Singapore is one those cities that appears to have many good dining spots but unfortunately in reality, I am often met with disappointing service, meal and/or value. In this rare occasion, I found a rare gem (by Singapore's standard) in Gunther's.
It was my man's birthday and our wedding anniversary and I chanced upon reviews on Gunther's. The menu looked great, the reviews though mixed was veered towards positive. The positive experience starts with our email correspondence since I am residing overseas. The staff Yuliz was polite, prompt and projected a keen sense of hospitality service with care to details and apt questions for the night arrangements. I had enquired about flowers to be left at the restaurant and was told it could be dropped off anytime as there will always be someone around. I was not disappointed on the actual day itself.
Starting with service.
It was rainy night and there were staff awaiting in the rain with brollies to meet their guest alighting from the cabs. Brownie points for that. After being warmly greeted, we were promptly seated in as quiet corner as possible as per requested. The flowers were swiftly brought out as per arranged and that was a nice "opening" to the night.
The dinner specials of the night was introduced to us once we were nicely settled down. Jit (I hope I gotten the name right) was warm and friendly, and patiently went through the list with us. He was non-pushy, affable and knows the menu list, the food prep and description of the dish was thorough. Before leaving us to think through our main and starter "choice", he left us with the option of possibly a choice of letting him suggest our dinner options should we be overly spoilt for choice. Everything sounded yummy!
In the end, knowing our goal was seafood and my husband was keen on the fresh lobster, he suggested the signature cold angel hair pasta with cavier, a shared pen shell starter for two, and a shared lobster thermidor. Whilst I was also gunning for the freshly oven baked meat, Jit was wise to tell me to hold that order, finish my lobster and see how I feel like later. He was right, I was truly too full to proceed on after my lobster main.
Food review
I am usually not a big fan on cold starters but the Cold angel hair pasta with Oscietra caviar was delightfully light and refreshing. On hindsight, I should have ordered one plate to share so that I could get another starter since the pasta was a good size portion. However we liked it so it's ok. The pasta had good consistency and texture and the flavor was definitely did not overwhelm, leaving our tastebuds nicely ready to sample the next dish.
The penshell with seafood consomme was another delight though I must admit the prawns in the consomme had a richer sweet flavor as compared to the actual shell meat. Everything was cooked right but some may expect a lighter broth version than what we had. However, the taste was just right for me and again, good portion size.
Our main was lobster thermidor and we had half each. I didnt think I would be full but I was wrong. By the time I was through, we were both very satisfied and this is the first time that I didnt want any more dessert. The lobster was fresh and succulent, nicely cooked such that it wasnt chewy yet retaining the full seafood flavor as any good chef worth their salt should with this dish. The pairing with the porcini mushroom was an excellent touch as it definitely enhanced the overall flavor for the dish and accentuate the lobster's flavor up a notch. The accompanying rice seemed to have a touch of lemongrass or something herby at least, and my partner loves it.
By dessert time, I was struggling to decide. I didnt need more food but I had to since I was expecting the "Happy Birthday" candle moment. Between the apple tart, suze crepe and choc fondant, I was lost. My man wanted the crepe and I was trying to figure out how does one stick a candle on a crepe and so I forced myself to tell Jit to throw in the Choc fondant.
However what came next was a complete surprise. We were presented with a nice complimentary frozen fruit ice-cream like cake with a candle to boot! When all the birthday wishes and camera shots were done, Jit came to us and told us ever so kindly that he had actually not logged in our dessert order as he knew we are almost full. but he didnt want to ruin the surprise and so he still pretended to take our dessert order. I was grateful for his initiatives and consideration and gladly cancelled our dessert order since the complimentary cake was not only enough, but it was actually the type of cold dessert we were craving for:)
When we left, everything was in order. We were warmly given the birthday and happy anniversary greeting once more to round up the lovely night. One of the staff even chased after us just as we were boarding a cab, as my very contented satisfied birthday man had forgotten his birthday card left on the table.
Overall, we couldnt be more satisfied with the service and food. The bill came up to about SG$400, inclusive of a glass of dessert wine. To us, it was good value enough. Definitely infinitely better than the mediocre Ku De Ta meal we had earlier at MBS for the same price, even surpassing our experience at some of the Michelin places in Hong Kong.
Simple Honest Good Food. The chef has lived up to his vision and provided a food fare worthy of praise. This is one restaurant I would definitely look forward to returning to.
Tip:
-Might be wise to come earlier so that you get the best pick of the specials since it's limited item.
- If you have special dietary requirements or allergies, best to remind server or inform during reservation as I recalled they did not reconfirm on any allergies precaution necessary to note during orders.
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