The difference between Christmas at Goodwood Park and elsewhere is that Goodwood Park infuses local flavors into traditional Christmas food such as the baked “Singapura” turkey with curry; and Christmas tree durian profiteroles. These are some of the Christmas goodies from the restaurants at Goodwood Park:
Takeaway Items from The Deli
Whole Honey-Glazed Gammon Ham with Vanilla-Pineapple Sauce ($328, serves 25-30)
The takeaway gourmet treats are available at the Deli from 1-26 Dec. Advance orders of 3 working days are required. Call 6730 1867 or 1868 (10am-6pm) to order. Last order date: 20 Dec 12pm. 5% discount for orders fully paid by 9 Dec.
Baked Singapura Turkey with Homemade Pineapple-Cucumber Achar, Yellow Basmati Rice & Curry ($188, serves 8-12)
Among the items I tasted from the Deli, the items that stood out were the “Singapura” Turkey (who knew curry could go so well with turkey?!); the Spanish pork rack (because the potato gratin, which accompanies the pork, is a crowdpleaser); the tender honey-glazed ham.
Mustard-Crusted Spanish Pork Rack with Smoked Gravy, Cabbage, Pickled Apples and Potato Gratin ($308, serves 4-6)
Other items that are available for takeaway are a so-so german potato salad ($45, serves 4), a rather tough grilled turkey and pork chorizo skewers with Oriental BBQ sauce ($56 for a dozen) that were too similar to Tori Q to be bowled over; an uninspiring Australian prime rib (pictured below).
Black Pepper-Coated Roast Australian Prime Rib with Thyme-Merlot Sauce ($318, serves 6-8).
Desserts are also available for takeaway at the Deli.
D24 Durian Christmas Log Cake ($62 for 1kg)
MUST TRY: the White Chocolate-Coffee Log Cake ($62 for 1kg). This is a new item and it was AMAZING. A layer of creamy but light and not overly sweet white chocolate mousse wraps around genoise sponge cake soaked in espresso, which in turn, wraps around kahlua profiteroles. Visually reminiscent of a log, the textures of the mousse and sponge cake complemented each other and the taste was complex and pleasing even for a coffee-hater like me. I brought home this cake and when I passed a piece of it to someone who was working in a rival hotel, he said, “OMG, this is SOOOO good.”
I said, “This is from Goodwood Park, you know?”
He sniffed and scoffed, “Oh, then it’s not so good,” and gobbled the cake in 2 seconds, licked the plate clean and didn’t keep any for me. Gluttony knows no loyalty.
Traditional Christmas Fruit Cake ($58 for 1.2kg)
Forget the Durian Log Cake and go for Durian Profiteroles Christmas Tree ($75, serves 6-8). It is a sexy lump of durian pengat topped with puffs decorated in the form of a Christmas tree. The durian was so thick and aromatic that I was afraid to open my mouth, sitting next to someone who didn’t like durian. YUMS!
Other dessert items for takeaway that I tried but thought were so-so: hazelnut pound cake with macarons and candied strawberry-orange jelly ($24 a pc); chocolate walnut fudge cake with assorted pop treats ($24); Christmas pudding with brandy ($45, serves 4), traditional Christmas fruit cake ($58 for 1.2kg), sherry trifle ($48, serves 4-6).
Min Jiang and Min Jiang at One-North
Min Jiang serves a 6-course set lunch and dinner at $118 per person on 24, 25, 31 Dec and 1 Jan 2013. The set menu includes crispy soft shell crab with pork floss; wok-tossed freshwater scampi coated with wasabi sauce (pictured below); fried rice with crabmeat; fried durian fritter, chilled mochi with mango; and chilled avocado smoothie with gula melaka.
I’d like to, one day, sit down at Min Jiang and have a proper meal because Chinese food is best served hot and the food at the tasting was left in the open for some time. As a result, things got limp when they should have been crisp; cold food were warm and warm food were cooled. The food didn’t pass muster this round but the circumstances were to be blamed.
Call 6730 1704 (Min Jiang at Goodwood Park) and 6774 0122 (Min Jiang at One-North) for reservations.
Scampi with Wasabi Sauce
Gordon Grill and L’Espresso
I’ve grouped Gordon Grill and L’Espresso together as they share many similar items on their menu. However, Gordon Grill is a fine-dining restaurant whereas L’Espresso is more of a cafe.
Set lunch at Gordon Grill starts at $58 and dinner at $128 with exceptions on Christmas and New Year. Call 6730 1744 to inquire.
Various pricing at L’Espresso ranging from $48 to $108. Call 6730 1743 to inquire.
Among the food items I tried, these were the more memorable items: the cold angel hair pasta with sakura ebi, king crab and white truffle vinaigrette (available at only Gordon Grill) was ridiculously mouthwatering and fragrant. The truffle scent triggered the Pavlov’s dog in me. I’m afraid, as I took this picture, some of the other people might have ingest my saliva.
The brussel sprouts (available at Christmas brunch buffet at L’Espresso & Gordon Grill, Christmas Eve and Day buffets at Coffe Lounge), one of my favorite vegetables, were the dish of the day for me. Not everyone takes to the astringent taste of brussel sprouts but it always reminds me for Thanksgiving and Christmas because it’s only available during this season. Undercooking brussel sprouts makes them bitter and overly crunchy so the trick is to overcook them, stew them till they become mushy and pulpy and the butter can be absorbed into the vegetable. Goodwood Park really did the brussel sprouts proud: they stewed the vegetables with onions and delicious bacon–do you know it’s scientifically proven that everything tastes good with bacon?
But for the same reason the brussel sprouts were tasty, the seabass fillets (available for Christmas Brunch at L’Espresso and Gordon Grill) had been left for too long at the tasting and became dry. While the desserts were nothing to shout at, the yuzu and lemon thyme sorbet (New Year Eve Set dinner at Gordon Grill) was very interesting, herby but sour to the max, refreshing after a meal.
Goodwood Park Hotel
22 Scotts Road
Singapore 228221
T: 6737 7411
Website
Gordon Grill: 6730 1744
L’Espresso: 6730 1743
Coffee Lounge: 6730 1746
Min Jiang at Goodwood: 6730 1704
Min Jiang at One-North: 6774 0122
PS: Thank you Noelle and the good people at Sixth Sense for hosting the event.
Categories: >$60, Afternoon Tea/ High Tea, Brunch, Buffet, Chinese, Dessert, Large Group, Orchard, Western
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