Mia's Review: Sunrise Bistro & Bar [Media Tasting]

It's been a while since I last attended a media food tasting, and this time round I was pretty glad to be able to try out Sunrise Bistro & Bar located at East Coast Park. 

-credits to tripadvisor.com.sg-

I've went by Sunrise Bistro & Bar a couple of times when I went prawning but never found the chance to check them out. 

Comprising of a bistro and bar, Sunrise also have both indoor and alfresco seatings for you to enjoy a little sea breeze (the shore is actually pretty far away, though) when the haze is gone. The Tripsters also performs here every night at 9pm, so if listening to some good songs while chilling over some beer or cocktails is your ideal way to spend your TGIF night, then be sure to check them out! 

And of course, because I've already mentioned cocktails... 

Pink Lady - Malibu, Vodka, Raspberry Juice, Sparkling Wine 

The strawberry slices were sweet and a little tangy, complimenting the slight alcoholic bitterness of the vodka and the strong coconut flavour pretty well. 

Chef Vincent of Sunrise Bistro & Bar has carefully created a 'fusion' cuisine by using Asian ingredients for French inspired cuisine, so let's quickly move on to the glorious food! And also, do note that some dishes were served in sample servings.

To kick start the foodcoma journey for the night, we were served some snacks from the bar. 

 Spam Chips - $9

Truffle Fries - $8

Those spam chips are so good! It was an, "omg, just take my money" moment as I sank my teeth into one. A highly addictive, diet-crushing snack that will go extremely well with some icy cold beer. Well, if you're to give up on the diet, might as well destroy it totally, yeah? 

The truffle fries was served reeking of truffle oil scent, like they've accidentally poured half a bottle of the truffle oil over it. But the taste was still pretty light and I ended up munching quite a bit even though I'm hardly a fan of truffle oil. 

Seafood Chowder - $12

Creamy seafood soup with seasonal fresh seafood topped with chopped chinves and extra virgin olive oil. 

This isn't your usual seafood chowder as Chef Vincent decided to make it lighter and more refreshing on the taste buds with tomatoes as compared to the usual rich and creamy white chowder. Very much thinner in consistency as compared to the common chowder, there's also a appetizing tangy flavour in the soup, topped up with a generous serving of fresh seafood and diced capsicum (one of my favourite vegetables). It was like a minestrone meets seafood chowder moment and a definite must try if you're a fan of both soups. 

Seared Foie Gras - $19

Seared goose liver on brioche bread layered with mango, with citrus jam and berry compote. 

I was a little reserved about foie gras actually because I'm terrified with any food made from organs, but my virgin foie gras taste went far better than expected.  

The foie gras was extemely tender with an oily, fatty texture to it that gives a melt-in-your mouth sensation. Paired with a cripsy toasted brioche bread, sweet-tangy mango and sour berry compote, foie gras might not be anywhere on my list of favourite food but I did polish off my plate without any difficulty. 

Sunrise Fish & Chips - $26

Crispy fried red snapper with lemon myrtle pepper served with mango salsa, tartare sauce and french fries.

This dish is truly an Asian taste with Western presentation. Frying the entire (portion of ) red snapper fish whole definitely gave this dish a Asian/Chinese cuisine taste and feel to it, so much so that I got this slight feeling of mis-match as I chewed on this "fish & chips" that tasted like some sweet & sour fish without the sauce. Well, actually the mango salsa sauce can pass off as a western style sweet & sour sauce as well. This is really the most interesting fish & chips I've tried thus far.

Cereal Crusted Cod Fish - $28

Baked cod fish with cereal crust, served with seasonal vegetable braised in sesame oil and ginger shoyu broth.

Yes, another Chinese tasting dish with a Western presentation, Due to my personal preference, I would highly recommending this fish dish over the fish & chips too. I mean, that's a generous layer of cereal crust on top of the cod fish! The fish is thick enough to give you a nice bite and the cereal crust is crispy and sweet while the savoury broth has a nice sesame oil fragrance to it and the addition of ginger also helps to 'freshen' up the overall taste of the cod fish. 

Asian Five Spice Duck Leg Confit - $28

Sous vide 8 hours crispy duck leg, infused with five spice and served with cirtus salad and passionfruit sauce.

Well, desserts aside, this may be my favourite dish of the night. I'm not really that into duck leg confit, nor the asian 5 spice, but I like how Chef Vincent has managed to get the outer skin all crisp while the inside still relatively tender, even though on the dry side. The meat is marinated extremely well to give off a really strong savoury taste, but not that strong for the distinctive five spice taste. 

Marmite Canadian Pork Shoulder - $26

Sous vide and grilled pork shoulder with marmite marinate served with seasonal vegetables.

This was my most anticipated dish for the night as I've been loving marmite since I was a baby. But somehow there's hardly any marmite taste in the pork and it tasted a lot more like charsiu instead. Pork shoulders are supposed to be wholly lean and a lot tougher than other cuts, so while this isn't the most tender of the pork I've ever tried, this is still a good choice for those who prefer lean meat with a tougher bite. 

BBQ Beef Short Ribs - $32

24 hours sous vide to tender and roast with homemade BBQ sauce, served with seasonal vegetables

Due to religious belief, I couldn't eat beef so I can't tell you how this tasted. However, Chef Vincent very confidently promised that even though the outside looks pretty well cooked through, the insides will still be pink. And there you have it! Pink, tender looking meat with fatty bits throughout the cut.

Tiramisu Semi Freddo - $12

 Semi frozen mascarpone cheese layered with coffee liqueur jelly sponge topped with milo crunch and tuile biscuits, garnished with brandy soaked raisins.

I have some mixed feeling about this dessert. While I'm a tiramisu lover, I actually do not like a semi freddo cake made out wholly of cheese due to the overly rich texture. If you're unsure of what's a semi freddo, it actually means semi-frozen and can be considered the Italian's take on ice cream. The liqueur soaked lady's finger is also more crumbly and spongy as compared to a traditional tiramisu made from Savoiardi (Italian's ladyfingers). However, the liqueur (both in the spongy ladyfingers layer and in the brandy raisins) surely packed a punch!

Salted Egg Yolk Custard Molten Chocolate Cake - $14

Warm chocolate cake with molten centre of salted egg yolk custard, served with vanilla ice cream. 

You can't deny that the salted egg yolk flavour in dessert trend is still going strong, and Sunrise has upped the level by making it into a molten lava chocolate cake! Imagine cutting into a warm, rich and moist chocolate cake and see this molten bright yellow custard of salted egg yolk gushing out. Chef Vincent has successfully played matchmaker to Mr. Lava Chocolate Cake and Ms. Liu Shar Bao and this Salted Egg Yolk Custard Molten Chocolate Cake is their lovely baby. 

Sunrise Bistro & Bar is located at 

902 East Coast Parkway, Playground @ Big Splash Block B #01-05

For more information, visit their FB page HERE

Till then,

Mia Foo