Having read about il Cielo having this Caviar Degustation menu, my family decided to try it!
Italian firm Agroittica Lombarda is a pioneer of sustainable caviar farming and its Calvisius brand of premium caviar will be available in Singapore for the first time.
View of the restaurant:
Outside the restaurant is this bar-like area where you can have drinks, enjoy the night breeze and have a good view of Orchard Road (though I think the view isnt really v nice haha cos its all uh buildings which arent really that pretty) The restaurant's pretty open concept so unless you're seated in the inner side of the restaurant, else you'll be only having like 1/4 air-con and 3/4 night breeze, so if the night is hot, good luck to you! Luckily for us it was rather windy tonight but my parents were sweating a little still.
Warmmm fluffy bread! Love me some warm hot yummy bread (: There were 3 types, a bread stick with sesame seeds (reallyyy crispy and addictive!), a white bun that was really fluffy and a bun that I presume was made of rye flour because of the colour (slightly darker brown? Not sure though) 4.5/5
I believe the right's truffle butter (went v well with the bread!) and then olive oil + balsamic vinegar, and yes they served it like that, with a drop of balsamic vinegar haha
Plate and porcelain spoon given to eat the caviar with, because you cant use metal to eat else you'll "spoil" the caviar!
Calvisius Caviar Degustation with Accompaniment for 2 - $298
I'll talk about each part below!
Front row: Potato with sour cream (this was soooo soft and nice), Oscietra Royal Caviar, Siberian Caviar, White Sturgeon, Oscietra Classic Caviar (unopened)
Background: vodka scrambled eggs
Middle: fine raw Ombrina fish
Front left: White Sturgeon Caviar (caviar not pictured)- this was more salty than the Classic one and the aroma wasnt as intense
Front right: Classic Caviar Oscietra - this was slightly salty only, with a really strong intense aroma. My Mom and I really loved this!
Angel Hair Pasta with shaved truffle and fresh caviar
The chef came to our table with a truffle shaver like thing and asked if we would like to have fresh caviar shaved on our pasta, so naturally we said okay because we've never tasted caviar in this form! The taste isnt as intense as the small little round morsels but the taste of caviar was very much there in that thin sheet of caviar!
The angel hair pasta was dry (in a good way) but the truffle aroma wasnt v strong! Thought this went well with the Siberian caviar because the Siberian caviar was quite salty hence went perfectly well with this angel hair pasta!
Background - Risotto Oyster: this was v yummy on its own!! Really good quality creamy cheese, perfectlyyy al dente arborio rice (assuming they're using this) and a piece of super fresh oyster! This went really well with the Siberian also cos the saltiness cuts through the creaminess and brings the dish to a whole new level!
2nd row (L-R): Hard boiled egg yolks, egg whites, fresh blinis with sour cream - went well with any of the caviars I felt
Front - Crystal Bay prawns done crudo style (ie just drizzle olive oil, lemon, salt, garnishing): felt the prawns generally went well with any of the caviars
Vodka Scrambled eggs - This was ssooooooo good! Scrambled eggs were the BEST I've ever eaten! So perfectly fluffy and flavourful!!! 5/5
Royal Caviar Oscietra
This was the 2nd most salty after the Siberian!
Siberian
Bosco Pizza - $46
Porcini, Italian Sausage, Truffle
Look at how THIN it is!! Mom commented it was like eating paper prata haha. Yes its really thin, and it doesnt really feel like you're eating pizza 'cos well, we've all associated it with at least a semblance of something sturdy and substantial below, unlike this which was really paper-prata-thin kind of thin! Like a slice of paper! It was REALLY crispy though!! Even after quite some time it was still crispy and biting into it (esp the ends of the the pizza) makes audible crisp sounds! The truffle was v aromatic when you bring the pizza near your mouth but the taste got covered when you put it in your mouth by all the stronger flavours eg cheese/mushroom so yea, cant really taste the truffle!
The pizza's made from specialty flour from Vesuvlana and baked in a open fire brick oven! I'd recommend the pizza for anyone wanting a meal that seems like but is actually quite filling! 4.3/5
Italian Tuscany Tomato Soup with crab meat
The soup was quite sour cos of the tomatoes but really refreshing! Quite a lot of crab bits as well! 4.3/5
Raviolo
Egg, spinach, ricotta cheese
The taste of the cheese was really strong, cuts through the egg and spinach such that you cant taste the spinach at all! Really good way to make people eat their veg haha. The runnyy eggyolk made me really happy hehe (: A rather average dish only I feel. 3.5/5
Pre-dessert: lemon cream
This is like the filling of a lemon tart but slightly creamier and a little bit more fluid. Mom really disliked it because she thought it was like eating medicine haha but I thought it was okay, just that the texture was a little weird, in between a custard/paste texture? 3/5
Dessert Platter: Lemon Sorbet, Tiramisu
Lemon sorbet was okay only, not really a tangy lemon taste but a little sweet sigh
Tiramisu: Really bad rendition, no alcohol taste at all and the coffee was too bitter!
Dessert Platter: Strawberry Panna Cotta, Lemon Tart
The panna cotta wasnt too bad, quite smooth and nice
Lemon tart: seriously, this is not even a TART. It was just the lemon tart FILLING that was way TOO sweet, was really disappointed at this.
Dessert Platter costs $16 and consists of the things I've listed which is everything in the menu except the chocolate fondant which is not in the dessert platter. I wouldnt recommend ordering dessert from il Cielo because really, their desserts are SERIOUSLY BAD.
The total price of the meal was $500+ for 3 cos my Dad had a glass of champagne and a glass of red, but all of us felt that the food was average only and wasnt worth the money. I prefer Capri's pizzas to here really, a real pizza base (at least to me) with the same earthy wonderful aromas and taste (Even better I feel) and the same crispy ends!
*****
My parents decided to walk around the Hilton Shopping Gallery though the shops were closed already cos they were really full! Beautiful shop displays with nice clothes!
Not satisfied with lackluster desserts, I bought 2 macarons from Checkers Deli - $3.05 each or comes in a box of 6 or 9
Lemon Macaron
Felt this was quite yummy!! Wasnt sweet at all, soft but not too crumbly, great take on the lemon macaron I feel! On par with Basilico's! 4.5/5
Carrot Macaron
Was really intrigued by how this would taste like so bought this too! There isnt a carrot taste at all sadly! Though I think its probably carrot cake stuffing in the middle? Sure looked like it to me! It was not too sweet either, but cant really tell what I'm eating because it lacked flavours! 3.5/4
Overall, I think Checkers Deli's macarons are worth buying! Not just their cheesecakes (: They have flavours like raspberry, pistachio, blueberry + chocolate, etc!
il Cielo
24th Floour
Checkers Deli
Lobby
Both at Hilton Hotel Singapore
