Venue by Sebastian @ Shenton

With all the new buildings popping up around the CBD, we are spoiled by choices of good eateries that have been founded along these new facade. Thank goodness some have survived the gruelling test of the Covid lockdowns

VENUE By Sebastian serves contemporary European cuisine with selective Asian influences. Chef-Owner Sebastian Ng was the former Chef-Partner of the highly acclaimed Restaurant Ember from 2002-2014. His culinary training includes stints at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay in London, Hotel de Mikuni in Tokyo, Vue de Monde in Melbourne and La Credenza in Turin, Italy. He was awarded the World Gourmet Summit’s Rising Chef of the Year award in 2004 and 2005.

Soup

mushroom soup, truffle oil, crouton

There were only two bowls of mushroom soup left for the lunch service, so I left it for my guests. They enjoyed it very much, therefore I could only conclude it was good.

Toast

house made hummus or red pepper dip, char-grilled pita

The red pepper dip was delicious and was devoured in minutes. The hummus was good but it could do with more olive oil.

Greens

roasted cauliflower, jeweled salad, mint yoghurt

The jewelled salad was adorned with beads of pomegranate that shown like red ruby in the sea of rocket lettuce. The roasted cauliflower was smoky and went very well with the bitter lettuce and the mint yoghurt round it all with the toasted almond flakes. If you have a light appetite this could be a full meal by itself.

Seafood

grilled octopus, green pea puree, capers burnt butter

An excellent dish, the octopus was grilled to perfection and served with drops of garlic aioli and rested on a bed of pea puree. Burnt brown butter sauce with spices was drizzled on the grilled octopus. Although it was listed under the mains, it was perfect as an appetiser for sharing. Delicious even though I could not taste any capers.

Fritti

buratta, parma ham, fresh Japanese tomato, basil oil

I have fallen in love with buratta, an Italian cow milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer casing is solid cheese, while the inside contains stracciatella and cream, giving it an unusual, soft texture. The chef had the same ideas I had a few days ago at home, serving the buratta with parma ham. This suspiciously tasted like the one I bought from the gourmet grocery a few days ago but I wasn’t complaining. The cheese was beautifully dressed with basil infused olive oil and crushed pistachio. Next time I will try to incorporate some Japanese cherry tomatoes that were sweet and juicy.

Seafood

Chilean seabass, mushroom-bacon ragout, truffle yuzu butter sauce

This Chilean seabass tasted almost magical. Not sure how the chef did it but it’s my guests said that the seabass actually tasted like the fatty cod. The truffle yuzu butter sauce wasn’t overpowering but it paired perfectly well with the fish.

Meat

12 hours braised lamb foreshank, spicy-burnt pepper sauce, pita bread

My main (and also the same for two other guests) was the 12 hour slow cooked lamb fore shank. The lamb fore shank was extremely soft and tender, but all of us agreed that the sauce was too sweet.

Dessert

Sea buckthorn sorbet, honey mascarpone, crumble

Contrary to its name, sea buckthorns are not found in the sea. It’s a superfood from mountainous Nepal and China, and Central Asia plains. Piquant and tasted like unripe loquat, it’s perfect as a sorbet.

textures of coconut, coconut gelée, shredded coconut, sorbet, coconut powder

This was the surprise of the day, something of a Michelin quality. Three textures of coconut – coconut cream made into ice cream, shaved coconut ice, coconut gelée perpetuated with shredded coconut meat. It’s like tucking into a bowl of coconut milk with different textures, chewy gelée with powdery shaved ice and crunchy coconut shreds.

Tiramisu, kahlua, wild cherry in kirsch

Tiramisu means “pick me up” in Italian. Not overly sweet, pleasant coffee flavoured, lovely smooth mascarpone cream. The Khalua is lacking though, but we weren’t complaining as it was lunch.

Afterthoughts

The waitress taking our orders was quite professional to remind us not to over order as she feared that our eyes were bigger than our stomachs. The service was proficient and quick to turn around the lunch time crowd.

Given the location, we were quite surprised by the affordability of the menu. It’s definitely very popular with the nearby diners, so reservation is highly recommended.

VENUE By Sebastian
Downtown Gallery, #01-02
6A Shenton Way, Singapore 068815
Tel : +65 6904 9688

Visit on Jun 2022