Restaurant Week: My Winning Pick

Before I go on writing about my food adventure in Japan, I believe there's a restaurant that needs to be acknowledged. In the past week, I've booked myself for several dinners. The quality of food was generally decent but most of them aren't spectacular so I didn't think they are worth an exceptional mention, but Gaia.

To begin, Goodwood Park Hotel always held a special place in my heart. When I was a child, I would spend my weekends with my family stuffing our faces in delicious Teochew porridge in this colonial hotel. In my limited memory, I can still clearly remember running up and down the steps leading to the lobby in some lacy, floral girly frock. But I had half a mind to not pick Gaia because I thought Goodwood Park Hotel would be so old as compared to the other restaurants in the list. I am glad I stuck to my guns.

Gaia was the only restaurant that served us a 5 course meal as compared to the usual 3. I'm very sure they made a loss but they have earned my heart. If they are planning to put the main course I picked on their ala carte menu permanently, I'll dine there at least one a month.

So, the meal began with Fresh Tuna Fish Tartar. Which was above average but nothing to shout about. Everything is fresh, in the right proportion but nothing surprising.

Next was the Carrot & Basil Cream Soup. For those who know me, I have a carnivore living in me and that wouldn't even tempt me to taste it but I did. I was so good!. Right level of creaminess and not a tinge of that awful raw veggie taste. Very well-balanced.

Malloreddus Sardinian Pasta came next but I highly suspect my expectation was set too high when the waiter highly recommended this dish. I thought it was good but again, not something that would make me go ga-ga over.

By now, you might be thinking if I'm serious about giving them a positive review. For the main, I picked the Slow Cooked Cod Fish Vicentina style and my friend picked the Braised Beef Cheek in Forest Mushroom sauce. The beef was so soft and tasty. But the cod was definitely the night's winner. The light lobster bisque reduction that the cod was sitting on was as perfect as I will ever remember a sauce like this to be. The cod was baked to close to perfection although it was a tad dry. The kaleidoscope of taste exploded in my mouth and the aftertaste was so hard to let go. I wish they can put this item on their menu so I can enjoy it again.

Dessert was the Warm Apple Strudel with Vanilla ice-cream. I must say perhaps I was too stuffed, I couldn't fully enjoy it hence I'm not in the position to fairly comment on it.

Given the disappointment I sat through over the past week with the other restaurants and of which, one gave me a bad tummy, I will highly recommend Gaia. Service standard was a little random. Long in short, the male staffs were friendly, polite and knowledgeable. The female staffs look like they are PMS-ing and weren't very responsive.

I give them a 8 out of 10 and 8 to me, is very high!