The stars finally aligned when I scored reservations to the famed Joël Robuchon whose doors recently opened on our sunny shores. In our quest to chase the Michelin stars, I had always wanted to go to a Joël Robuchon restaurant. When the Man was living in Hongkong, he had wanted to bring me to the Robuchon á Galera (awarded with 3 Michelin stars) at Macau. This makes for quite a funny story for that very day, we were supposed to try our luck and ‘win’ the dinner at Robuchon. But Lady Luck did not shine upon us that fateful day, we ‘lost’ our capital and went back to Hongkong feeling a little disappointed.
I decided that since I wasn’t going to be flying to Macau any time soon and I didn’t want to miss this the second time round, I arranged for the reunion with pals to be held at Joël Robuchon. Thankfully, they obliged. 
We’ve heard loads about the Menu Degustation – a 14-course meal that’s supposed to blow our minds away so the decision was unanimous and we went for the sinfully extravagant and filling menu.
Le Caviar – Caviar in a coral infusion served as a surprise
The Man has had this several times and every time he raves about how yummy the caviar was, while I sat a little grudgingly wishing for just a bite of this yummy caviar. Well, I finally got my wish and every bite was sinfully good for under the layer of caviar reveals a lovely crab and lobster infusion.
La Tomate – Salad of tomato, basil infused olive oil, tomato gelee topped with mozzarella
A rather interesting dish in terms of presentation and innovation. Just imagine having jello that’s tomato flavoured and topped with little bits of mozzarella icing. Flavours were very different – a tad bit sweet and tangy at the same time. It all felt rather strange and I couldn’t bring myself to finish the entire plate of jello. Thankfully, the sliced tomato served with basil and olive oil was nothing out of the ordinary.
L’OEuf de Poule – Egg yolk and herb ravioli with spinach sprouts and golden chanterelles
La Noix de Saint Jacuqes – Pan-fried scallop invigorated by a kumquat seasoning
Les Crustaces – Roasted lobster with cauliflower seeds and curry, sea urchin perfumed with coffee, truffled langoustine in a ravioli
Still very much on our starters, I enjoyed the Les Crustaces dish the most. The roasted lobster took on a very unique flavour with the marination of the cauliflower seeds and curry. The coffee creamed mash melded with the smooth texture and flavour of the sea urchin. And lastly for the langoustine item, I’m biased but I think one could hardly go wrong with anything truffles in it.
Les Petite Pois – Light green pea volute, refreshed with peppermint on a sweet onion cloud
Le Foie Gras – Duck foie gras ravioli, seasonal vegetables
By this time, I was already stuffed and as the server placed this dish in front of me, I was remained unimpressed, ‘Another ravioli?’ I thought. I really couldn’t stomach anymore pasta in the tummy! But this ravioli turned out to be slightly different with the use of bak choy cleverly disguised as ravioli. The foie gras left me feeling very unsatisfied for it tasted a little undercooked and the portion too huge to be used as a filling.
Le Turbot – Pan fried turbot with lemongrass and stewed baby leeks
Le Veau – Sauteed veal chop with natural jus and vegetable taglierinis flavoured with pesto
Okay, by the time the mains came, I was way TOO stuffed! Portions for the mains were nice modest cuts but even then, I couldn’t finish them. I very much enjoyed the fish which came with a side of different powders for me to play chef as I mixed and matched them to suit my tastebuds. As for the veal, nothing superbly fantastic.
Le Chou – Crispy fried cabbage and sprout vegetables with Argan oil
This dish clearly won me over in terms of innovation. Imagine having cabbage that’s actually crispy (kinda like seaweed). I was amazed and was told by our server that the cabbage has been ‘air-fried’. Sounds pretty cool. Taste-wise was great too!
Le Mango-Mango: Smoothness of mango and exotic fruit
L’Habit Rouge – Dome chocolate caramel on a hazelnut biscuit
I liked the later dessert very much. Not for its taste but in terms of presentation, I thought it was mighty pretty. Loved the creative use of red crystalised sugar to create the dome-shape structure for the dessert.
So, here’s my take on the restaurant – loved the entire experience but wouldn’t be going for the 14-course meal any time soon. I’m still suffering from food coma!
Joël Robuchon Restaurant Telephone: +65 6577 7888 Address : Hotel Michael, Level 1, 8 Sentosa Gateway, Resorts World Sentosa, Singapore
Ooh how lovely! Glad you got to try it this time!
Yeah, pretty glad I gotta try it.. I can now proceed to strike it off the list! Hehe!