I was treated to a gorgeous, excellent, wonderful lunch at Iggy's yesterday and after that experience, I seriously think that EVERY Singaporean should go there at least ONCE in their lifetime. Just splurge on a lunch (their lunch menus are SGD55++) one day. Treat yourself. You will not regret it. Just make sure that you make a reservation before going as the restaurant is small and normally packed during lunch. You can make an online reservation on their website www.iggys.com.sg.

I had the Christmas festive menu (SGD75++) and boy was it worth it! The service is impeccable and very personable. The waiter will also take you through each course and recommend the best way to enjoy each dish. Apologies, there won't be any pics as my lunch companion finds food picture taking in Iggy's completely LC (low class). =P You'll just have to imagine from my description. Here goes...

1st course: Sago in bonito soup with ocean leaves and oyster.
A slender oyster rests in a bed of sago and bonito soup. That already looks appetizing. Then, the waiter asks me to grab the ocean leaves (which look like a mini bouquet since it had a purple flower) that were stuck in a martini glass filled with black sesame seeds.

"Ocean leaves," I was told, "grow near the sea, so they soak up a lot of the flavour of the sea. Please eat it before consuming the oyster. This is to give you the taste of the ocean and fresh oysters before you actually eat the oyster."

Wow...I was blown away by the thought that went through putting this dish together. He was right. The ocean leaves tasted like seaweed minus that distinctive thick flavour. It was like smelling the sea...but in your mouth. If you get what I mean. When we slurped up the oyster, I got it. I got what the waiter meant by tasting the ocean before the oyster. The oyster may not have been freshly shucked but it sure tasted like it was and even better thanks to the complementing bonito soup.

2nd course: Buffalo mozzarella with diced avocado and tomatoes
I've got no idea what sauce was in this dish but it was wonderful. The mozzarella was sooo fresh and wonderful to the bite that it beats the traditional Italian dish of Caprese hands down. Don't get me wrong...I still love caprese!!

3rd course: Slow cooked rainbow trout with artichoke sauce, asparagus, caviar and violet potatoes.
I didn't believe that the trout was cooked. It was sooo soft and still dark pink (not light pink, which is the colour that it turns when fully cooked). The combination of trout, caviar, artichoke and violet potatoes was like a polygamy marriage made in heaven. And I actually ate chives. The violet potatoes had chives, which I detest but it went so well that I ate it all up together with everything else on the plate.

4th course: Spaghettini with white truffles
I nearly laughed when the waiter asked me how many grams of truffles I wanted in my dish. To me, even 1g is good enough!! Anyway, I ended up with the recommended 3g and it was fantastic. 3 wonderful grams of shaved white truffle sat on top of a tiny bed of spaghetti. The taste of truffle is a little savoury and chocolatey. No wonder they call those chocolates truffles. 3g was good. Any more and I think the flavour of the truffles would have overpowered the dish. There would be a need to call it truffle with spaghetti rather than the other way around. Mmm....yum...how can I go back to truffle oil from now....

5th course: Wagyu
I love my beef and this wagyu is mind blowing. They cooked this piece of beef for 48 hours until it is so tender that a knife was not needed. I'm not kidding you. I ate this piece of beef with a fork and a spoon. It was not fatty and it still managed to maintain its beef flavour, which was what I couldn't get over. SOO good.

6th course (pre-dessert): Sorbet with candied mango and earl grey granita
Fruity and very yummy. Cleanses the palate real well!

7th course: French toast with vanilla cream and sabayon
I didn't like the savoury sabayon. To me, desserts should be sweet and if there's any savoury bits, it is ok in a biscuit or crust etc. French toast was yum, vanilla was yum but then...I felt like I was sent crashing down after reaching the crescendo that was building from course 1 onwards. My lunch companion liked it. But then....she doesn't like sweet stuff. :P

All in all, the meal was really an experience. I loved how all the dishes looked so simple but you know that it was NOT simple. There was NO way you can replicate ANY of the dishes at home. I loved how cosy the place feels and I didn't have to whisper or feel like I was in an uber chi-chi place like how I felt in Tom Aikens (London).

My dad remarked, "For $75, of course it'll be great lah." -__-; Honestly, dining is about the food and the whole experience. The $55 lunch, to me, is a worthwhile treat to give yourself once in a while. You only live once. If you can afford it, why not feed yourself well. It's not as if you can get the same type of food at Iggy's in some hawker centre.

For non-Singaporeans, I highly recommend you going to Iggy's if you ever decide to visit Singapore!! Remember - please book in advance!!