All-Day Breakfast at Dean & DeLuca Singapore
Items from Dean & DeLuca's All-Day Breakfast Menu
From top left: Eggs Iberico, The New Yorker,
Brioche French Toast with Salted Caramel Bananas and Berries & Flap Jacks
I'm a huge fan of all-day breakfast so I was thrilled when I received an invitation to preview Dean & DeLuca Singapore's All-Day Breakfast menu.
Here's a shot of my tasting platter at Dean & DeLuca Singapore's media preview for the All-Day Breakfast Menu. Even though we had small portions of each of the four items on the menu, it was too much food for most of us. I had a hard time picking which one to finish as I love all of them.
Sautéed Brioche French Toast @ S$ 22
2 one-inch thick slices of French Toasted Brioche
with Salted Caramelized Bananas, Fresh Berries & Vanilla Ice Cream
I started with the Sautéed Brioche French Toast with Salted Caramelized Bananas & Fresh Berries because I love Salted Caramel, caramelized bananas, French toast and Brioche.
French Toast is one of my favourite comfort foods and breakfast choice. It's easily whipped up at home using sliced bread or Brioche (if you're feeling extravagant) and jazzed up by drizzling Truffle Honey. I remember teaching a cook how to make it when I got tired of his cooking during my dive trip on a liveaboard in the Similan Islands.
The Brioche French Toast at Dean & DeLuca Singapore is decadence on a platter with a twist. The thick slices of Brioche have a crust of crushed cornflakes, thereby giving it a more fragrant and crunchier bite. A spin on caramelized bananas, the soft but firm banana chunks had been cooked in salted caramel adding a fruity and savoury flavour. The rich Vanilla Ice Cream adds creaminess whilst the fresh berries add a slight touch of tartness along with a dose of antioxidants. The Brioche French Toast is a Must-Try!
Eggs Iberico @ S$25
2 Poached Eggs with Sautéed Mushrooms, Jamón Ibérico
and Hollandaise Sauce on Sundried Tomato Bread
Eggs Iberico is essentially Eggs Benedict that has been given a luxe treatment with the addition of rare (and very expensive) Jamón Ibérico de Bellota.
A quality produce by renowned Spanish artisanal producer, 5J-Sanchez Romero Carvajal, it is considered to be the best ham in the world. Remember the craze for marbled pork, specifically Kurobuta pork (from black Berkshire pigs)? Jamón Ibérico de Bellota is made from Black Iberian Pig (aka Pata Negra) that has been fed a diet of acorns. Healthwise, more than half the fat in this ham is monounsaturated (like olive oil) due to the pig's acorn-rich diet.
One of my favourite breakfast dishes is Eggs Benedict and I love exquisite cured meats so I enjoyed this dish immensely. The poached egg sat atop slices of Jamón Ibérico de Bellota and topped with a generous dollop of Hollandaise sauce. The well-marbled, burgundy red slices of ham was nutty and savoury without being excessively salty and the fat melted on the tongue moistening the ham as you chew. The warm and runny egg yolk merged with the creamy and slighty tangy Hollandaise Sauce, tempering the savouriness of the ham and which also complements the earthiness of the mushrooms. The overall combination was absolutely delicious. The Eggs Iberico from the All-Day Breakfast menu is a Must-Try!
Berries & Flap Jacks @ S$ 18
Oat & Honey Buttermilk Pancakes with Fresh Mixed Berries,
Dean & DeLuca "Grade A" Organic Maple Syrup
Another of my favourite breakfast dishes is Pancakes. I enjoyed the oat and honey buttermilk flapjacks (American-style pancakes) here as it was fluffy and was well-complemented by fresh cream and juicy raspberries, blueberries, blackberries and strawberries. I'm not a huge fan of Maple Syrup so though it was of a very high quality, "Grade A Dark Amber", I preferred to eat the flapjacks without the syrup.
The New Yorker @ S$22
Gently Scrambled Eggs, Chives with Dilled Cured Salmon & Red Onions
Served on Toasted Bagel & Cream Cheese
I love bagels with cream cheese and salmon. Unfortunately, the bagels may have been exposed to too much air-conditioning uncovered because the bagels we got during the tasting were very hard and could not be cut, the little morsel that I ripped off had to be chewed with great effort. Granted that bagels need to be chewy but this was like chewing on chewing gum that had been chewed too long. I enjoyed the creamy scrambled eggs and cured salmon with cream cheese much better and in spite of how full I was feeling, I finished the eggs and salmon.
We were also treated to samples of granola by Hippie Chow and Sarabeth's. I liked Sarabeth's Morning Crunch Granola followed by Hippie Chow's Mocha Hazelnut.
Speaking of Sarabeth's, I absolutely loved their Strawberry Rhubarb jam. The staff at Dean& DeLuca Singapore were quick to tell me that it is Oprah Winfrey's favourite brand of jams. Seems like there's a story behind almost every product here, just ask the friendly staff for information.
Finally we were treated to some samples of artisanal cheese and exquisite charcuterie. However, I was way too full so I nibbled bite-sized samples of excellent Comte, Camembert and Roquefort. The in-house maître fromager (cheese expert) and charcuterie specialist, Wendy Teo, was more than happy to explain the nuances of flavours that each cheese and cured meat has. Do look her up at the Cheese & Charcuterie counter for recommendations.
The 50-seater cafe is open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner, in addition to brunch and high tea on weekends. The variety is fairly extensive ranging from soups, salads, burgers, gourmet dishes to pastries and cakes. That's in addition to the All-Day Breakfast menu which has been expanded to include an American Country Breakfast @ S$22 (Eggs, Bacon, Hash Brown, Sausage, Sauteed Portobello Mushroom, Vine-Ripened Cherry Tomatoes & Toasted Farmhouse Multi-Grain Bread) and The Belgian Stack @ S$21 (Homemade Waffles, Fresh Mixed Berries, Red Currant, Drizzled with Vanilla Creme Anglais, Dean & DeLuca's Grade A Organic Maple Syrup & Raspberry Coulis).
Dean & DeLuca Singapore opens its doors for business at 8pm on 22 June 2012.
Dean & DeLuca Singapore 181 Orchard Road, #04-23/24 Orchard Central, Singapore 238896 Phone: +65 6509-7708 Website: www.deandeluca.com.sg Operating Hours: Daily from 11 am to 10 pm PS: Thank you, Dean & DeLuca Singapore for the hospitality and Fulford PR for the invitation to the media preview of the All-Day Breakfast Menu.