ESORA @ Mohd Sultan Road

Before I got obsessed with Unlisted Collection's restaurants, there was Lo and Behold. ESORA, a one michelin starred restaurant belongs to their stable. Tables are exceptionally hard to get over weekend dinners and ours took one cancellation and a three month wait.




Counter seats for us.







The great thing about being infront of the Chef is being able to watch all the action - including how the fish is treated.



Soup to begin and it was a clear broth made with dashi, yuzu, bonito flakes and konbu.



Then came a smorgasbord of appetizers displayed like a forest of treats. Their signature foie gras monaka was certainly very photogenic.





Does it not resemble an edible flower garden?



Crisp wafer sandwich with a really smooth liver mousse within. Nice just not mindblowing.





Hamaguri tempura with lime foam and kaffir shavings wins because of that ingenious foam - tangy, zesty and way more intense than the fruit itself. I loved the contrast, not to mention the chewy shellfish.

ESORA Sashimi Selection





Marinated sashimi



Botan ebi and caviar topped with wasabi, this combination always works for me. Sweet and salty in one bite and I always wish for more.



Uni Somen got the eyes sparkling but the excitement fizzled out. Maybe it was the way it was served, uni got lost in that slurp and gone too soon.



Slurp.



Grilled Akamutsu with rice and wasabi

Never say no to nori and fish, so tasty I could have this instead of crackers anyday.



Cucumber jelly with a crunchy sea plant pretty much looked and tasted like a dish off a molecular gastronomy menu. On the bland side and this probably works more for texture than flavour.






Edamame with onion mousse was served in a whole onion and that was amazing! Never had an onion so sweet and greedy us were removing the skin for more of this crunchy vegetable.




Another soup course awaits us.



I spy hamo and mushrooms.



Hamo soup, tokushima, wintermelon, sudachi

More soup came our way! This time fish soup with sliced mushrooms and hamo being the fish of the season is fatty yet light on the palette.



Grilled Pigeon, nasu



The theatrics of having a le creuset appear, it gets unveiled with a whole pigeon nested in hay for photo taking before it gets whisked behind the scenes to be dismembered and served deconstructed. Bloody red and juicy pigeon from Brittany that was executed perfectly. The skin albeit not crispy went well with the meat.




Omi wagyu sirloin, aged akazu (+$28)




Since it is our first visit to ESORA, why not just try everything on the menu? That was my mentality and so we topped up for the two supplements available. Omi beef has such high fat content, it melts like butter and gets too much too soon. I actually enjoyed the pigeon better though.



Sujiko Donabe, Hokkaido miso soup






Then came a pot of rice heaped with ikura. I had two servings of this delicious fluffy bowl and I had space for a third actually. The briney orbs were mad delicious and hardly as salty! Double win.



Palette cleanser was served and it was an apple shaped candy filled with sorbet, even the butterflies were made from apples! So pretty to oogle not to mention eat. I loved cracking the thin shell open and instantly being gratified with the tart sorbet.



White peach, yamanashi yogurt icecream, tohobjin jelly

Refreshing peaches with jelly and icecream. Simple dessert yet so satisfying after a heavy meal.



Chef Koizumi's Signature dessert (+$32)
Wasanbon caramel icecream, tokushima, manjimup black truffle, anno imo






Another top up here since it is Chef's signature. Black truffles that were shaved spontaneously onto the icecream.



Happy birthday, mister. The lovely staff noted that we were celebrating a special occasion and we were served this delicious gold leaved mont blanc.






After our cups of teas, it was time for the finale.



Meet the petit fours.



Marshmellow rocks as I remember them, except this had a delightful mochi skin.



Grape jelly.



Chestnut choux puffs.



Banana monakas.

None truly impressed as much as the dessert courses.






We were waved goodbye with freshly baked castella cakes that were by the way, so fluffy and moist! Truly they should just give the pastry chef a spot to sell his creations already.

There are wine, sake and tea pairings available for the menu.

For once, I actually had three soup courses in a single meal which was somewhat of an overkill. Hits and misses for those 8 courses and perhaps it is kappo style that I like but not hugely in love with. Sorry folks, I like it just not enough for a return - well maybe the desserts.


8 courses, $268++