WGS 2018 Masterchef Dining Delights at La Brasserie, Fullerton Bay Hotel

World Gourmet Summit (WGS) 2018 returns for its 22nd run, bringing gourmands and masterchefs from around the world together for a month-long event line-up. From 2 to 28 April 2018, mark your calendars for gastronomic meals at partner restaurants, boozy nights with alcohol pairing and hands-on culinary classes exclusively taught by masterchefs themselves. With this year’s theme as ‘The Discovery WGS‘, be blown away by the lesser-known gourmet delights from places like Greece, Ukraine and Hungary. Be it a taste of true blue Peranakan cuisine or immersing yourself in the Songkran festival, experience the world’s best food and wine right at WGS in Singapore.

As part of the Masterchef Dining Delights from 16 to 21 April 2018, French restaurant La Brasserie at Fullerton Bay Hotel is featuring exclusive Hungarian set lunch, set dinner and ala carte menus helmed by Hungarian gastronomic expert Csaba Harmath and guest Chef Szabó Péter.

My companion and I were fortunate to dine at La Brasserie and meet the famous Csaba who came to our table from time to time with such a bubbly and charming demeanor.

La Brasserie is a very beautiful restaurant, elegant in style with thick draperies, posh armchairs and sparkling chandelier. Overlooking Marina Bay waterfront through the floor-to-ceiling windows, I can imagine a dazzling view of the skyscrapers at night – perfect for a romantic dinner.

For this exclusive lunch, we sampled several Hungarian specialities with wine pairing.

We started with some warm, toasted bread, spread with a tasty portion of duck rillette and smooth creamy butter

The first course was the Jellied Arctic Char $29 surrounded by dollops of Horseradish Mousse and Trout Caviar, while the garden of salad shone bright through slices of Pickled Spanish Onion on top. It was an explosion of flavours from the bouncy savoury jelly, to the umami burst of caviar over sweet mousse and tangy leaves.

Wine pairing: Mad Furmint 2015

The Hungarian Traditional Goulash Soup $23 won hands-down as the best beef goulash I ever had. The broth was poured from table-side over chunky cubes of beef, potatoes and carrots strips. I was already salivating from the whiff of the fragrant beef stew which not only smelt delicious, it proved to be out-of-the-world tasty.

The rich flavourful broth could as well be a testament to the long hours spent stewing that even the beef cubes were so tender they literally dissolved under my teeth. Though the broth was a thick shade of dark red, it wasn’t overwhelming but was wholesome and smooth on the throat.

The serving of the broth was extremely generous, spread out in the wide arc of the bowl, with the tip of the beef barely peeking over the brim. We weren’t even complaining. A second helping was warranted.

Monkfish à la Kárpáthy $56 was served with Norwegian Lobster Ragout, Mushrooms and Lobster Bisque a La Hongroise over Dill Fregola Sarda. Revel in the soft chewy pasta made livelier with the blanket of velvety-smooth sauce. The lobster tails were so soft they were on the tipping scale to being pulpy.

As for the monkfish, they were snowy white, dense and firm with a bouncy texture. It reminded me of shark flesh, slightly tougher and was considered a gourmet ingredient in the culinary world.

The Toasted Maltagliata Pasta $38 was very much a Hungarian-style dish. Maltagliata, which means ‘badly cut’, boosted uneven strips of flat pasta cooked with Toasted Cabbage that closely resembled its profile in colour and texture. The mixture was then being moulded into a neat cylindrical shape and garnished with shredded Purple Cabbage and Black Truffle with beautiful marbling.

Lightly tossed in what I believed to be Grated Tokaj Wine Marinated Foie Gras sauce, the pasta/cabbage was cloyingly sweet and savoury, with hints of asian spices (thought I wasn’t sure what was added in). If I have to mention a local dish that bears striking resemblance, it has to be the Char Kway Teow in its black soy sauce.

Wine pairing: Haraszthy Chardonnay

Following the satisfactory prelude of the beef goulash, the Braised Beef Cheek à la Csáky ‘New Style’ $44 was no disappointment either.

The Braised Beef Cheek was fork-tender and draped in Roasted Bell Pepper Sauce. Mustard Mousse and Potato Mash painted the picture whole with two juicy Cherry Tomatoes. A 63-degree Egg laid itself right beside and oozed a thick, gooey yolk that made me go ‘uhmmm’ and ‘ahhh’. Judging from the vivid display of colours and taste, the Hungarians seemed able to execute bold and impactful beef dishes confidently. 

Wine pairing: Vylyan Villanyi Kekfrankos 2012

Desserts was no small affair when the Chocolate Mousse Pastry $18 was served.

After a hearty meal of beef, pasta and soup, the Sour Cherry Ragout and Sour Cherry Sorbet made a good refreshment for my palate, and were comfortably paired with the luscious swirl of chocolate cream.

The Petit Four concluded our meal with little snacks and galaxy-tinted bon bon.

WGS Masterchef Dining Delights menu:

Besides leaving an indelible memory, this Hungarian meal has set my sights for future Hungarian food exploration. With the exceptional beef goulash setting the benchmark and the craving for rare dishes such as the Maltagliata Pasta in Singapore,  there are no other comfort food to satiate my appetite as before.

Given the facets of flavours well-executed through each and every dish, this might jolly well be the best meal I have in the year.

 

World Gourmet Summit

Website: http://www.worldgourmetsummit.com/wgs2018/main.php/calendar/#masterchefdining

 

La Brasserie at Fullerton Bay Hotel

Website: https://www.fullertonhotels.com/the-fullerton-bay-hotel/la-brasserie.html

 

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See 2016 and 2017 WGS event coverage here!

World Gourmet Summit 2017 Opening Ceremony And Awards Of Excellence

WGS 2016: Gourmet Paradise you don’t have to spend miles on

WGS 2016: World-Class Epic Epicurean Delights by Master Chef Reto Mathis

 

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