Trufflicious times at Truffle Gourmet
PUBLISHED July 9th, 2014 02:46 am | UPDATED April 18th, 2016 06:05 pm
Caviar Trattoria. Bird’s Nest Bistro. Otoro Express. What better way to trivialise a prized delicacy by naming a restaurant after one? Truffle Gourmet on Club Street sounds like equal parts spoof, equal parts prima donna. The thought of your heart (and wallet) skipping a beat with each tableside jerk of a whole truffle along the blades of a fungi shaver is enough to shoo you away – perhaps in favour of another more affordable, poser eatery along the expat-infested street.
Yet the gastronomic high ground that Truffle Gourmet treads is quite an illusion, and its dichotomies, quite a charmer. Since October 2013, Head Chef Takashi Okuno has been imparting his Japanese sensibilities to classic Italian favourites – his keen attention to presentation and avid respect for ingredients can be discernibly traced. Taking into account the liberal shavings of truffles showered on most dishes, the menu is not unreasonably priced.
A trio of parmesan paste, truffle caviar and burrata cheese atop square bread crisps form an elegant but dispersed amuse bouche, while grissini sticks that are set horizontally on a black slate too narrow for comfort join focaccia slices and a salsa verde dip in what is a decent bread basket. Coupled with a loud, bewildering jazzy playlist and a nondescript interior, Truffle Gourmet can get off to a rocky start.
But as dishes land on your beige table runners and creations slowly savoured, robust flavours start winning you back. A starter of Foie Gras, Eggs and Mushroom ($22) is engineered to please – a deep-fried egg that oozes runny yolk from its basil-laced crumb, peppered with oomphs of umami from a medley of sautéed mushrooms and enlivened with rich, fatty foie gras. Is that a blessing or what?
Pasta is clearly Truffle Gourmet’s strong suit. Adventurous Italian cognoscenti might delight in the relatively new Cocoa Spaghetti ($30), oodles of joy that are firm to the bite with just mild hints of chocolate on the finish. A delicious and creamy bisque-like sauce rounds up the dish, with nobs of lobster that could have spent a little less time on the sauté pan. Gourmands who want a fail-safe option need to look no further than the 70-seater’s Beef Ravioli ($29). A combination of wagyu short rib and brisket tiptoes texturally between mashed and torn beef, serving as a darn good, oleaginous filling to stretchy sheets of dough. Every little raviolo package, dripping with shaved truffle no less, is a delight.
Meats leave little to the imagination and could afford some minor tweaking. While it is immediately understandable why Truffle Gourmet’s Grilled Iberian Pork ($45) is a crowd favourite – with a loving hue of pink, smashed potatoes littered with sweet peas and a Marsala sauce bursting with flavour – it lacks a flavour counterpoint, like a squeeze of lemon to lift the heft. A Wagyu Beef Tartare ($24) needs just that textural one-up so that it’s not just unmemorable cubes of fresh wagyu – chopped chives or shallots come to mind.
After a while, you start to forget that every dish is scented, crowned or infused with some form of truffle or another. The restraint by Chef Takashi is admirable, and reminds us that truffles are sideshows, complements at best. Even if Truffle Gourmet strikes you as high-brow from the onset, the Piedmont export sure does a good job of returning to basics – where ingredients and flavours triumph ostentation. Just change the name already.
Written by Mr Nom Nom
On this occasion the meal was compliments of Truffle Gourmet
