Raymond Blake

wine writer

Raymond Blake

wine writer

Raymond Blake

wine writer

Raymond Blake

wine writer

Mayday Brunch in Singapore

Having made do with nothing more than an orange for breakfast I was ready for something more substantial by the time I entered the Capella Hotel, Singapore yesterday for the mother of all brunches. On arrival, I caught the unmistakable, gentle but insistent, whiff of white asparagus on the air. Following the trail to source I came across a steaming urn of soup manned by Jan Touschil, head chef at the Magma German wine bistro. It was splendid stuff, delightfully subtle and judiciously seasoned by a light hand.


Truffled eggs.

Wine writers tend to go into a minor flap when asked to match a wine to asparagus, citing all sorts of difficulties before plumping for Sauvignon Blanc. Whenever I have visited the Mosel in May, with the asparagus season in full swing, I have always favoured Riesling, but was delighted yesterday with a glass of Johanninger ‘P’ 2007, a Pinot Blanc from Germany’s Nahe region. Its lovely juicy fruit provided a nice counterpoint to the satin-textured soup, as well as helping to beat back the enervating humidity of the day.


Tandoori salmon.

There was much more than just soup on offer and a trio of other dishes stood out for me. First up was an established classic: scrambled eggs with grated truffle. Turning out good ‘scramblers’ in large quantities is not easy. I think I got served from a fresh batch so perhaps I was lucky but these were good, not too firm, not too runny. The truffle could have been a bit more ‘truffley’ for me but that didn’t stop me from scraping the plate clean. Next was a tandoori salmon that was succulent and firm, with its flavour enhanced rather than swamped by the sauce. Finally a seafood risotto, made from arborio rice, that was deep and rich and silky. An espresso and a single, sinful Michel Cluizel chocolate and it was time to head back to the air-conditioned cool of my hotel room for another shower.

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