Brasserie Wolf
This is an invited food tasting by ATE consulting and we greatly appreciated this invite as it does make us ditch our wrong perception towards French cuisine after a wonderful conversation with Head Chef Claudio Sandri.
Located at Robertson Quay, Brasserie Wolf has undergone a major renovation, bring in more space and an outdoor terrace within its premises. A varying ambience offered, depending on whether you are here for a cosy dinner or to chill out.
According to Chef Claudio, French cuisine has two major categories, namely the bistro style which serves Mum's cooking and the gastronomic style which places heavy emphasis on tasting portions and presentation.
In addition, the word brasserie is derived from the material, brass and hence the restaurant retains the use of having brass handles at certain part of the restaurants. Apart from that, the indoor dining area is decorated with overhanging lamps, plush leather seats and maple wooden flooring to excude a very comfy and casual mood.
There is a private dining area which Chef Claudio calls it Paris in short for the painting featuring the streets of France with The Eiffel Tower in the background.
The restaurant also has striking wall of framed accolades, memorabilia and quirky French icons to emphasize further on its Parisian charm.
Beetroot Cured Salmon, served with Horse Radish has an interesting way of presenting a poached egg. Nicely done with a half-cooked yolk, this is relatively light when eaten together with the beetroot and smoked salmon, which is unlike of the buttery and rich hollandaise sauce.
Note that the serving shown in the picture is only half the original portion.
The style that Chef Claudio adopts is a comtemporary way of cooking but the final result is a traditional taste to reflect the classic French charm. Hence, it is no surprise that old favoirites such as the Traditional French Onion Soup is highly recommended.
Made from onion and beef broth, this soup is slightly sweet by nature and what makes it so different from the other soup we had was the a slice of bread with a generous layer of cheese. The heat is well maintained beneath the bread and when eaten together with the melting cheese, the resulting effect is so flavourful.
But a word of caution, it can be alittle salty to some given how long this soup has been simmered with the ingredients.
Beef Bourguignon, another speciality of Chef Claudio, is what I will simplify as a beef stew. What strikes both Yuan and I was the extremely tender beef that is well-braised in red wine, beef broth, bacon, mushroom, baby onions and carrots. Initially, Yuan felt that the beef was too tender to his liking and it was through our conversation with Chef Claudio that we realized it was intended to be in this way.
Vacuumed pack and cooked slowly at 75°C in the oven for more than 6 hours. The structure of the meat is retained despite it being so meltingly soft.
With great reviews of the previous dishes, this is no exception. The fish is so tender and juicy, what's more can we add.
What is interesting lies in the patty next to the fish. We didn't catch what it's called but it is made of corn flour, butter, milk, parmesan and mascarpone cheese. It is somewhat similar to a dense pancake.
With such fantastic appetizers and main courses, we were to an extent, disappointed when two sundaes were served.
Although the Peach Melba is considered traditionally French, we felt that the overall combination seems to be a messy mixture of raspberry sauce and vanilla ice-cream. The only thing that I enjoyed completely in the sundae is the white peach which is refreshing, juicy and sweet but apart from that, it pretty much stops there.
Chocolate and Coffee Liegeois did satisfy Yuan's chocolate cravings and setting aside the rich chocolate taste and smooth ice-cream, we don't really know how to describe further as our expectation of a good ice-cream lies in a smooth texture which both sundaes have.
By the way, don't get us wrong with our comments towards the first two desserts as what follows after those were lovely and interesting.
While hearing Chef Claudio sharing with us the origin of the Tarte Tatin and for those who are curious, Tatin is a name of a French restaurant opened by 2 sisters. The reason why Tarte Tatin is an upside-down tart is due to an accident. According to him, the sisters dropped this tart on the floor and when served, the dessert became inverted and was well-received by their guests.
Anyway, back to Chef Claudio's Tarte Tatin. the same ice-cream that was served in the Peach Melba was heavenly good when eaten on its own. The apples were well-caramelized and when we wiped our plates clean, we can only say that we enjoyed this dessert thoroughly.
When Chef Claudio first describes this dessert to us, it was quite hard for us to imagine that the meringue is steamed to give a texture of a marshmallow but a less sticky version. The reason why it is called a Floating Island lies in the steam meringue being sandwiched with salted caramel. Moreover, this steamed meringue "floats" on top of a layer of custard. Indeed an interesting way of eating a meringue.
This meal would have been so different without the great company of Chef Claudio Sandri and we would like to thank Chef for his time to chat with us and share his experiences. Also to Danielle from ATE Consulting for the invite. Not forgetting the warm hospitality of Sihui (also from ATE Consulting) who was there to ensure that everything was perfect for the dinner.
Brasserie Wolf
80 Mohamed Sultan Road
The Pier at Robertson
#01-13
Singapore 239013
