Horizon Bistronomy is not a new name in the eating scene of Singapore. Horizon Bistronomy first open an outlet in November 2014 at the Punggol Settlement which may be quite inaccessible for those who don't drive. Business is overwhelming and within a year, the owner chef, Chris Fong decided to branch out and opened another outlet in Alexandra, at the former NOL building. The Alexandra outlet is so much more convenient for me to pay them a visit and try out the food as it's only about 3 bus stops away from my work place.
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| A bistro using French cooking techniques, world flavours. Serving gastronomical dishes of fine dining standard with affordable prices in a casual setting |
The difference between the Punggol branch and the Alexandra one is that the Punggol branch offers family menu since it's near the residential neighbourhood area while the Alexandra outlet will feature a more fine dining options including a tasting menu to cater more to the working adults. Both outlets, however will still focus on the founder vision of delivery gastronomy dishes below market rate as Chris is a firm believer of "Good food never lies" and there will never be a quality cut as long as he is in charge.
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| The interesting tasting menu and their tag line is "French's techniques, World Flavours" |
I am truly impressed by how each dish is so exquisitely presented and even have their own story to tell which I will be sharing here in this post.
Entrees
Heritage: Curry Chicken Rillettes (Not in dining menu)
Curry Chicken is part of my growing up meal. Curry Chicken rillettes was chosen as an amuse bouche to represent the philosophy as well as to uphold the strong tagline of our concept; French Techniques. World Flaours.
Bite sized canapes prepared with these ingredients; Sakura Shrimps, Rillettes, Thai Basil Pesto, Curry Leaves and Brioche. The toasted brioche is very crunchy, almost like eating some flavorful crackers.
Consistency: Horizon's Angel Hair ($9.90)
On average, the culinary brigade rolls up to 500 portions of angel hair every month. This is one of the diners top favourite and because of the high amount of effort and passion needed to curl each portion perfectly, consistency is the perfect name for Horizon's Angel Hair. You can steal the recipe but not the soul!
The dish is served cold and is made up of 80g of Angel Hair, Spanner Crab, Tobiko, Ikura and Chorizo Oil. This is my favourite dish too and my only complain I have is that it's only 80g, not enough for me. Haha. Love the burst of flavours with each bite especially with the salmon roe. Furthermore, not a lot of dining places serve Angel Hair. Thus I find this very unique.
Simplicity: Egg 63 ($8.90)
The egg was cooked under the temperature of 63 degree celsius and the way to eat this dish is to first pour the sauce that was given and mix everything well together. This is a Sous Vide Egg mixed with Potato Puree, Enoki Mushrooms Threads, Lardons, Cous Cous and Herb Jus.
Over 8 hours of effort is spent to prepare this seemingly simple bowl of entree. Clarification has to be one of the major techniques of French culinary and this dish showcase 2 major techniques used. First, the delicious melt-in-the-mouth salmon confit. Next, the sweet and sour tomato consomme that requires careful work of clarification, a process which uses egg whites to remove fat and sediments.
This dish comprises of Home Cured Salmon Confit, Prawns, Peas, Carrots, Baby Zucchini, Tomato Consomme. This is my second favourite dish for entree. The tomato consomme poured from the teapot is very flavourful. The sourness actually boost up my appetite for more dishes to come.
Main Courses
Freshness: Blanc ($28.90)
The freshness of the ingredient has to be one of the most important aspects in cooking. Halibut was chosen to represent this philosophy because it can be seasoned with almost nothing but salt and pepper. The dish was made to look blanc (white) because it resonates with the color of the chef uniform. Working with fresh ingredients has to be one of the greatest joys of being a chef!
Pan-fried fresh Halibut with Cauliflower Puree, Daikon, Cauliflower, Burnt Onion and White Asparagus. Do not judge the dish by it's plain and simple look. It's actually quite tasty.
Technical: Pork Belly 2 Ways ($27.90)
Pork Belly was chosen to represent the Technical Philosophy because of the great amount of skills needed to make it extraordinary. 2 days was spent in order to make this pork belly beautiful. First, they cure it with spices and salt for 12 hours before cooking it for another 18 hours. After which, the pork belly was cool down and pressed in the fridge for a day before proceeding to portion it. For this dish, the pork belly was done in 2 ways. It's definitely a tremendous amount of effort used.
Crispy Pork Belly Confit, 24 Hours Sous vide Pork, Carrot Puree, Baby Carrots, Caramel Apple, Green Asparagus, Pork Jus. I'm deeply impressed by the presentation of this dish. It looks like a mini garden and just brighten my day. Personally, I prefer the Sous Vide Pork which is really soft and tender and melts in the mouth. The Crispy Pork Belly Confit is a bit too dry for my liking. Love the sweet carrot puree.
Desserts
Deconstructing something classic is tricky. People will always expect a cheesecake to look like a slice of cheesecake. The Team wants to create a fancy looking cheese cake that is unlike the typical ones.
The lay out of all the ingredients of a Yuzu Cheese Cake on a plate is a very interesting concept. Made of Yuzu Curd, Whipped Cheese Mousse, Truffle Popcorn, Green Tea Nama, Cinnamon Soil. Taste refreshing but too creamy which don't really suits me.
Reconstruction: Peanut Butter 2016 ($10.90)
To be able to deconstruct something is not good enough. You need to be able to assemble and reconstruct things as well. In this dish, the chef constructed it to taste like peanut butter but no peanut butter was used. The chef simply couldn't shed the habit of using pork in their dessert. Enjoy the chorizo caramel.
With the use of Vanilla Chiboust, Beuure Noisettes Financies, Apple Puree, Aged Pickled Apple, Chorizo Caramel and Brioche as the ingredients, the chef is able to create this dessert that taste like peanut butter. Not exactly my favourite though.
Deception: Orange Soba (Not in dining menu)
Horizon Bistronomy Punggol has a signature dessert: Garden By The Bay, a Tiramisu dessert that looked like a pot of plant. The team decided to carry on the deception heritage by creating a cold soba in the form of the dessert.
Cilantro Pearls and Lemongrass Sabayon was used to make this dessert. I was really tricked into believing that this is pasta. However, it's just orange jelly sliced to look this way. Very nice. Actually my favourite.
Memories: Milo Truffle. Kaya Macaroon. Mango Lollipop. Peach Pate de Fruit (Not in dining menu)
Parting dessert with familiar flavours from our childhood. Let the taste linger in your memories even after you left the restaurant.
Sweet treat to end the tasting session.
Lemon Thyme Merigue (Surprise Dessert)
Big thanks to the Culinary Team and friends (Chef Owner: Chris Fong, Pastry Chef: Kelvin Chia, Garnish Cook: Tan Yew Hao, Sous Chef: Melvin Yap, Manager/Sommelier: Jacqueline Soh) of Horizon Bistronomy for the wonderful experience. Love working with sincere people. Thanks Tiffany Yong for organizing this blogger session. Really appreciate!
I think it's okay to indulge in something unique and special for the experience and photo worthy dishes. I can feel the sincerity and effort that was put in by the team. A pity they don't open during the weekends.
Horizon Bistronomy Alexandra
456 Alexandra Road
Former NOL Building
Singapore 119962
(Walking Distance from Labrador Park MRT)
Tel: 6274 3655
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday
11 am to 11 pm
XOXO
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