Gunther's Modern French Cuisine

I haven't been to Gunther's in forever, often skipping the revered French restaurant in favour of its Italian sister Garibaldi. Truth be told, I'm a little biased towards Italian cuisine, even if the carb-centric cuisine wrecks whatever diet plans I'm attempting off-kilter. Oh well, life is best lived dolce vita, eh?

Anyway, the homecoming (of sorts) to Gunther's is going down as one of 2016's best meals. Every element, from the food to the ambience and service, was smashing. I'd venture that Gunther's remains the best French restaurant in all of Singapore. Dinner was exquisitely stellar, with food that was rich in soul and flawlessly executed, albeit marred by the barest of hiccups which I was happy to overlook.

Also, I don't know what they feed their service staff but it's incredible how Gunther's and Garibaldi both provide first-class service that's unparalleled. I'd term it "indiscriminate graciousness", where the ordinary joe off the street gets the same warm attention as an affluent tycoon regular. In fact, service is so consistently outstanding that they deserve whatever extra tips on top of the standard service fee built into the bill. I mean, other fine-dining restaurants have great service too, but I do notice the discriminate and cool professionalism displayed by some of the service staff.

The amuse bouche was a tempura-ed langoustine with a dollop of truffle sprinkled aioli and fresh chives. The sweetness of the shellfish was complemented by the creamy and intoxicating aioli. This was the first of many "wows" that night. 

An off-menu special, the Roasted Hokkaido Scallops ($78) was plump and juicy, layered copiously with lashings of Australian winter black truffles, a quail's egg done sunny side up, strips of onion confit, and drizzled with a tart balsamic. Fantastic stuff.

A signature and must-try when at Gunther's, the Cold Angel Hair Pasta ($60), crowned with decadent pearls of oscietra caviar and dotted with truffle nubbins and chives, was insanely good. The aromatic bracing flavours was contrasted against the refreshing chill of the noodles.

The Roasted Carabinero Gambas ($55), simply seasoned with salt and pepper, highlighted its intense sweetness. This was sided by a mound of tomato risotto which was spiked with chili Monte Poro.

Another seasonal special fresh off the plane, was the Grilled Brittany Dover Sole ($150) served with seasonal vegetables and draped in a Hollandaise sauce. This may have been a little pricey but it tasted even better than it looked, and it was already gorgeous like a Monet. Also note that this was a half portion, as the kitchen thoughtfully split the hunky dory up for the Hubs and I.

The full monty, before splitsville and deboning. If I had to state a gripe, it'll be in respect of the deboning. It was, to say to least, disconcerting to still find 5 little bones embedded within the flatfish.

We also nibbled on French cheese throughout the dinner, and the Comte ($20) aged 36-months, boasted beautiful notes of buttery nuttiness. Also, not pictured here was an assortment of nuts and dried fruits, walnuts, macadamias, cashews, almonds, apricots as accoutrements.

The gut-busting dinner rounded off with a sweet flourish of complimentary petit fours, and even if we were ridiculously full, we inhaled these perfect little babies like ravenous depraved diners. 


Gunthers Modern French Cuisine
36 Purvis Street
#01-03 Talib Centre
Tel: 6338 8955
Open Mondays to Saturdays from 12noon to 3pm; 6.30pm to 10.30pm
Closed on Sundays
Website: www.gunthers.com.sg

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