db Bistro Moderne - Mondays in Provence

Forget Monday Blues! If you haven't heard about it, on Mondays when you visit db Bistro Moderne, you can ask for the Mondays in Provence menu!

(Provence is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. If you want to read more about it, head to Wikipedia)
 
It's interesting how they come up with the Provence menu. It's a three-course meal that's inspired by dishes from the gastronomic regions in France. Dishes that originated from Nice to Marseille, it was traveling southern France on our tastebuds! For the full menu, you can refer to the db Bistro Moderne's website.

Thanks to Marina Bay Sands and db Bistro Moderne, a few of us bloggers were invited on a Monday (of course) to sample the Provence Menu.

Mondays in Provence is offered at $68 per person.
(For an additional $32, pair the menu with regional wines.)

Here's what we sampled:

Le Pain

If you have been to db bistro moderne, you would have love their breads. I particularly liked the one that has a slightly salty crust. It's very good!

I did not ask, but I wonder if the bread here is from the work of Mark Fiorentino (or rather the recipe and methods, since he's obviously not in Singapore), the great bread man that takes charge of all the bread at the various Daniel establishment. 

Hors D'oeuvres - Provençal canapés

There was 3 different canapés that we were served. It's something very different and excites your taste buds for more.

- Tomato compote, basil pesto and smoked mozzarella crostini
- Eggplant and goat cheese crostini.


The 'Caramelized onion and rosemary tart' above, was my favourite, yes, I am an onions person and the caramelizing onions is not an easy job.

Vin

For an additional $32, you can pair your meal with regional wines.

You starter will be paired with 2011 Chateau d'Ollieres, Coteaux de Varois, Rosé
and your mains will be paired with either 2011 Chateau d'Ollieres, Coteaux de Varois, Blanc or 2010 Chateau d'Ollieres, Coteaux de Varois, Rouge

Entrée

Executive Sous Chef Nicholas Tang describing to us the dishes that was served to us.

You can choose 1 of the following 3 for your entrée.


Soupe Au Pistou (Provençal Vegetable Soup with Pistou) 

For those who likes to start their meal with a light vegetable soup. This was made with coco beans, summer squash in a vegetable broth with basil. It's like a minestrone without the tomato paste.

Tasting squash in soup makes me think of the my Year 12 days. All of us used to hate squash because the kitchen lady prepared it in a way that all students hated it. If only the chefs learned how to cook it!


Petits Farcis Provençaux - Provencal Stuffed Minis

If you are a meat person, try theses stuffed zucchini, eggplant and cippolini onion. Yes, they are all petit!


I like the stuffing that was made from minced lamb and beef. It had been seasoned with grilled peppers, onion, zucchini, rosemary, thyme, garlic and rice and topped with breadcrumbs. The stuffing was really moist and it's something that you would 'steal' from your neighbour who still has it on their plates!

Salad Niçoise

The original salad originated from Nice. This is how db has made it more delicious.

 If you like tuna confit and seared tuna, opt for this salad. It's Tuna done two ways, julienned bell peppers, olives, potatoes, green beans with anchovy dressing. The quail eggs that had really soft yolks were a nice touch to it.

Plat

You can choose 1 of the following 3 dishes for your main plate.


Bouillabaisse. A traditional Provençal shellfish and fish stew from Marseille.

It's a seafood stew that will really make you not waste a drop of the precious broth. The seafood used was John Dory, Red Snapper, Pernod and Tiger Prawns. Together with it was fennel and tomato confit and potatoes that had been cut the size of the chunks of seafood.

Chef Nicholas said that for that night, he was being a bit generous and added scallops too. So if you are having this dish here, see if the Chef is generous to you too. 


The Saffron Rouille that was accompanying the delicious Bouillabaisse. It's made from roasted capsicum, egg yolks, parsley, potato, garlic and olive oil.



Raviolis A La Daube D'Agneau - Lamb Stew Ravioli.

Oh, probably the most luxurious ravioli I have tasted. Braised Lamb that's pulled and delicately made into a ravioli. The lamb jus, rosemary and red wine that is so delightful rich accompanies it. I believe it has been reduced so it's a tad salty. Perfect who will be pairing it with the wine.



Ratatouille De Legumes & Panisse

It's not Remy preparing this dish behind Chef Nicholas' hat!
It's a delicious vegetarian stew that's made from tomato, zucchini, eggplant, onion and bell pepper. The crispy chickpea cake was a nice touch on top.

le dessert

The pastry and dessert chef describing to us the dessert that made us salivate even before we have it!
There are 2 desserts to choose from, but sometimes, they might just present something different if they have fresh ingredients that just arrived. That night, the pastry chef decided on Apricot Clafoutis instead of Tarte Tropezienne. 



Apricot Clafoutis

We had this delightful warm apricot clafoutis with an almond tuile disc on top, honey marinated apricots and bourbon foam. It was served with a scoop of almond ice cream on the side.


Not the usual black cherries versions. It comes out very nice. The clafoutis batter was made from roasted hazelnut powder.



Mousse Au Chocolat Au Lait.


Oh, what I like was the lemon-hazelnut ice-cream.
The dessert was made with chocolate hazelnut biscuit, praline gelee, milk chocolate mousse, praline glacage. On the side was cherry gel. Does it sound like it has a million calories? Try it!



We ended the meal with the signature warm Madeleines. This little things, you can pop it non-stop!


Mondays in Provence is offered at $68 per person. For an additional $32, pair the menu with regional wines.


db Bistro Moderne
B1-48 Galleria Level
The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands (across from the theater)
2 Bayfront Avenue
Singapore 018972

Tel: +65 6688 8525
Hours:
Lunch: Monday to Friday: Noon to 5pm
Weekend Brunch :  Saturday – Sunday: 11AM – 5PM
Dinner : Sunday & Monday: 5:30pm to 10PM, Tuesday – Saturday: 5:30PM – 11PM