374. Ember

A colleague is making her pilgrimage to Israel for 2 weeks and decided that she wanted a good lunch. So, I suggested Ember @Keong Siak St  and we quickly placed a reservation. The place seemed to make use of day light infusion into the area. Quickly served to our reserved table, we were welcomed by the brightly lit smile from the waitress who has recognised a frequent patron, another colleague of mine. It was my first visit.

Quickly, we placed our order. The smell of the warm sun-dried tomato and herb infused foccacia immediately filled our nose. Yummy good. We had pan-seared foie gras with orange reduction. The generous slab of foie gras soon arrived at our table and we digged in anxiously, enjoying the fats that melted instantly in our mouths.

2 of us ordered the duck confit, I went for the pork belly after much persuasion from my colleague and the waitress and another colleague ordered the marinated cod with black miso. I managed to steal a generous try of the duck confit. The Duck Confit though crispy was kept moist in the meat. Paired with the 48-hour cooked cameralised onions with thyme and mushrooms, the taste was good enough for a praise but somehow lacks the oomph somewhere.

My 12-hour Cooked Pork Belly with Savoy Cabbage, Apple Puree & Spiced Calvados Sauce arrived and I managed with a giggle when the waiter said your chocolate pork instead of your pork belly. No idea how the relation came about. He must have been too nervous as he explains what are the sauces on plate. Clearly, I can identify mustard sauce and sweet sauce but not the one contained in the test tube. It was pork jus in layperson. The pork belly skin was very crispy and the meat was a tad too tendersoft that it got disintegrated easily at the touch of my knife and pork, leaving the crispy skin and meat apart. Someone we knew claimed it the expensive sio-yok.

There is always room for desserts. Naturally, it's a one of each for us 4. Crispy Caramelized Pear Tart with Homemade Bailey Ice Cream , Frozen Nougat with Seasonal Berries , Warm Valrhona Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and the Cameralised French Toast with Nutella and Vanilla Ice Cream.

We attacked the frozen nougat first before it melted. The nougats with pistachio and nuts coupled with the lychee sorbet quickly melted in our mouths. Before I realised, we cleared one dessert.  

Cameralized french toast with the nutella did not induce any unfamiliarity. In fact, I think it works better for morning breakfast.

The cripsy caramelized pear tart was delicious, crispy and flaky, lighter than expected in taste. Has a nice almond taste. The taste of bailey in the ice cream on the other hand seemed to be less evident.

Chocolate is a must, said my colleague when placing our orders for desserts. Don't think it does justice to her statement, I find the chocolate fondant too sweet and rich and luckily, we each got just a quarter.   

Overall, for a 3-course set lunch of $39.50++ is definitely a steal, value for money. Our bill worked out to be estimate $54 each with additional top up for a foie gras appetizer.

Restaurant Ember

Hotel 1929

50 Keong Siak Street

Operating Hours
Lunch: 11.30am to 2.00pm
Dinner: 6.30pm to 10.00pm
Closed for lunch on Saturdays and Sundays,
Dinner is closed on Sundays.

Reservations Contact
T: 65 6347 1928