Ms Skinnyfat

A Food & Travel Blog from Singapore

Restaurant Review: The Knolls, Capella

By Sunday, June 10, 2012 , , , ,

The Capella at Sentosa has got to be one of the prettiest hotels in Singapore. I've previously had tea at The Knolls and even though the food wasn't fantastic, i truly enjoyed the view of the South China Sea as well as the luxurious air to the place. Thus, I was excited to hear about their special offer for May! British 2 Michelin Starred Celebrity Chef Tom Kerridge of The Hand & Flowers was invited to helm the Knolls' kitchen for 5 days, bringing to the table a modern spin on British pub food. The Hand and Flowers is the first pub to have been awarded 2 Michelin Stars! If you read on, you wouldn't even think that's pub food at all. 
I managed to get ourselves a booking for lunch which is a 4 course meal (S$98++). A 5 Course dinner (S$178++ without wine) and a Sunday Champagne Brunch was also available. 
S was smart enough to ask for a seat by the windows so that we can get a good view. I've trained him well indeed! Coincidentally, it was the same seats that Z and i took the last time! :)
The bread basket which our servers happily refilled. S requested to have more of the cheese filo pastry (i'm not sure what's the proper name for it) and they came back with an entire basket of it! I thought it's more like a biscuit due to the thickness of the base. 
Our first dish- Moules Mariniere with Brown Bread. This is done in a soup style while traditionally it's just mussels cooked in white wine and parsley. As you can tell, all the shells has been removed (yay!) and that actually allows the white wine base to be fully soaked up by the fresh mussels. Diced carrots and turnips have been added to this dish and there is a tangy citrus taste which i can't figure out but it works perfectly with the sweetness of the seafood. 
The Pan Seared Scallops, White Asparagus Foam and Bleak Roe with Spinach Puree was a delight as well. The scallop is actually sitting on a blended cod puree which gives the dish an additional grainy texture and slightly creamy taste. The taste is very light and subtle and you can see how the chef has brought out the individual flavors without using too much seasoning.
Onto the main course. Breast of Organic British Chicken, Pistachio Crumble, Lovage Poached Turnips, Soft Polenta and Truffle. The organic chicken was a delight, it's so tender and moist. I'm not a fan of the Pistachio Crumble though because the bread crumbs felt kinda stale and hard. The polenta mash was starchy and buttery and i love the strong truffle taste in it. There was also a citrus undertone which i thought was an interesting touch. The little black bits are black truffle shavings and they were oh so delightful of course. The sauce for the chicken is worth a mention here because i think Tom has splashed some Chinese wine in with the chicken stock (i see what you've done there Tom). ;)
Celebrating my break! Woowhee! I deserve it because i've been working so hard for the 1st half of the year. My friends would beg to differ on my definition of hard work. :P 
The Mango Pavlova Ivoire Chantilly and Passion Fruit Coulis was not really my cup of tea. I don't quite fancy pavlova. Why would i want to eat beaten egg whites that are overly sweet? Anyhow, i thought this was quite the extremes because the pavlova could send one into a diabetic shock (i exaggerate) and the mango and passion fruit were quite acidic. Definitely my least fav dish.  
Color palette- Grey, Sunset yellow, navy blue, pink, silver and gold.
As you can tell from this happy picture, i really enjoyed my meal. Kudos to Capella for bringing the stars to our little island. Thumbs up!

Anyway, i'm loving this maxi dress that i bought from Bangkok. I don't believe in spending too much money on clothes (i meant a single piece :P) since i wouldn't wear the same thing too many times unless it's like a basic piece or work wear. With the right accessories and attitude, you can look a million bucks (though i must say i spend way more on my accessories i.e. bags). Confidence is key to looking faboosh.

Food: 4/5
Service: 4/5 Friendly, though not particularly knowledgeable about the dishes.
Ambience: 5/5 Can't beat this view!

The Knolls
1 The Knolls, Capella Singapore
Sentosa
Tel: +65 6591 5046
Daily: 6.30am - 11pm

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