*dimsumdolly* - the different morsels of the life of a foodie

Iggy's

Yipee - I've now joined another club called the "Lunch Bunch". Now now, I know what you're probably thinking. You think dimsumdolly has registered herself at some dating agency because she just can't get any dates. OK, while that said fact is true (*grumble grumble*) that is not what the Lunch Bunch is about. So please don't get us confused with one of those dating agencies which specialises in organising lunch dates.

Basically this tiny group came about because us five foodies (one thorn and four roses) decided to meet for a nice, leisurely lunch at Iggy's last Thursday. We had all met before at the 2nd floggers' meeting held at Sage in September and at another makan outing. Since we all enjoyed each other's company, we decided to meet again on a smaller scale and settled on what is purportedly Asia's 4th best restaurant.

Located on the third floor of The Regent hotel, Iggy's decor is tastefully furnished with cream, earth and brownish tones, and exudes simple, graceful elegance. Shortly after I sat myself down, I was presented with a basket full of mini baguettes and some olive bread. Being not a huge fan of the baguette, I went for the triangle-shaped olive bread. I was pleased to find that it was warm and it turned out to be an olive ciabatta. It had a nice fluffiness and just the right amount of olive oil and olive bits in it. There's nothing quite like fresh bread! The butter that came with it had a slighty salty taste to it and I liked how it tasted.

We went for the lunch set which costs $45+++ for a three-course meal. An additional $30 would have been added if the wagyu strip had been chosen for the main course.

Not long after, our amuse bouche of sesame tofu under a layer of soft pumpkin puree came served in a shot glass. This little concoction looked very pretty with the finely speckled bed of white tofu sitting under that muted orange layer with some fine sprinkles of green spring onions to finish off the look. The sesame taste was subtle as the saltiness of the tofu and the slight sweetness of the pumpkin puree teased the tastebuds.

I chose the linguini with black truffle oil and mushrooms as my starter. While it did not look pretty - it looked like a black lump of wet poo dumped on linguini - it definitely tasted good. The smell of the truffle oil and the mushroom puree was heavenly. The dish was rich and silky in texture. I didn't regret my choise despite how it looked.

For my main course, I went for the wagyu goulash. Though tasty, I felt that the spices used in this dish was a bit too much for me. I might have preferred the wagyu burger which one of us chose. It looked so cute because it was so tiny - was like a toy burger.

For desserts, all five of us chose different ones. And because I have this obsession with tiramisus, I had to order that. The extremely tiny slice of tiramisu (just about 4cm by 2cm - I'm not kidding) was moist and creamy. It was good enough, but it's not the best I've had. It came with a tiny cup of ice cappuccino which - surprise surprise - had some coffee mousse under the layer of milk foam. The mousse was light and not too sweet and tasted great.

Overall, a pleasant dining experience but definitely not a place one can frequent too often unless you're out to render yourself bankrupt. I'm told it's more worth it to go for lunch rather than dinner as the latter can cost twice as much for the same amount of food. Service was also good.

Go here to read Skinny Epicurean's account of our lunch at Iggy's. She has some nice pictures on her blog! Anyway, we're trying to get this Lunch Bunch going on a regular basis and the number is growing as we're getting more foodies to join us in the next one. Can't wait!

Iggy's
The Regent Singapore, Level 3,
1 Cuscaden Rd
Tel: 6732 2234

Posted by DSD at November 13, 2006 9:50 PM