Ember @ Keong Siak Road

The gf whatsapp-ed me raving about her experience at Ember and I guess that tickled the interest even more. Hence...Ember, at last. Made lunch reservations a week in advance to make doubly sure I would get my seats.  They operate mainly by emails which I found different from the other restaurateurs - I love their prompt responses!

ember
Located at 1929 Hotel...it is hard to miss Ember. I am already tempted to book a staycation at the boutique hotel...there's just so much character at Keong Siak Road. Even in the 2 minute walk from the car, the companion could point out history to me - the previous existence of an illegal gambling den on the second floor of the building opposite Hotel 1929. Patrons of the den could use their chips to exchange for food at the kopi tiam downstairs...that's a mini MBS casino in the making already!

Arriving at 1230pm was a pluspoint, just minutes before the rest of the crowd set in.

setting

Paper menus.
tables

The table next door that did not remain empty for long.
tomato bread

Sundried tomato bread was served piping hot in a metal dish. They proportion it in such a way that every couple gets a dish. Loved the awesome crackle of bread crust, the gorgeous steam that gets released...and the bite into the aromatic.

tomato bread torn

All in, super therapeutic experience. Doubles please!

parma ham salad

Pan roasted scallop with parma ham, citrus and tarragon vinaigrette

The bouncy scallops were draped in parma ham and panfried. Gorgeous sear its got! For once, the salad outshone the protein in the dish. Have yet to try a dressing so tangy and fruity, unlike the usual sour twangs of vinegar.

mushroom soup


Field mushroom soup with white truffle oil

This was one of those soups with thin consistency but tastes sooooo good. Adored the mild hints of truffle oil, my favourite mushroom soup of all time.

usda tenderloin

Pan roasted USDA prime beef tenderloin with french fries, merlot reduction

Well done is not allowed for this - thumbs and toes up for this recommendation. Eating steak welldone ruins any chance of succulence retained.

sliced tenderloin

Medium I had, beef tenderloin so succulent and tasty...I wish there was more of it! Merlot reduction was a tad salty though but that did not stop me from mopping the goodness up with my beef and straw mushrooms.

fries
Liked the separate serving of fries with mayo and ketchup and salad.

salad

This time round, the salad had an oriental touch to it.

miso cod

Marinated cod with black miso, sweet peas and herbed potatoes

I thought this was good too though slightly on the sweet side. Herbed potatoes were delish too!

I love the choice of dessert at Ember and secretly wished they did not remove the sticky date pudding I was looking forward to trying.

frozen nougats

Frozen nougat with seasonal berries, lychee sorbet

I have had below the par frozen nougats before, in fact...all frozen nougats attempted thus far have all fared the same manner - a slab of frozen icecream embedded with preserved fruit. Yet when the waitress doubly nudged us to give this a try, it proved to be a raving one. Presented like nougat chunks stacked on top of each other, each frozen nougat was packed with nuts and was reminiscent of my favourite australian crunchy nougats - only in icecream form.

Lychee sorbet provided a lovely contrast to the nougat, yummm!

pear tart

Crispy caramelized pear tart with homemade baileys ice cream
(at least 30 minutes)

With L'Angelus' top of the chart, Ember's comes closely second if not on par. Mad crispy pear tart with nicely caramelized pear slices...that in itself was sublime. Super duper loved the crumbles that came with it. Baileys icecream lacked the punch that rum and raisin had though.

apple pie

Crispy cinnamon “ apple pie” with rum and raisin ice cream

Another stunner. I adore how Ember fully capitalizes on "crispy" and produces such excellent pastries.

tea

Coffee and Tea

Comes with a cookie nibbler and a pot each. Great value their set lunches are!

honey

Watch the honey!

One amazing thing about Ember's menu is, there are more than two choices per course - at least 5! Me loves that. 

If I can I'd second, triple and even quad like Ember. From the beginining to the end...nothing I disliked about it. Service was as warm as can be, they may stark honest recommendations - ever heard of a restaurant dissuading you from trying certain dishes? Spot on recommendations and we loved every Ember moment. Once, is definitely not enough at Ember. 

$39.50++, 3 course

Ember
Keong Siak Road

Comments

  1. Missin' Ember's chilean seabass & coconut panna cotta with gula melaka big time!

    ReplyDelete
  2. @ice: i miss ember big time too! :(

    ReplyDelete

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