THE HOUSE @ Demsey – Stellar Menu Creations for a Start in 2013

Changes have been made to the menu but do be rest assure, that their high standards, quality and service have been maintained. A perfect dining experience, away from the crowded urban city area, where you can choose to be seated indoors or outdoors, where you get this opportunity to be in tuned with the nature.

I’ve came to the House at Dempsey for their Vintage Tea Party on two separate occasions with my friends and classmates,where they all truly enjoyed the food and ambience, but I have not tried their signature dishes like the truffle fries til I was invited for this food tasting session organised by Spa Esprit group which manages House and other F&B brands like Skinny Pizza, Tiong Bahru Bakery and 40Hands.

One of their menu items which I have been dying to try is their 4 quirky flavoured fries – Pumpkin Hazel Fries, Truffle Taro Fries, Curry Mustard Fries and Carrot Fennel Fries. That day, I finally got the opportunity to try the Pumpkin Hazel Fries and their legendary Truffle fries as starters!

Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. The subtle hint of the hazel nuts enhances out the flavour of pumpkin and gives the fries a crispier texture as well. It felt less sinful to eat Pumpkin fries which has a lower calorie content and a higher nutritional value than potato. If I had to choose between Pumpkin and Truffle fries, I would go for Pumpkin fries because the crunchy toppings consisting of Hazelnut,paprika and chili powder is simply a killer. Those added spices makes these Pumpkin fries really addictive. In fact, I noticed that the Pumpkin fries got swept of the table first, even before the Truffle fries.

These fries,unmistakenably, looked like those even straw-cut fries from MacDonalds which is one of those classic fries which everyone loves. But wait til you slot these fries into your mouth, where the aromatic flavour of the white truffle oil starts to sink it. Then your mind will starts to wonder, 

“Goodness, how could such plain-looking potato fries tasted this good?”. Well, there is every reason why Truffles is a highly valued ingredient in the culinary world. You don’t even need to be skilled in gastronomy to understand this because anything that has truffles in it, tasted freaking good.

For appetizers, you could try House’ warm salad of wild mushrooms which is perfect for those who are allergic to gluten or on a gluten-free diet because this sald is gluten-free. If you didn’t know, gluten-free diet has become somewhat of a trend towards a healthier living.

This is perhaps one of those dishes where you wished you have ordered it for yourself instead of sharing it with the people at the table. The thinly sliced wagyu beef slices, marinated with maple and soy, is amazingly chewy and tender. I do have to applaud for the chef behind this wagyu spring rolls because the idea of wrapping popiah skin over wagyu beef is such an ingenious way to fuse the two distinctly Asian cultures together as one. Not to mention, the green papaya salad,which was served as the side, tasted as authentic and delicious as those Thai salads I’ve tried in Thailand. It’s less spicy than most Thai salads, but it’s one of the best complimentary side dishes with the waygu spring rolls. How’s that for a dish which fuses 3 different Asian cultures together? 

One of the reasons why I’m into food and gastronomy is the ability to learn and taste something you’ve never eaten before in your life. I’m not referring to those creepy crawlies or exotic meats per se, but I’m talking about those unheard of ingredients like Gentleman’s relish which is actually a type of anchovy paste. It’s exciting for the palate to be subjected to these new flavours from day to day. And if you were like myself, loving to try something new each time, you could try the lamb breast with a crispy golden crust. The golden fried outer crust helps alot in neutralizing that raw meat taste in the lamb. So what you get is a very subtle lamb flavour in the meat encrusted with crispy bread crumbs layer.

If I’m here for a weekend brunch, I would order this starter that stars the lovely poached egg in cripsy crumbed coating, which sits right on top of the Serrona ham. After the Egg benedicts’ fad has died down, I wonder whether they are other egg creations which I’ve yet to try out. And there it is, the crumbed egg which I guess I would have never been able to do it by myself in the kitchen. I’ve mastered the art of poaching eggs with vinegar but as for crumbed egg, I guess I just have to come back here again for more.

Enough said, if you have travelled all the way from where you’re situated to House at Dempsey Hill and not ordering this new dish in the menu, you are probably going to regret it. This could be one of their signature dishes, after the truffle fries and Asian sliders. Even before I could take the time to slowly savour the croquettes stuffed with creamy ham béchamel sauce, all the mini croquettes were gone. The cut-portions of it flew in all directions the very minute I realised how delicious it was.

I starting to realise how mushrooms has become a key ingredient in House‘s dishes. Maybe it’s their secret ingredient. The hanger steak wouldn’t have tasted that flavourful if not for the bed of rich mushroom reduction it was seared on. I should also start incorporating fungi into my recipes as well. 

Very soon, you will be witnessing a fungi frenzy happening right, in my blog space.

Whenever it comes to fish, there is always one thing which I would look out for – freshness. Everything is not going to work out if the fish meat is not fresh. Because my Dad is a fish-lover, I’ve unknowingly been sort of trained informally and to detect the degree of freshness of the fish meat. When the meat is fresh, it has this hint of sweetness which overpowers the fishy taste found in most fishes. And this cod fish drizzled with sweet date sauce did not dissapoint me at all. Because it’s so fresh, the flavour of the fish interwines nicely with the slight citrus and sharp taste in the apple salad.