Ember

C says:

Ember celebrates their 10th anniversary as we celebrate our 9th. In honour of their achievement (which is no mean feat given how competitive the F&B scene is in Singapore), they've put together a 4-course set dinner menu for $85, featuring some of their classic dishes as well as a few new ones. If, like us, you have certain dishes that you have to order, you can also opt for the more flexible, and very good value, $95 set dinner that lets you pick any 2 appetisers, 1 main and 1 dessert.

While the $85 menu looked pretty enticing, our favourite angel hair pasta with abalone and konbu, and more importantly the Chilean seabass with bacon and mushroom, weren't featured so we both went with the $95 one.

We both started with the pasta since I wasn't about to share mine with A. I really do love how they do this dish here. Something about the konbu and abalone just give it so much flavour.

For the second appetizer, I had the pan-seared foie gras with poached egg and maitake mushrooms. Unfussy and just really tasty and well-executed.

A's second appetizer was one of their specials - maine lobster soup with crispy langoustine. The langoustine was wrapped in a thin layer of filo pastry, but what stood out was the lobster soup. It had ridiculous amounts of lobster flavour.

A had the spiced lamb rack with a ginger and lemongrass reduction. The lamb was served perfectly pink, and neither the spice crust nor the sauce were too overwhelming.

Of course, our anniversary dinner is never complete without the Chilean seabass. We've raved about this so much each year that there really isn't much left to say. It was excellent as always - perfectly cooked fish and an amazingly flavourful sauce.

If you order the apple tarte tatin with vanilla ice cream, both diners need to order it, I guess because the portion is rather large. This was a nice, comforting way to end the evening, though I may go with something else next time for a change.

The place was packed on a Thursday evening, and food took slightly longer than usual. Still, I'm really happy that they're doing so well. Unpretentious and ungimmicky food at reasonable prices is hard to come by these days, and Ember ticks all those boxes.

A says:

Always awesome. Still one of my favourite restaurants in town. Which is why we keep coming back.