Review: Shelter in The Woods – We Love Version 2.0!
PUBLISHED February 12th, 2015 04:00 am | UPDATED May 19th, 2017 01:21 pm
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle. Crackle. A tight snap on the fifth bite of the pork belly, as loud as the first, signals a stamp of approval on an outstanding suckling pig. The speakers interrupt faintly with a repertoire of French classics our French companion couldn’t stop humming to. Out of the blue, a server rings the farm bell noisily, announcing the arrival of an impressive côte de boeuf. The buzz of a dinner crowd, quite impressive for a Monday evening, remains in the background.
Suckling Pig with Rotisserie Pineapple
The once dowdy tavern space at Shelter in the Woods – perhaps inviting only from the aromas of rotisserie cooking – has been given a contemporary refresh. Now, you can actually see your plate. Pointy fluorescent bulbs illuminate an interior rich in mahogany, grey and brick red, to which a colourful 3D forest mural centrepiece adds further texture and life. Shelter’s riotous and bright ambience also carries into the flavourful, hearty European fare that Japanese consulting Chef Masashi Horiuchi sends out of the kitchen.
Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb
Sharing is not obligatory but somewhat natural, when confronted with serving boards of Roasted Chicken ($21.50 half, $40 full) or Rotisserie Rack of Lamb ($43). In the former, whole peppercorns are stuffed into An Xin (literally means ‘no worries’ in Mandarin) chickens and diligently basted in the oven – a nutty tingle from the pepper accentuates the flavours of tender chicken meat. The lamb remains succulent and moist in its herb crust, though with more chewy fat than we’d wished for.
DIY Handcut Steak Tartar
One shouldn’t play with food, but Shelter’s Steak Tartare ($18) seems to be made for playing. Little mounds of chopped cornichon, shallots and chives surround a heap of hand-cut beef tenderloin, topped with a raw quail egg. Mix well with mini wooden spatulas to yield a meaty, unctuous ball of grapeseed oil-laced fun. Shelter’s Lyonnaise Salad ($12 entrée portion, $20 large portion) is studded with bacon strips that resemble pink maggots – a moment of unintentional whimsy – but sweet confit pearl onions and a beautiful soft boiled egg do well to compensate for a bland sherry vinaigrette.
Corn Soup Trio
Once in a while, we’re offered a peek into Chef Horiuchi’s time in the global Michelin-starred circuit – amuse bouche to start, petit four to end, dainty plating for a dish or two – but it is how his Japanese sensibilities temper his classic French instincts that really impress. Cream Corn Soup Trio ($13.50) is not a cream-washed, saccharine gruel, but the best of pureed boiled corn, punctuated meekly with the smokiness of roasted corn and fluffiness of popcorn. The everyday quiche ($14.50) is comfort food par excellence, yet it manages the feat of achieving an inexplicable lightness. Silky cheese flan and sautéed mushrooms sit on a crust so delicate, any thinner, it may just break before the fork makes contact.
House-made Tarts and Pies
Desserts, in general, fall on the good side of average. Amongst a rotating selection of tarts and pies, Shelter’s Chocolate Tart ($12) could have done with a more decadent filling, and its Apple Tart ($12) had paper-thin fruit slices that were burnt beyond recognition. If there’s only room for one sweet, the Meringue Glacee ($12) is a brief show-stopper, combining vanilla ice cream, raspberry sorbet and meringue kisses in a light, immaculate ending to the evening – if you aren’t already stuffed, that is. As you hobble out, pick up a pack of house-made terrine or pate for breakfast, or return another time for Shelter’s Charcuterie Board (foie gras au torchon, pork rilette and pate en croute, $34).
Shelter in the Woods is certainly a charmer that’s one up above its previous iteration. It’s not perfect (Lucida Handwriting font on a wine menu is not cool), but it isn’t meant to be perfect. By the time of publication, Shelter would have introduced its Sunday brunch, another reason to drop by Greenwood Avenue to while the weekend blues away. As more take to Shelter, we hope it keeps honest – and that we can still hear one another there!
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