Ocean Restaurant at RWS Launches New Set Menus by Cat Cora

With the recent screening of ‘Finding Dory’, I believe aquariums all over the world are seeing a drastic increase in the number of visitors, both locals and tourists alike. ‘Finding Nemo’ formed part of my childhood and I’ve always been curious about marine life. Don’t ask me why but my favourite animal’s the great white shark! I used to camp in front of Discovery channel with a notebook, especially during shark week. Okay, back to today’s focus – Resort World Sentosa’s Ocean Restaurant by Lady Iron Chef / Celebrity Chef Cat Cora.

Located inside the S.E.A. Aquarium, just beside the Open Ocean habitat, I was awed by the panoramic view of the enthralling marine world. There are two huge glass panels for diners to be mesmerized by over 100,000 marine animals. The colours and materials in Ocean Restaurant’s main dining room echo the deep sea palette.

Ocean Restaurant serves Mediterranean-Californian cuisine with an Asian flair and a sustainable ethos. The new menu uses sustainably-sourced seafood and local seafood produce which echoes S.E.A. Aquarium’s beliefs in conservation and caring for our oceans and marine life. Celebrity Chef Cat Cora, who has hosted, guest-judged and appeared in numerous variety programmes works closely with resident chef Yew Eng Tong to curate a menu that impresses your senses of sight, smell and taste.

Start off with their small bites such as the Kueh Pie Tee or Ravioli. The former is a spice crispy cup containing braised jicama (Mexican turnip), Laksa “sphere” and coconut foam. You get a crispy texture with delicious creamy fillings. The latter consists of pickled radish, tuna tartare, caviar and charred aioli. This is a very refreshing start to a meal and whets your appetite for more food.

My favourite was the other small bite served – Parma Ham Aerated Crème. It’s so fluffy and bursting with flavours and I simply love the crunch! You’d be surprised that only sherry onions, croutons and crispy pork skin goes into the making of this amazing small bite!

Ocean – Harmony of Sea Life is beautifully presented in a shimmering shell. You get a combination of different seafood and roe with three different sauces/dips. There’s Salsa Vert, a kind of green sauce made mainly with herbs and tastes a little minty. There’s the very refreshing watermelon sorbet, as well as, charred aioli. There’s a distinct taste of ginger essence in this dish too. Trust me, it tastes as good as it looks.

Sous Vide Scottish Salmon is decorated with edible flowers. The raw salmon, cured in salt, sugar and dill is drizzled with chilled cauliflower milk and topped with horseradish crème and roe. This is one of those times where you can’t bear “destroying” the beautifully-curated dish but you know it goes into your stomach eventually.

Crisp Brick Duck Foie Gras, as you all know, refers to duck liver and this is an acquired taste. In Singapore, I’ve known many people who shuns away from this luxurious food. Consisting of tamarind-balsamic reduction, ginger candy, cocoa nib and puffed buckwheat, I would give this dish a thumbs up! It tastes light and smooth and smells heavenly.

Lobster Milk is actually lobster wanton, topped with coriander and Mentaiko and sprinkled with Szechuan pepper. I enjoyed sinking my teeth into the fresh and juicy lobster wanton which is generously filled. Milk and Szechuan pepper sounds like a strange combination but both of these actually complemented one another for this dish.

The following two dishes are my favourites! First up, New Zealand Sustainable Fresh Cod Fish with a ratte mash that people often mistakes as scallop. I’ve to admit that the mash potato does indeed resemble the shape and even, the colour of a scallop. The taste is enhanced by crustacean aioli and caviar vinaigrette.

The final savoury dish before dessert was the highlight of the meal – Braised-Seared Beef Short Rib and Charred Grilled Wagyu Primecuts. These succulent slabs of meat were perfectly done medium-rare. You can feel the juices gushing out while chewing the meat. It’s so flavourful, accompanied by puff barley and oatmeal, as well as, carrot-kaffir (citrus) puree. I wished I had the stomach space to indulge in more meat!

The 6-course Entice set dinner ends with Chocolate Ends dessert. Consisting greek yoghurt, grand marnier-mango “sphere”, cocoa nib tuile and tarragon gelato, this dessert was so well executed. I was delighted by the contrasting taste of rich, dark chocolate, paired with the slightly sour-ish taste from the yoghurt and mango.

3-course Delight set lunch costs $58++ while 5-course Leisure set lunch costs $72++. 4-course Excite set dinner costs $128++, 6-course Entice set dinner costs $158++ and 8-course Inspiration set dinner costs $208++. There’s even a 5-course Vegetarian set dinner available at $108++. The 6-course Entice set dinner was so satisfying that I decided to take a stroll back from Sentosa to Vivo City.

This restaurant is great for couples due to the romantic atmosphere but I’m sure family and friends who love marine life and are concerned about ocean conservation will be interested to dine here too. You just can’t take your eyes off the two large glass panels and you’ll get a kick out of trying to guess and recognize the type of fishes you see swimming by every moment.

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