Celcius Restaurant and Bar

The only time you might be able to spot me tucking into a degustation menu would be during special events. As much as I like having a glass of wine with my exceptionally delicious meals, the thought of spending more than $50 for a meal aches me tremendously. However, when I do decide on indulging myself, I do not hesitate to choose a place that is on the talk-of-the-town list.

At Celcius, you can opt to have ala carte meals but on weekends, it is strictly degustation time so do check with the receptionist when you ring in for a reservation. I was running a bit late for my reservation but thankfully, the restaurant's receptionist was very understanding and offered to wait for us to arrive, regardless of how long we took. Thumbs up for a welcoming service prior to arrival!

We opted for the 8 course degustation menu which is about $125 per person, excluding wine matching. About 5 minutes after we placed our order, we were served warm house bread with knobs of plain butter and parlsey infused butter.The butter glided smoothly upon spreading on the fluffy, soft bread and I found it difficult to stop myself from hogging it all for myself.

Goats curd, cucumber, fennel, broad beans and herb ~ a very refreshing and light dish to start the degustation menu. Everything on the plate was fresh and still had a nice crispy crunch texture to it.

Tuna, pork, kohlrabi, lemon and ginger~ a seafood dish appears on the table and this dish tastes as good as it looks. All the individual elements complemented each other well and as you may observe from the picture, the piece of tuna is not overcooked at all.

Petit sapin, Jerusalem artichoke, chicken skin and lime finger~ I am trying to find the name of this dish on the restaurant's online menu and I am not sure if what I got is right. The chicken pate wasn't as heavy and filling as I had expected it to be (I might be cultivating an interest for pate?) and the chicken skin is wafer thin and very fragile, a nice sensation which easily found it's way into my mouth. There are quite a few crunchy components on this dish such as the garlic crisps and mini swirls.

Lamb sweetbread, globe artichoke, pear, rainbow chard~ From memory, the yellow sauce is composed of corn puree whilst the orange-ish red sauce is made of capsicum puree. These brilliantly coloured sauces made what is a seemingly dull dish appear pleasing to the eye. Lamb sweetbread pieces were moist and very flavourful indeed.

Duck breast, beetroot, cherry vinegar and olive liquorice~ there is something magical about using beetroot. Not only does it add colour and texture to a dish but it seems to have a very subtle sweetness to it which often, goes well with stronger poultry flavours. The duck breast was very juicy and well marinated with the accompanying sauce. Probably one of my favourite dishes for the night.

Milkfed Berkshire pork, sweet potato, red cabbage and leek ~ The only time I would ever eat (and enjoy) a good slab of pork fat is when it is well prepared. I had no problems cleaning my plate and this dish is a nice addition to my degustation experience, after having the duck dish previously. One again, the chef did not think twice about adding crunchy and creamy elements on the plate and it has been executed brilliantly.

Cake with pineapple, meringue and passionfruit~ I am looking forward to having 2 desserts today. One might think that there is a little too much acid prancing on the plate but I think the meringue and cake somehow eased the sourness by quite a bit and still managed to showcase the fruit's unique characteristics.

Chocolate, honeycomb, vanilla and toasted custard~ just when you thought it ended well for the night, the waitress brings out a jug of warm custard and pours it all over your chocolate! The chocolate has been tempered and hence, oozed away as the warm custard breaks it apart to exhibit a moist, sinful cake hiding under that chocolate shell. The custard and vanilla ice cream contrasted nicely against the heavy, strong tasting cake. Another enjoyable dish of the night.

Overall, we had a good time at Celcius. The relaxing ambience, delicious food and accommodating service made our weekend worth waiting for after working everyday during the week. I can get used to this. Time to rake up some serious cold cash.