margauxlicious: Travel | The Black Swan, Singapore

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If you can count your calories with memories, they are worth the weight!
margauxlicious
08 Marc h 2014
margaux shares delicious
Travel | The Black Swan, Singapore
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"Can we go to the Black Swan instead?" I messaged my high school bud Cherie. She wanted to check out a noodle
place near her house near the Changi airport and I was horrified at the prospect of getting lost in the suburbs of
Singapore. Plus The Black Swan was suggested by Miele Guide founder Su-Lyn Tan whose Singapore
recommendations cannot be ignored.
SPOT.ph: Your One-Stop
Urban Lifestyle Guide to
the Best of Manila
"Come on, it's the Black Swan. You can be Mila Kunis and I can be Natalie Portman!" I joked, insistent. "Why am I
Mila?!" she challenged. "Well ... she ends up with Ashton Kutcher!" I explained. "Ok, in that case I can be Mila,"
she concurred.
And so we set our lunch for 11.30 a.m. at the Black Swan on a Monday.
It was an easy walk from Chinatown. I was staying at Scarlet Hotel (more on that later) on Erskine. The lovely
lady at the concierge desk showed me a shortcut. "Take the steps down to the park and you will see Amoy street.
Two streets from that is Cecil Street (where The Black Swan is - if I remember her directions right! I may be
wrong now but the point is, it was a walkable distance)."
The restaurant is across the huge bank by the bus stop.
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The minute you step in you are transported into this retro world of teal (turqoise? cobalt? bleu de france?) and
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gold.
I don't know if the interior designers were influenced by this (hehehe! searched for "Gatsby blue" to find the
perfect shade and stumbled across this instead ?!!!) ... Most likely NOT. But there is certainly a very Gatsbyesque feel to the place.
The first thing that caught my attention was the bar (how very me). And the writing on it. I could only read half
of the entire phrase - "glasses of life" - from our table. But learned later on from the very alert maitre d' that it
reads, "Here's to the rose-colored glasses of life." It is a toast to the spirits, a quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald,
author of The Great Gatsby. But the line is from the book The Beautiful and the Damned.
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We were there at lunch so the mood was very sober but I am guessing their homage to Fitzgerald's the Beautiful
and the Damned is better replicated at night.
I am guessing, though, that these scenes take place in the "Powder Room" upstairs (there's a sign that says
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'Powder Room and I really thought I was headed toward the loo! LMAO) that is in fact a cocktail lounge.
Kamil Foltan, the bar and beverage manager, was kind enough to tell us about their drinks. Cherie, who drinks
tea, questioned him like a teacher: "So tell me, what's in a martini? And what's the best kind?" And then later,
"Do you eat the olives or are they just there?" Smiling in bewilderment from this line of questioning that was too
virginal even for me, I managed to explain, "She doesn't drink."
Kalil will soon be making a new beverage line up composed of "forgotten cocktails". (Yo Kalil, if you chance upon
this blog, check these out. I would love to try The Fitzgerald! And while you're at it, how about adding a Margaux
Salcedo to this list? Although I may have to write a groundbreaking novel first hahaha!)
Now some restaurants with fabulous interiors are all style and no substance. I am happy to share that we
thoroughly enjoyed our lunch.
The main courses were unfussy but spot on. Cherie had the duck, which was presented simply but perfectly.
Crisp skin, juicy meat, not oily - thanks to its sous vide cooking. I had the burger which was juicy, with a crown
of cheddar and sunny side up. It's a burger they can be proud of and it's no wonder they've stamped their name
on it.
And they're not stingy.
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But by the time we got to the burger I was honestly too full because, while Cherie had this healthy salad of handpicked crab, avocado, mango, orange, grapefruit and toasted sunflower seeds for her starter ...
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... I devoured foie gras and eggs. These starters are to die for. A real gustatory homage to the Beautiful and the
Damned!
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Truffled egg and bacon confit + crostini
You have to scoop the egg out and create your own crostini. One is enough but I had both. Hee hee.
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Foie gras. Spread on that lovely toasted brioche. Foie-mazing!
And then, a sweet ending. Melissa, part of The Black Swan team, was quick to pick up that it happened to be
Cherie's birthday that day. So at the end of the meal, we were surprised with this chocolate cake and birthday
song from the staff.
Hmmm ... maybe in line with theme, how about a jazz version by a waitress next time? Something like this?
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Maybe for a private dinner downstairs? (The art deco building used to be a bank. The restaurant owners
converted the vault to a private dining section.)
True to its name, this place was an unexpected delight (evening inebriation may be a completely different story,
though!) ... a rekindling of the past without foregoing the best of the present.
Ok forget Natalie and Mila. We can go as Jordan and Daisy!
The Black Swan
19 Cecil St, Singapore 049704
+65 8181 3305
Major credit cards acceptedCasual chic
Wheelchair accessible
Reservations recommended.
www.theblackswan.com.sg/​
on Saturday, March 08, 2014
Recommend this on Google
tags asia's best restaurants, cecil street, f scott fitzgerald, lo and behold, Margaux Salcedo, margauxlicious, miele guide,
singapore, singapre best restaurants, the black swan, the great gatsby
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