Dozo @ Vallley Point SC

Dozo is a restaurant that's been around for quite a long time. I remember I had my first experience here 2 or 3 years back. That it's still around amidst an every changing landscape and plethora of competition, I think, is testament to the restaurant's standard.

Address : 491 River Valley Road, #02-02/03 Valley Point Shopping Centre (Tel: 68386966)

Official Website : http://www.dozo.com.sg/index.html

My companion and I visited the restaurant on a weekday recently. Valley Point SC is very unremarkable, so from the outside, Dozo looks like just any other Japanese Restaurant. The interior though, is decidedly western.

 

 

The restaurant occupies 2 shop spaces, and its big, looks sophisticated with ample seating and private rooms. If you've ever been to Michelin-star restaurants anywhere, Dozo certainly wouldn't look out of place. Interior design wise, at least.

 

 

While allowing us time to browse through the set menu, a little snack was placed at the table. Instead of your usual rolls of bread, they offered long Pocky-like noodle biscuits. Honestly, if they hadn't told me that was for eating, I might have thought it was purely decorative.

 

 

 So they basically have the same menu for lunch and dinner, and all you have to do is select one course from each category. The difference between lunch and dinner that certain items are only available in the evenings and lunch is a 6-course affair as opposed to 7-courses at dinner. That and the slight difference in price.

 

 

 

Before our meal commenced, they served us a very light peach/ plum sherbet beverage, meant to help revv up your appetite...it was quite delicious though I don't really like peach that much. 

 

 

 

Then came the starter. We were advised to have the Scallops with asparagus foam first(centre) followed by the Foie Gras on bread(right) and lastly smoked salmon with whipped cream. My favourite was the foie gras, which was really decadent. Didn't fancy the little raisin it came with though!

 

 

Then we come to our cold dish...I had the Bluefin Tuna Tartar with Avocado.

 

 

The tuna was good, nice clean fresh taste, and the slightly sweet and salty sauce went well with the whole dish. My only gripe is that they were a little stingy with the avocado.

 

My companion went for the more traditional Japanese option...assorted sashimi. It was of a reasonable standard considering the price we were paying.

 

 

Next was the side dish...once I saw the menu, being the goose liver junkie that I am, I knew I was having the foie gras chawanmushi.

 

 

It didn't disappoint. The chawanmushi was excellent. Soft and creamy with a hint of foie gras. Not too much to overpower the dish, but not so little that you can't detect the fragrance. Sumptuous.

  

 

My companion went for the tempura soft shell crab on the truffle mash. The tempura wasn't great, but for me the star of the dish was the truffle mash, though the mash could have been finer. Texture wise, it was a tad too chunky but you could definitely taste the truffle. Another excellent combination.

 

For soup, I had the Bacon infused pumpkin Veloute. I think anything infused with bacon, surely cant go wrong. And with this interpretation of pumpkin soup I was proven right. The pumpkin soup was exceptional! Perfect combination, though I think people who cant get their head round the fact that the soup tastes a bit like bacon, probably wouldn't enjoy this.

 

My companion ordered the safer Mushroom soup with truffles. The waiter advised us to chew on the truffle first before having the soup to enhance it's flavour. The soup was spectacular.

 

 

The taste of the mushrooms, coupled with the creaminess of the soup and the fragrance of the truffles was splendid. Honestly, if you don't know what to choose, just pick this option. I really can't see how anyone can possibly not enjoy this.

 

 

 With our stomachs already 80% filled to the brim, we came to the main course. I had the beef tenderloin on the hot granite stone whilst my companion had the pork cheek.

 

 

 

 

Honestly, I was a little let down by this dish. Perhaps it was the expectation I had built up for this dish after reading online reviews of the restaurant. But I felt the beef wasn't fantastic. It was alright, but really nothing special.

 

 

The pork cheek was quite tasty, but personally, I feel that the sauces they served with the pork killed the dish. The meat itself was soft and flavourful, but I actually had to scrape away most of the condiments before I ate it. The sauce was a little bit overpowering.

 

Finally we come to the dessert and drink. We ordered the same combination - Iced Rose Lemon Tea and Japanese Cheesecake.

 

 

 

The drink was light and refreshing, especially after such a heavy meal. Whilst the cheese cake was quite normal. Certainly not unlike those you can buy outside from breadtalk or four season's bakery.

 

Conclusion:

 

For $70/pax (inc GST) I would say it makes for a really good and satisfactory dinner. Though perhaps the quality of the food on show isn't exactly premium, but all in all, with the excellent service and ambience that the restaurant exudes, I would give the place a 7/10. 

 

Modern Japanese cuisine takes many forms. At Dozo, the restaurant takes pains to incorporate European influences into their fare. Dining there, you will see European favourites like truffle and foie gras (ingredients which are very un-Japanese!) complementing very Japanese dishes like chawanmushi. So at the very least, dining here makes for some interesting eating.

 

Definitely a decent place to dine.

House @ Dempsey, Singapore

On a slow Thursday night, my buddies and I decided to head out and check out one of the restaurants we've always wanted to visit...House @ Dempsey.

 

Here's the official website... http://www.dempseyhouse.com/

 

And here's the address : 8D Dempsey Road S249672 (Tel: 64757787)

 

Since opening in 2007, we've heard some decent reviews of the place and were quite excited to see if the place was up to scratch. Honestly with Dempsey being so upper class and with so many decent restaurants and cafes dotting the area, we were upbeat about our chances.

The café is located behind the main block of restaurants, quietly tucked away in a nice corner. You need to descend down a flight of stairs to enter, but it's a nice, short and comfortable stroll. The places is quite chilled out, with water features and greenery surrounding the place, so it certainly has the right sort of ambience to pull of the Dempsey look and feel.

Upon arrival, the very efficient staff tended to us immediately and saw us to a good seat at a corner where we could have some nice quiet conversation. That's not to say the place was noisy or rowdy or anything of that sort. Being Thursday, I guess it wasn't too busy.

 

 

 I think in the day light, with the sunshine streaming in through the glass windows and slide doors, the place would look quite pretty. Nice interior design, simple yet classy, a really nice place for brunch, based on the ambience alone.

 The menu was quite unique, taking the form of a newspaper. Prices were Dempsey-like, not exactly cheap but reasonable considering that we're in town.

So first order of the day, was to try the much raved about truffle fries...

 

 Truffle fries are fries fried in truffle oil and doused with truffle salt and sometimes topped with some cheese shavings or sprinkles. What makes it so special is the aroma of the truffles imparted to the fried potatoes. The strong mushroomy-taste of the truffles certainly gives the fries an extra kick. You know McDonald's seaweed shaker fries? In essence, this is the mushroom version.

The fries were crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, and the smell emitted by the truffles was just exceptional. I can see why some people really rate the truffle fries here. Priced at only $11, I highly recommend House's interpretation of truffle fries. Just jolly good potatoes and truffle oil, sans cheese and all.

At the recommendation of the waiter, we ordered 3 mains to share...first up, the wagyu rump and chips($34)

Served with a sauce of yogurt and horse radish as well as a side of salad and fried chips, at first glace, the dish failed on one Singaporean aspect...size. The wagyu rump, though it looked really good, was a little bit on the short side. I can understand why sometimes, really good marbled beef is served in smaller portions - if you have too much, the oil really gets to you. So, I was thinking that was possibly the reason.

Upon cutting into it and trying the beef, I felt it was so-so. Nothing to shout about. Yeah sure, the beef was definitely better than what you can get at say, Astons or somewhere similar, but it definitely wasn't amongst the best I've ever had. For the price, I'd much rather go elsewhere.

Next up...Roasted Chilean Cod Fish
($29)

 

 

Roasted with turmeric, toped with an apple and celery salad and finally served with a sweet date sauce. aesthetically, this dish was pleasing. Again though, the portion was small. The cod was exactly what you would expect for the price you're paying, good quality fish. The sauce on the other hand, didn't quite do it for me.

When you have good quality ingredients, you really don't want to spoil the dish by over improvising or "over cooking" the dish. The star should be the fish, not the accompanying sauce. In this case, there simply was too much going on in one dish. I could taste dates, apples, celery and other condiments. The cod fish though, got crowded out by all the spices which were supposed to alleviate the dish. Not smother it.

Another thumbs down.

After the disappointments of the last 2 dishes, maybe the lamb rump with spiced cous cous($34) could salvage the dinner?

Served with Merguez Sausage and cous cous, at first glance though, the rump looked really dry and bereft of any natural juices at all. Merguez is a sausage made from either lamb or beef or a mixture of both and stuffed into lamb-intestine casing. It is then spiced with chillies as well as other spices. Cous cous on the other hand, is derived from Northern African cusine. Its a bit like rice, or bryani, but its of a smaller grain, and it's usually served with stews.

The sausage was ok, I mean unless you are a sausage connoisseur which I'm not, other than it being saltier and packed with more spices, you're not going to be able to discern much difference between this one and another one of the same make. Cous cous wasn't spectacular, but then again, I've yet to taste bryani that's really out of this world. Usually its the condiment that accompanies the Bryani that has to be good to bring out the taste of the bryani.

The lamb was in all honesty, terrible. It was dry, more like chicken breast than lamb rump. I can't believe that the chef actually thinks this is ok to serve the customer. It was execution of the dish was ludicrously poor. One of the worst $34 I have ever spent in my life, and that includes the parking fines I have paid to the government!

Conclusion :

I fervently hope that today's meal(other than the truffle fries) was because the chef was having an off day rather than the norm, because it just wasn't up to scratch. Will I come back again? Perhaps for a coffee and some brunch, just to soak in the weekend atmosphere. Definitely not for a full service meal though.

The food just doesn't quite cut it.