Pop-Up Restaurant Review: A Night of Underwater Splendour at Aqua Gastronomy

PUBLISHED September 17th, 2020 05:00 am | UPDATED September 29th, 2020 11:43 am

The first thing we did as soon as we stepped into Aqua Gastronomy was stop. And stare. And stare some more. Normally, the S.E.A. Aquarium’s Open Ocean Habitat is already an incredible sight, the vast glass wall allowing you to look into thousands of fascinating marine creatures. But with tables housed in sparkly, geometric-patterned domes or under jellyfish-like ceiling structures filled with twinkling golden fairy lights, it was simply breathtaking.

This pop-up dining experience by Resorts World Sentosa promised to be a spellbinding multi-sensory entertainment experience, and it followed through on all counts. With the set-up, lighting, and sound organised by the award-winning RWS production team, we were in for a treat, with the ambient lighting and soundtrack shifting throughout to give each course a different atmosphere.

A voiceover by the alluring ‘Lady of the Ocean’ also announced and introduced each course. Indeed, the amount of thought that’d gone into coordinating every aspect of the experience was evident in its cohesiveness and brilliant execution.

The aptly named Misty Morning Sea arrived at our table enveloped in a creeping mist. A Thai-style glass noodle salad with Canadian scallop and trout caviar, this was a beautifully refreshing start to the evening. Seasoned just right, the scallop was the star of the show. Creamy and slightly-sweet, the natural flavour of the scallop was enhanced with a touch of savoury from being poached in seawater. With little bursts of umami from the caviar, this dish was awash with complex flavours.

Ocean’s Reflections was a Hong Kong-style prawn wonton and wild-caught langoustine in a savoury black bean sauce. Delightfully soft and succulent, the seafood was once again perfectly prepared, with a deeply savoury note from the sauce and textural freshness from the microgreens. This dish was also presented quite poetically, plated on a reflective silver dish in a nod to its name.

While I admit it was a little odd to be savouring seafood while watching fish swim lazily by, learning about the event’s sustainability focus more than made up for it. A collaborative effort with the aquarium’s biologists to help preserve marine life, all of the seafood on the menu (and at S.E.A. Aquarium’s Ocean Restaurant) is sustainably sourced and held to the highest standards. The high quality of ingredients lends to not just a guilt-free meal, but a tasty one too.

The main course Shining Seas, inspired by the phenomenon of bioluminescence, featured a glow-in-the-dark shiitake essence that lit up the Kühlbarra seabass and Straits shellfish with an eerie glow. Chef Marvas Huang, Chef de Cuisine of Ocean Restaurant and one of the masterminds behind the menu, shared with us how they were able to create this luminous glow using vitamin B12 after countless experiments. Tasting as wonderful as it looks, the creamy, delicate fish and sweet clams balanced out the slight bitterness from asparagus and a savoury heartiness from the fried Japanese pearl rice.

Adding to this thoughtfully curated menu, mixologists at RWS crafted four special cocktails (priced a la carte) for the night. The Secret Sea Garden is a must-try, a fruity gin-based concoction with apple liqueur, melon vermouth, and bitter lemon. Savour sips of your cocktail as you let your gaze follow the schools of brightly coloured fish, the majestic manta rays, or even hammerhead sharks. Watch closely and you’ll catch divers (dressed as kelp!) swim out to feed the fishes.

The dessert course, Treasures of the Ocean, came in a chocolate sphere which cracked open to reveal its own treasure: layers of bergamot curd and seaweed caramel topped with a seaweed crumble and a delicate jelly encasing flakes of seaweed. Every mouthful of this decadent dessert was an absolute delight, and, with a bite of the seashell shaped Kelp Madeleines, was a wonderful end to the evening.

But of course, the experience wasn’t over without one last bang (literally), with streamers popping as the divers unravelled a final message in a large scroll: ‘In one drop of water are found all the secrets of all the oceans’. While Aqua Gastronomy might just be one drop in the dining experiences of your lifetime, it’s certainly perfected all the secrets to a delicious, immersive food experience.

Aqua Gastronomy by Resorts World Sentosa is happening now until 31 October. The four-course dinner is S$118++ per pax (S$98++ per pax for RWS members). Aqua Gastronomy is fully booked, but join the waiting list here.