Food for Thought: The White Rabbit

The White Rabbit's website promises 'impeccable fine dining without the stuffiness'.  This very aptly describes our dining experience there some months ago during the Singapore Restaurant Week - that is the 'stuffiness' bit. 

The restaurant is a converted chapel located in the Dempsey Road shopping and dining enclave.  The owners have retained the original architecture (smart move) while fitting the cavernous space with generally clean-cut furniture with a splattering of antique pieces.  The colour scheme is kept almost monochromatic thus accentuating the beauty of the original stained glass. There is absolutely no clutter.

Similarly, the table setting and food presentation are stylishly modern and simple.

The 3-course set menu comprised a freshly shucked oyster served au naturale with pork sausage on the side for appetizer; Sole Meuniere for the main; and Chocolate Mousse with raspberry sauce for dessert.

The appetizer was really 2 dishes in one.  The freshly shucked oyster was served au naturale and because it was very fresh, all it needed was a dash of lemon juice.  Accompanying it was a lone sausage which looked rather uninspired and uninspiring.  I didn't particularly like the taste of it either as I found it a tad too salty.

Freshly shucked oyster and Sausage

Sole Meunière is a classic French dish consisting of sole fish that has been dredged in flour then pan fried in butter and served with the brown butter reduction sauce and a dash of lemon.  In classic service, the whole sole is sauteed tableside and boned by the server.  However, at White Rabbit, the sole was cooked in the kitchen and served whole on the bone.  Perhaps, the fish used was too little to be filleted! 

Sole Meunniere

My first serving of the sole was rubbery and tough and I had it returned to the chef who promptly replaced it with no questions asked.  Points deducted for not ensuring the quality of the ingredients used even though the dish was, overall, quite tasty.  Otherwise, I don't have any other complaints as Sole Meuniere is really a straightforward dish to prepare and no self-respecting chef should make a blunder out of it.  By the way, the baby potatoes were delicious. And darling wife loves the fish - she didn't get the tough one!

Chocolate mousse

The dessert was good but it did not really excite me the way desserts normally do. I felt it was a very safe choice since one can never go wrong with Chocolate Mousse.  This being a Restaurant Week menu, I would have expected something more creative and daring.

Overall, an enjoyable dining experience mainly because we liked the surrounding and the service.  The waiting staff were careful not to be too intrusive when we were eating.  But once coffee and dessert were served, they made the effort to come around to exchange pleasantries with us and discuss the restaurant's concept, design and architecture, since they consciously took note that these were topics of interest to us.

The White Rabbit

39C Harding Road

Tanglin

Ambiance:  9.5

Service:  8.5

Pricing:  $$$

Food: 7.25

 

People and Places: Sitges

Located 35 km south of Barcelona, the beachfront town of Sitges is known for its carnival, sunny weather and, of course, its night life - especially its vibrant gay life.  It is, after all, the gay capital of Spain.  But there is much more to Sitges than just the gay scene.

Passeig de la Ribera by day

In the summer months the main beach, de la Ribera, will be crowded with swimmers, suntanners and boat paddlers.  Besides suntanning and swimming, it is also a popular spot for sand castle building. Fortunately, I was there in spring when the place was less crowded and much quieter.  On the beach, one man was busy building a sand figure all by himself.

The inverterate shopper will also find Sitges' many shopping lanes interesting to explore.  Narrow lanes fanning out from the beachfront, such as the Carrer de Pau Barrabel, are lined on both sides with shops selling the latest in European fashion.  I bought a lovely black lace blouse for darling wife from one of these boutiques.  For the younger set, there are shops that specialise in kitsch and novelties.

Carrer Parellades

For visitors in pursuit of cultural interests, Sitges will not disappoint either.  I enjoyed the Museo Cau Ferat which once was the residence of Santiago Russiñol, the painter who gave much of his life to the advancement of the Modernist movement in Catalan.  In its heydays, it was notorious for the many 'modern style' parties hosted by Russinol, which made Sitges famous among the artistic circle.

I was impressed with the paintings, sculptures, and personal belongings of the artist, displayed exactly as they were when he stayed there.  The museum, which houses a small Picasso, several el Grecos as well as other pieces by Catalan Modernists, has a very homey feel to it.  The name Cau Ferat  is derived from the many metal decorations found throughout the house.  Even its windows are dressed in wrought iron.

Steps away from Museu Cau Ferat is Maricel Palace, bought by millionaire Charles Deering in 1912 to house his vast personal collection of paintings.  One part of the building is the art museum while the other is being used as a civic center.

Not far from these 2 museums, on Placa de L'Adjutament, is the marketplace which is best visited in the morning.  Although not as large as many other town markets, it takes pride in its high quality salted Atlantic cods.

Bacalhau on sale at the marketplace

Whiles Sitges is good by day, it really comes alive when the sun sets.  This is when the whole population - locals and visitors - gravitate to the many narrow lanes that are lined with watering holes, restaurants and clubs.   Carrer del Pecat or Sin Street, is the place to be at.  Here, you will find Pacha, the famous disco chain with branches in Ibiza, Salou, Barcelona and many other major Spanish cities and towns.  While the clubs beckon most of Sitges visitors, it was the restaurants that caught my attention.

La Oca, a famous chicken rotisserie, serves one of the best spit-roasted chicken in town.  Needless to say, that was my choice for dinner.

Michael enjoying spit-roasted chicken at La Oca.

Getting There from Barcelona:
By Train - From Sants or Passeig de Gracia station, take the train that says VILANOVA G on the front.  Journey time is about 30 mins and the fare is 4.3Euro one-way.
By Bus - Take Bus Nº N30 from Ronda Universitat near Plaza Catalunya or from Gran Via next to Plaza España. The bus leaves on the hour every hour up to 4am.