Recipient of the World Gourmet Awards Innovative Chef of the Year 2021, The Spot is a holistic dining experience at Marina One. It offers an eclectic menu that fuses contemporary European cuisine with Southeast Asian ingredients. From 27 August to 9 September 2021, you can head down to try a special menu (7-course, $108++ per pax) that Executive Chef Lee Boon Seng curated in collaboration with USA Cheese Guild and World Gourmet Summit.
We were first served with the Welcome Cocktail – The Cheesy Evidence – concocted by The Spot’s mixologist, Remz Ocampo . It contains Don Papa Rum, Raspberry Shrub, Passiflora Sirop, Fresh Key Lime and dusted with U.S. Pepper Jack. The amuse bouche was the U.S. Gouda Chipacito, a tapioca cheese bread with whipped U.S. Gouda that had a flowy texture as it is served warm. The smoked paprika salt adds subtle spiciness to this chewy bite.
The next course is the “Summer” U.S. Fresh Mozzarella. This appetiser is bound to whet your appetite with the fresh flavours from the summer vegetables and fruits used. To pair with the mozzarella, strawberries, plum vinegar and cherry tomatoes are used. Stingless bee honey ice-cream is added to combat the sour notes from the other ingredients. A medley of flavours to be found in this refreshing dish.
Fans of ceviche will like the Trout Ceviche & U.S. Cotija. Trout is marinated in passionfruit and calamansi then mixed together with the orange bits and radish, finished off with cashew nuts. The U.S. Cotija is well-paired with the otherwise citrusy flavours.
Plump, juicy scallops are used finished with a beautiful sear, lying atop a bed of corn and barley porridge that is infused with U.S. Oaxaca cheese. The yellow endive gives it the bright hue and no expense is spared with the truffle shavings. This dish is simply brimming with flavour and umami.
The star of the meal is undoubtedly this Chinese Style Beef Short Rib. Don’t be deceived by this unassuming piece of red meat. It is fork tender and packs a whole lot of flavour. We were told that the beef was marinated with Chinese inspired ingredients (shiitake mushrooms, soya sauce etc) and crispy Sichuan pepper bits are added at the top, more for texture than for spice. The dumpling on the other hand, was made of fermented cabbage (akin to Sichuan vegetable) and the sauce contained veal jus, red wine and deglazed with soya sauce. Yum.
The meal ended with the Aerated U.S. Sharp Cheddar paired with red wine sorbet, poached grapes and curried nuts. The spice from the curried nuts were not very discernible as the cheese and red wine flavours were overpowering. It felt like we were having deconstructed cheese and red wine.
Overall, we think that this USA Cheese Special Menu @ The Spot is worth a try. Do note that it is only available till 9 September 2021 so try to secure seats there!
