Lunch at Iggy's

A few days ago when we visited Khir's friend A.K., we heard he was a chef. It turns out he's a chef at Iggy's which made it into S. Pelligrino's list of top 50 restaurants in the world last year.

We went for lunch yesterday and were treated to 8 of the most fantastic dishes I've ever eaten. Sadly, I didn't take photos of any of the dishes, but here's what we had:

Amuse Bouche: Uni with cauliflower mousse in a ponzu jelly. Burrata mozzarella, vine-ripened tomatoes and basil. While this one was interesting, by comparison it turned out to be my least favorite of the lunch.

Summer Salad: Mushroom, tomato, avocado, mesclun, red onion, fine herbs, truffle and Hollandaise. The words here don't really capture it. When it says "mushroom", they mean a wonderfully marinated and grilled piece of portobello that's wonderfully delicious on its own. Similarly for the rest of the ingredients. The black winter truffle shavings on top were also delicious.

Mushroom: Mushroom cappuccino. We kind of rolled our eyes at the name of this one, but it turned out to be one of our favorite dishes. Just as cappuccino is an intense concentration of coffee taste, this turned out to be the most intense concentration of earthy mushroom flavor we've ever experienced. It was a dark, slightly creamy, wonderfully earthy mushroom soup (served in a cappucino glass) which totally floored us.

Tomato Tart: Tomato tart, basil, and Parmigiano Reggiano. Once again, ingredients sound simple and straightforward, but the trick was all in the execution. Definitely the best tart I've ever had. I'm only sorry we're lacking photos!

Sanma: Grilled baby pike, olive rice and fresh thyme oil. I took this photo from their website, but this is exactly what ours looked like.

The pike was so tender it almost melted in our mouths. It also had a very smooth creamy taste almost akin to sushi. The olive rice had some kind of small puffed grain mixed in which gave it a nice crunch and a subtle flavor something like barley. Definitely the best fish I'd ever eaten in my life (that is, until the next fish course...)

Duo of Tomato: Essence of tomato and soda. This was edging into the realm of molecular gastronomy. In chilled shot glasses we were served a cold, translucent cabonated liquid which tasted like tomato and citris. It had a very light and delicious, and surprising flavor.

Capellini: Capellini with zuchini, smoked mullet roe and shallot. This one was khir's favorite. I don't remember there being any mullet roe, and I do remember small shrimp and very small seaweed flakes mixed in. In any case, whatever the changes, it was exemplary. This is another one I found a photo of online. Again, not my photo, but this is exactly what our dish looked like.

Seabass: Slow-cooked seabass, caviar aubergine, tomato confit and poultry jus. Once again, we kind of rolled our eyes at the description, but the dish itself outdid the pike, even though we thought it impossible. Though not mentioned in the description, there was a kind of fresh olive tapinade on top, as well as small pieces of some kind of light fried fish cracker. The fish, again, was incredibly tender and flavorful, but what made this dish for me was the interplay of flavors. I tried each of the four main flavors seperately, and in various combinations; it was an amazing lesson in how flavors can build-on and compliment each other. This was, for me, the highlight of the meal.

Predessert: Soursop sorbet with lime foam. Another one served in chilled shot glasses, and another lesson in the pairing of tastes. By themselves, the soursop sorbet was good but unexciting, while the lime foam was very tart and a bit overwhelming. Together, they were perfect.

Duo of deserts: Chocolate cylider, french toast, home-made maple ice-cream. Caraibe chocolate bar, mascarpone ice-cream, green lime zest.

Here are some photos from other blogger's web pages. The only difference is that we had both of these plated together.

I wish the photo of the french toast were a little better, because this one doesn't really capture how perfectly golden, moist and delicious it was. The interior was moist and soft while the exterior had a thin carmelized crust. Amazing.

According to Jen, the real chocolate lover between us, just as the mushroom course captured the essence of rich mushroom flavor, this dessert was the most concentrated chocolate flavor she'd ever had. The photos are a little deceptive because they can't capture the incredible flavors, but we wanted to try and give a little idea.

Finally, here's a shot of all of us: me and jen, khir, ak, and Iggy's pastry chef, followed by a shot of the entire staff (taken from Iggy's website).