic ambience and warmth personalized service. It is where our first love momento begins, from our first date to our first anniversary, and to marriage proposal. The Sage is a special place for both of us.

This anniversary, Manfred treats me to the new Degustation Menu, which is fairly reasonable priced for six-course dinner of four appetizers, one main and dessert. Kimberly had too arranged for every course to be crustaceans-free and shells-free as I’m still under diet restrictions. Nevertheless, it was a very thoughtful gesture of her.

Let's proceed to the menu for the evening :)

Complimentary hors d'oeuvre

This interesting dish is made of squashed tomatoes combined with onion and lime juice, topped with caviar. It gives off refreshing taste with subtle hint of spice and lime.. Perfect as hors d'oeuvre..

Gravlax of ocean trout with citrus marinade on vine ripe tomato foam,

fennel marmalade and tapioca pearls scented with orange essence

The fresh raw trout tastes sweet with no sign of fishy smell. The yellow jelly on top of the trout is the tapioca pearls blends with orange essence, and the white foam on the left is the tomato foam, which tastes quite bland.. Mix these three together and you get sweet smooth orange scented taste lingering in your mouth.. *mmmm... a fluffy french-sashimi appetizer..

Carpaccio of US naturally raised, grain fed and hormone free beef tenderloin

with jellied horseradish consomme and air dried Wagyu,

Arugula leaves and shaved Parmigianno Reggiano

Imagine Wagyu beef carpaccio with marble score of 10, then you know how this dish would taste! The jellied horseradish consomme was surprisingly tasty and blends well with the smooth texture of Wagyu beef.. Two words for this dish: IT MELTS!!

Seared scallop on Belgium endive au gratin with avruga caviar,
Normandy sauce and Parmigianno Reggiano lace

I purposely took a closeup of this dish so that you can look for yourself the amount of caviar that they put on that huge scallop!! Definitely not stingy for an appetizer! This dish was SUPERB.. It had fragrant smell when it arrived on our table, and oh boy how glad we were that the taste matched the smell! Manfred liked it so much that he wanted a main course version of this for our next visit! Memorable dish indeed!

Pan-seared duck foie gras on pear and walnut chuney,
Muscat poached fig with spiced port wine glaze

I always love foie gras here -it's pan-seared until crisp on the outer, yet it's soft on the bite.. Needless to say, they are very generous with the portion as well. The port-sweetened fig compliments the foie gras very well, leaving taste of sweetness lingering in your mouth.. Definitely an interesting experience..

Charcoal grilled Kurobuta pork loin with orange marmalade on slow cooked terrine of

pork cheek topped with tomato fondue and aioli, white bean mousseline and basil pesto

I am more of a beef person, so I seldom order pork loin for my main. Didn't really expect much of the dish initially, yet this dish gave me a new revolution of pork loin dish, or to be exact Kurobuta pork loin.. :p

It is the finer version of chinese roasted pork, with elegant dish presentation.. The pork cheek was soft and tender as it is slow cooked, but I still prefer the charcoal grilled pork loin.. The white bean mousse was smooth and neutralized the porky taste. So you can enjoy the dish with porky-free feeling! Overall, this is a wonderful dish to order for a change!

Chocolate souffle with Amaretto ice cream and vanilla bean custard

Hot choco liquid + vanilla custard + icy cold amaretto ice cream = SUPERB DESSERT!!
Do I still have to explain more?

This time round, Kimberly had prepared an anniversary gift from The Sage for us!! Blessed with favor and abundance from God indeed!! (We were already full to the max during the Kurobuta course!)

Mascarpone and cream cheese cake with compote of
strawberries and nougat, caramel sauce and chocolate sorbet

Best cheescake I have tried so far! The cheescake was smooth and soft, with no cheesy taste. Basically you can eat a lot and still don't feel sick of it! Very wonderfully made cheesecake.. Good job Chef Jusman! :)