PUBLISHED April 22nd, 2014 12:00 am | UPDATED May 18th, 2020 04:31 pm
The balmy beach-front locale of Cotton, a four-month old restaurant-cum-cocktail lounge bar, is a breezy dining getaway. The vast outdoor seating area – wooden pavilions fitted with lounge sofas and ottomans is nestled amongst verdant greenery in the form of round shrubs of towering trees, which has a vague reference to cottons balls.
The menu is decidedly contemporary European, dabbed with Asian influences and has a seafood slant, from oysters, snappers to lobsters – not a far cry from its previous occupant, 1-Twenty Six. The repertoire also includes char-grilled meats infused with coconut husks (from late April) and a Communal Menu, which consists of a mishmash of appetizers, chargrilled meats and sweets. To slip into a tipple-happy mood, there’re more than 30 cocktails, beers, wines and champagnes, including a monster-sized Mojito ($20).
Come July, the petite building, which used to house 1-Twenty Six’s white minimalist-styled dining area will be transformed into a sultry dark, wood-heavy bar, complete with a dance floor, while the 150-seater also has a live band, which plays from Wednesday nights onwards, to entertain diners with radio-friendly tunes.
My meal opened on a high note with my favourite dish of the night – Vongole In The Pot ($20). Ironically, everything in the pot except the vongole was the star of the dish. The vongle is boiled for two to three minutes, before garlic, white wine, basil and butter are stirred in the pot. The result is an addictively savoury broth, with a tad of tart acidity to perk up the palate. A warm aftertaste also kicks in, thanks to a pinch of chili padi. I found myself mopping the broth dry with the accompanying toasted slice of baguette, after scrapping the tomato concasse on it, and tossing with the vongole.
The other appetiser, Grilled Smokey Cheese Oysters (5 pieces for $22) were decently slathered with garlic butter and gooey mozzarella cheese. The cheese was effective in knocking out the briny seafood taste of the freshly shucked oysters.
The main turned on the carnivore in me. It came in the form of two pieces from Char Grilled Lamb Rack ($38). It was not as show-stopping as I expected, possibly because it was not husk-grilled, as stated on the menu. Executive Chef Dean Scott Philips explained that the restaurant is still sorting out kitchen reno, which meant that plans to infuse coconut husk into the meats are held back. Still, the lamb was not too gamey, succulent and fork-tender, done to medium-rare perfection. The sides of fries came intensely perfumed with truffle oil and corn dusted with cheese powder and paprika.
Taking a break from being a carnivore, I opted for the only pasta on the menu, the Angel Hair Pasta served with Grilled Tiger Prawn ($38). The mound of stringy pasta is served agilo oilo style, and crowned with wafer-thin, crispy shreds of ebi sakura, which injects an umami flavour to the pasta, and served with vine tomatoes. The generously-sized tiger prawns are cooked with sea urchin butter, which exudes creaminess to its sweet grilled flesh.
The meal concluded with a pretty dessert, Mango Panna Cotta ($14). While it scores top marks for visual presentation, the flavours could very well go up a notch. The tarty punch expected from passion fruit was hardly there. Instead, it was the subtle taste of vanilla panna cotta which flooded my mouth. The coconut biscuit crust injected some texture, while some tartness was eventually came from a raspberry macaroon and raspberry sauce.
While it is still in its early days, Cotton needs time to sort out its renovations and kitchen mechanics, and decide its identity – a predominantly cocktail bar with live entertainment or a serious dine-in restaurant. Cotton warrants a second follow-up trip to see if it lives up to its potential, but I know that the Vongole will safely be in my to-order list on my next visit there. We hear they’ve also just launched a weekend brunch menu – another deserving reason for a return visit.
Written by Kenney Lornie
On this occasion the meal was compliments of Cotton