Hokkaido scallops, sea prawns and baby octopus were in the Linguine with Garlic Kombu Butter sauce. ― Photos: LOW BOON TAT/The Star
David Chin wants to up the ante in Cafe Bistrot David, serving hearty, scrumptious fare with a gourmet slant in a cafe setting. It’s food to be shared, whether it’s the signature gourmet pies, the CBD Original Burrata, Linguine Garlic Kombu Butter, or even the Cold Capellini with Abalone.
“My menu is made up of what I like to cook,” said David whose trained chefs now execute the dishes.
CBD Original Burrata had two crispy shards of beef cecina flanking the luscious cheese.
The popular appetiser CBD Original Burrata comes with tomato, beef cecina, pecorino, parsley butter and basil oil. Two crispy shards of beef cecina flank the luscious burrata, smothered with passata. Pecorino is grated over it, topped with basil butter and gratin under the salamander. Chitose cherry tomatoes and Italian Pizzutello tomatoes and arugula surround the soft creamy cheese. It all comes together in delicious saltiness from the beef cecina and sweetness from the tomatoes. Cheese is air-flown weekly from Puglia, southern Italy.
Not surprisingly, this dish was picked by TV hosts Daphne Iking and Sherson Lian to be the best dish for a first date in a programme by Asian Discovery Channel.
Spaghetti Mentaiko in Japanese marinated pollock roe sauce, with sliced Hokkaido scallop and tobiko.
Prime quality ingredients, mostly imported, are the hallmark of the food at this cafe. Plump Hokkaido scallops, sea prawns from Sabah and baby octopus were in the Linguine with Garlic Kombu Butter sauce. The sauce, according to David, was developed by accident. Its luxe flavours, the smoky octopus and the sweetness of scallops and prawns made this irresistible.
“We work with a basic recipe, and give a free hand to the chefs who taste as they cook,” he explains.
Another pasta that I really enjoyed was the Spaghetti Mentaiko in Japanese marinated pollock roe sauce, with sliced Hokkaido scallop and a heap of tobiko (fish roe). I encountered a burst of fragrance from some julienned herb that turned out to be shiso leaves – a wonderful touch to the pasta.
Duck Confit with Foie Gras Torchon had richness of the duck tempered with pickled red cabbage and beetroot at the side. Confit potato, burnt cauliflower puree, beetroot gastrique and duck jus completed the duck which was crispy on the outside, and the flavourful meat flaking off the bone.
Seafood paella came stacked with prawns, mussels, clams, baby octopus and scallops.
We also had the Crepes Suzette flambéd the old-fashioned way with Cointreau. The delicate crepes in a butter sauce with orange zest and gelato was sublime and certainly not for sharing!
Dining at Cafe Bistrot David also gives you access to the menu upstairs at Bar X Grill David, a father and son (Brian) collaboration. Head chef Razif Samoon leads the kitchen team. The menu features small plates, dry aged steaks like the Pure Black Angus or Wagyu Tomahawk which can be shared among six people, chargrilled whole turbot, squid ink with shrimps and baby octopus, and signature Paella with mixed seafood.
We tried the Paella with Mixed Seafood. The pan was stacked with prawns, mussels, clams, baby octopus and scallops, and the rice beneath. Cooked over hot coals on the grill and finished in the charcoal oven, the rice was imbued with the sweetness of the seafood, aromatic sofrito and picada. Impossible not to love this!
Prices are not to be sniffed at, but it’s definitely well-worth the culinary experience.
