“Taste the Revolution – Skyve Reinvented!”
Nestled in the compound of old Monk’s Hill Secondary School and situated just beside Anglo-Chinese School (Junior) is Skyve Wine Bistro. ‘Skyve’ is a word play on how people can skive and avoid work by escaping to this relatively hidden bistro- an apt name for this concept.
Skyve Wine Bistro is a chic and very modern bistro, with a nice touch of old school elements and surrounded by lush landscapes. The interior of the bistro is charming and elegant with lots of natural sunlight let in during the day through the glass paneling windows. In my opinion, Skyve as a restaurant has the perfectly casual yet still romantic enough setting for a date.
The restaurant name says it; Skyve is a wine bistro. The restaurant houses more than 70 different labels of affordable yet quality wines by the bottle (with prices starting at $49++ for a bottle). I love wines hence I was pleasantly surprised (and of course very pleased) that we were offered a glass of wine with every dish we tasted that day.
The Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio (in the picture above) has a clean and intense aroma with a very appealing taste of apples on the palate. This wine is ideal as an aperitif and perfect with white meats, seafood based salads/appetizers and fish main courses.
Caprese Momotaro ($20). This dish definitely deserves a grade A+ for its taste, freshness and contrasting flavorful textures. Momotaro is one of the most popular tomato varieties in Japan; named after a hero in famous Japanese folklore.
The “hero” of this dish is pre-infused with basil water and bursts with a herby juiciness with every bite. Topped with the nutty crunchiness of green pistachios and complemented by a creamy buffalo mozzarella, I think even non-tomato fans will be converts after first taste of this dish.
Sous Vide Tako Tataki ($22). Octopus is a dish I really like and enjoy if it’s cooked properly. Honestly, this dish wasn’t as impressive. It was a tad dry and bland; I liked that the octopus was cooked sous vide method but would have preferred thicker cuts of octopus meat and tendrils, which tastes wonderful if its tenderly cooked. The chat potato that accompanied it was very appetising; with a crispy exterior yet soft and fluffy interior.
DIY Seared Beef Tartare ($22). I am a huge fan of this dish. According to Celine Tan (owner of Skyve Wine Bistro), this dish has been revamped by their chef to now encompass a fun element that allows diners to get “down and dirty” with their food.
Customise the beef tartare to suit your own taste buds by picking from the various condiments (shallots, gherkins, dijon, truffle oil), adding them to the lightly seared beef tartare in the mixing bowl and mixing well to achieve your very own tasty concotion. It is worth mentioning that the pizza like bread served with this dish is baked fresh everyday. Thickened further with an egg yolk, this lighty yet meaty dish has great mouth feel and condiment flavours that beef lovers will enjoy.
Pan Seared Grouper ($36). This is a delicate fillet of herb crusted grouper pan fried to golden brown perfection and paired with a refreshing cream-free dashi risotto. I was like “OMG”! Finally a risotto for the lactose intolerant people like myself! I liked the taste of the risotto especially since it was garnished with Japanese dashi.
However the rice was bordering on being abit too dry and I would have much preferred if it could be slightly more salty. The lack of cream also means a trade-off for a lighter bodied risotto. The grouper fillet is almost faultless – fresh (not fishy at all), tasty, slightly cripsy on the outside yet tender fish meat on the inside. You may like this dish especially if you like fish, prefer a healthy main course and do not enjoy dairy products.
Ancho Cod ($38). I am undecided whether I enjoyed this dish or not. Cod is not one of my favourite type of fish but I did enjoy the silky texture of this fish served. The smoky aroma of the sauce was appealing but it was too sweet for my personal liking. The garnishing of root vegetable crisps (made from scratch daily by the chef) are delicious and provides a harmonious accompaniment to the smooth cod.
Sous Vide Grilled Duroc Pork Rack ($37). Everyone who knows me well knows I simply love to eat pork. This dish won my heart and stomach with its subtle spice mix and irresistible juiciness. The pork was thoroughly well marinated making it absolutely tasty and flavourful. My only complain would be that the pork meat was slightly tough. This is a dish for meat lovers; the crisp of the crackling pork skin was crunchy and crackled to perfect crispiness.
Galette-a-Roon ($12). I can hardly find anything or reason to fault this dessert! This is a sticky chewy macaroon shell (once again home made in the kitchen of Skyve) paired with decadent vanilla gelato and ultimately ending off with caramelised apples and cranberries for the perfect hint of honeyed tanginess. The dessert is also so pretty by sight that its perfect for all social media uploads – facebook, instagram, pin interest, swarm, foursquares etc etc.
(Hint to guys reading this : Order this dessert for your date! She will definitely love the pink macaroon and think that you are all about and into romance! HAHA!)
Dessert Platter ($25). I love to share desserts because I like to share the joy of eating sweets with my loved ones and friends (ok… also to share the calories haha). This platter comes with five delectable selections of coconut panna cotta, apple crumble, chocolate mousse, yuzu sorbet and cake of the day. The coconut panna cotta was very refreshingly light hence it’s my favourite amongst the five selections.
Prior to this food tasting session, I was already a huge fan and a regular at this restaurant. The food is consistently good, their service is impeccable and the ambience is classy yet chill.
I will highly recommend this place for a casual lunch gathering or an intimate dinner date; Skyve is also perfect venue for events. Last but not least, please do order their au naturel or lychee saketini oysters and a definite must try is their signature Spicy Kalbi Beef Short Ribs ($36).
Expected Damage: $70 – $100 per pax
Enjoy 1-for-1 main course offer via The Entertainer App at Skyve Wine Bistro!
