Out-Stellaring Cuisine with a Metropolitan View

CONTENT: Yiew Kai Jie

At Singapore’s highest restaurant Stellar at 1-Altitude, their aim is to match the breath taking view of the Central Business District with quintessential progressive Australian cuisine. To that end, the essence of the cuisine can be savoured in every dish of the restaurant’s new signature Constellations theme menu. For a more savoury experience of Executive Chef Christopher Millar’s “Australian way”, Stellar recently introduced an eight-course tasting menu known as the Antipodes Menu. Along the way, knowledgeable and professional staff will provide genuine hospitality and excellent service as they guide you through your dining experience.

“I always say that I cook in an ‘Australian way’. To me this means cooking with an open mind, being inspired by flavours, always moving forward and cooking from the heart.” Executive Chef Christopher Millar said.

Taken from the term “Antipodean”, a word used to refer to Australia, each course of the Antipodes Menu re-enacts Chef Millar’s Australian heritage, experiences and culinary adventures that showcases his own very personal style of cooking, utilising modern techniques to get the most out of the best seasonal ingredients available. It can be something as simple as searing a Hida prefecture A5 Ribeye steak in the unique Josper wood-fired oven, or something more complex such as plating a plancha-grilled Jade abalone paired with foie gras and morel mushrooms.

Steadfast and uncompromising in his mission to consistently showcase innovation and the highest culinary standards, Chef Millar also draws inspiration from his various collaborations with chefs in Singapore and overseas countries such as Yosuke Suga (Japan); and most recently Emmanuel Renaut of three Michelin-starred Flocons de Sel in Megève, (France).

Food fit for a King
The menu evokes a sense of global nuances to the diner – epitomizing the heart of Progressive Australian cooking. But despite the flavours brought about by the exotic ingredients featured in each dish, the underlying tone is distinctly Australian.

Diners will first embark on their gastronomic journey with a cheeky version of ‘vegemite on toast’ followed by a serving of snow crab. Local diners may not be familiar with what vegemite is, but most Australians take it as their literal bread and butter. If one hasn’t tried vegemite before, don’t be put off by the foreign taste as compared to your usual kaya or butter spread. Try dipping the toast into the vegemite and take a small bite if you’re cautious of the taste, if you’re comfortable with it, scoop the vegemite into what’s left of the toast so that you’ll get that nice flavour of the vegemite accompanied with the flavour of the vegemite.

The next dish is the snow crab, the flesh gently roasted enough to be tender and has hints of a cheesy flavour as you bite into the meat. The mustard sauce gives the dish a massive kick while the braised leek has a toasty flavour as well. Take a swirl of the recommended paired wine, it’s surprisingly light and finishes with a balanced taste in your mouth.

Finishing the appetizers on a high, was the combination of foie gras and oyster tartare. The combination is entirely unheard of in our local Singaporean cuisine, but surprisingly they both went well with each other! The euphoric combination of sweetness and tanginess will leave you declaring this dish as the star appetizer of the menu! But should you find the flavour of the oyster tartare too overwhelming, the bread will help to neutralise your palette so that you can enjoy the flavour of the dish without having one protein’s taste overpower the other.

After the appetizers, a refreshing respite with the Trip to the Garden will commence, where you will be taken to Stellar’s unique Living Garden of organic herbs from which the chefs pick to use in all the restaurant’s creations. While at the Living Garden, a Nitro-poached lemon meringue with a dust of crushed lavender sorrel is served by Chef de Cuisine Michael Di Placido to invigorate the palate for the remaining courses.

The Antipodes dining experience continues with a build-up of flavours from the next two courses of French Wild Skate Wing and Poached Venison Loin.

At first glance, the dish looks visually appealing and the fragrant strong smell of the fish will get to you, whetting your appetite even before you’ve began cutting up the fish. Don’t be put off by the bony structure that you see on the dish, pick it up and bite on it like a biscuit, it’s actually dehydrated fish bones that are extremely crunchy and delectable. The meat of the skate wing is similar in texture of a stingray, but 10 times lighter and tender then what you get with a normal stingray! The kohlrabi remoulade tastes a little like cheese and makes an excellent combo with the fish, while the slight dryness of the paired wine makes a good comeback as you will retain the flavour of the fish while the wine is in your throat, keeping your appetite ready for the next course to be served.

The next dish was the Poached Venison Loin. Hidden in a black ceramic bowl, a nice smoky smell emerges when the cover is taken off, invigorating your senses in preparation of having you taste this dish. You would find that the venison is very tender and the sauces remind you of an Asian-Western infusion, bringing a nice blend of the two vastly different flavours in one dish. The paired wine is extremely light that you won’t feel it interfering with the taste of the venison on your palette. A fantastic main course for anyone to enjoy before they move on to the dessert.

Completing this gastronomic experience, diners are in for an outstanding feature of the Constellations menu- the ‘Dessert Art’ experience where Pastry Chef Jasmin Chew ’s exquisite selection of desserts is plated at the table for our guests. One of the desserts consists of a sublime Bacon & Eggs – a sheep’s milk yogurt with elderflower honey and bacon soil. The dessert is an absolute masterpiece; the experience will leave you snapping away for pictures and the urge not to touch anything on the plate to preserve the delicate beauty of the art piece. It is a fantastic way to end off the Constellations experience on a sweet and delicate note! So if you have plans to bring your partner to celebrate Christmas or to ring in the new year, why not choose Stellar at 1-Altitude where you would be served exquisite food alongside a marvelous view of the CBD to celebrate such a festive season?

The Constellations Gastronomic provides diners with six or eight-course tasting menus featuring the finest seasonal highlights and progressive techniques to bring out the best in each ingredient and also offers a full a la carte menu for both lunch and dinner.

For reservations or more details, please contact Stellar at 1-Altitude at +65 6438 0410.