Tong Le Private Dining @ OUE Towers

Tong Le Private Dining is undoubtedly the highest end of their chain of restaurants. Located at OUE Towers, a revolving platform offers diners a panoramic tour of the Marina Bay area in around two hours. Their premises were shared with Shinji, a private 8-seater sushi counter. Diners were free to order from it as well. This place was obviously way out of my budget, so I only had the fortune of trying it because a relative treated me.

Mixed sashimi - sweet shrimp, otoro, and yellowtail

This was from Shinji. All were extremely fresh, and the otoro (fatty tuna belly) left a buttery sensation in the mouth, with the tuna flesh melting as I ate it. As for the yellowtail, it was only today that I realised how vast the difference is between this and what I normally eat at buffet restaurants. It was smooth and even slightly buttery, and with a tinge of sweetness. It was definitely the best that I have ever had.

御用三小品 - The Imperial Three Combination Platter

The silver bait (left) was fried using salted egg yolk batter. The distinction between this and other dishes fried using salted egg yolk was clear - just the right amount of egg yolk and batter was used, and it was less oily too. The middle item consisted of black fungus and lily petals. I have only tried dried lily petals before (usually used in desserts) but this was my first experience with the fresh version. It was actually slightly crunchy, somewhat similar to onions, and the tinge of natural sweetness was unmatchable. The last item was beef brisket, and this was well infused with the seasoning used to braise it. 

冬茸烩官燕 - Superior's Bird Nest Soup with Winter Melon Puree

When this came, I almost thought it was shark's fin soup. This was exquisite and much better than the bird's nest soup I had at Bangkok (of course, this cost several times more as well). 

乾坤是日野生海鱼 - Seasonal Wild Sea Fish Prepared in Two Ways

One of my relatives remarked that this was an interesting way of preparing fish, but I failed to see the creativity behind it, actually. It just consisted of a piece of deep fried fish placed on top of another piece of steamed fish. Having said that, the fish was so fresh that I thought it was a waste to deep fry it. The steamed portion was much nicer than the fried portion, though I must say that the latter was fried very well.

特制冰凉索贝 - Chef's Homemade Sorbet

This came in the middle of the dinner, supposedly to clear our palates. I didn't really like this because it tasted very strongly of plums, which isn't exactly on my list of favourite foods.

陈酒东坡肉 - 48 hours "Dong-Po" Pork with Vintage Hua-Tiao Wine

Ah, one of my favourite dishes, though some of my friends who were hardcore pork belly fans always berate me for not finishing all the fat. As the description goes, the pork was marinated and left in the braised gravy for forty eight hours. What you get is a piece of pork belly that has been totally infused with the braised gravy, and it practically melts in your mouth. It comes with two mini bun wraps and beancurd skin, and were meant to be eaten together. I cut the pork into three slices though - two to go with the buns and one just by itself.

And yes, this time I ate all the fats.

A closer look at the pork

浓汤灼澳龙虾, 东瀛未线 - Poached Australian Lobster with Rice
Vermicelli in Seafood Broth

While the lobster was fresh and the vermicelli silky smooth, this dish was a bit too bland and tasteless - especially after the heavily seasoned pork belly. It will be good if they can make it a little saltier.

杨枝甘露 － Chilled Mango accompanied with Homemade Mango Sorbet,
Blood Oranges, Pomelo and Sago

This was quite normal, in my opinion. While it was good, it was not fantastic.