👎 Bar seating isn't the typical 'fine dining' setup.
The darling and I paid a visit to Esquina Spanish Tapas Bar for the Feb 2019 edition of Citi's 4 Hands Kitchen! In a nutshell, 4 Hands pairs up a (visiting) foreign chef and a local one to create a limited-run lunch and dinner menu, and is a pretty sweet way to sample and compare two cuisines in a single meal.
For this edition, Chef Carlos Montobbio (R) of Esquina hosts Chef Gustav Knutsson (L) of Denmark's 1-Michelin-starred Bhoga Restaurang. We're seated at the counter right in front of the kitchen, which makes for an amazing view of the chefs and cooks as they whip up the 8 courses for dinner.
First up, we get some snacks: Marinated "Gordal Olive" stuffed with anchovies and basil, Dried Sour Cream with trout roe and chives, Celeriac Tarte with Thyme and Puffed Rye, and Uni and Chips. Our favorites were the Dried Sour Cream (dehydrated until it was almost like a large chip), and the Uni.
The first starter was the Lightly Seared Scallop (by Chef Gustav), served in a Scallop and Mussel Consomme, brown butter, and pickled seeds and herbs (pickled at their restaurant in Denmark over the summer). The pickled seeds and herbs added a surprising and yet refreshing sour and tangy taste to the scallop.
Next up: Baked Sweet Potato (by Chef Carlos). The potato - slow-baked for two hours, resulting in smooth and sweet decadence - was topped with a smoked quail egg and served with Aji Amarillo (a type of chili from Peru) sauce and Crispy Quinoa.
The next dish (by Chef Gustav) was served up in two parts. The first was a small breaded & deep-fried 'fish finger' with a cut of turbot that was more fats than meat, resulting in an interesting gelatinous texture.
The second (and main) part was the Grilled Atlantic Turbot, with turbot fat emulsion and topped with smoked brussels sprouts and fermented garlic. Turbot's a pretty mild-tasting, somewhat firm-fleshed fish, so it was perhaps with this in mind that the accompanying greens (and the entire dish) was lightly seasoned as to not overpower the fish.
We move on then to the Tsarskaya Oyster (Chef Carlos), lightly broiled and then served with warm Pigeon Jus, Winter Black Truffle, and Beetroot foam. Unfortunately the darling and I are yet to learn to appreciate oysters, so this dish was sadly a little wasted on our unrefined palates.
Chef Gustav's Raw Westholme Wagyu Beef was brushed lightly with a reduced mushroom soy sauce, and served on a bed of spruce tips and shimeji and shiitake mushrooms. All in all it was pretty delicious, but our kiasi subconscious still can't let go of the fact that raw beef does add a bit of risk to the dining experience.
Chef Carlos then finished off the savoury dishes with charcoal-grilled Iberico Pork Presa and Espelette Confit Potato. The pork itself was tender and delicious, but the collision of flavours from the (very) tangy Nam Jim Jaew Sauce, and (very) salty Ras-el-hanout Hollandaise gravy was a little overwhelming for us.
No such problems with the Beer Stout Ice Cream (Chef Carlos) though. The stout ice cream, banana cake, banana foam and warm caramel sauce complemented each other perfectly, and was a very satisfying dessert.
Chef Gustav's Raspberry and Red Current Sorbet - served with picked powdered roses, cream, and salted meringue - was also a very good dessert. We were especially enamoured by the crisp-thin salted meringue sheet, which was wonderfully light, airy, and delicate.
To conclude: The dinner was overall a very satisfying one, and we found the portions sized perfectly for the average middle-aged adult appetite. This Four Hands Dinner was priced at s$93 - s$186 nett (depending on what type of credit card you hold) per person. At s$93 nett it's an amazing value for the quality of food served up, but we're not so sure if we'd willingly pay the full s$186 nett sticker price.
Esquina Spanish Tapas Bar is on 16 Jiak Chuan Rd, near the Outram Park MRT Station. Non-Halal.
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