Birthday Celebration at Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora, July 2016

Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora
Address: 8 Sentosa Gateway, S.E.A. Aquarium Level B1M, Singapore 098269
Opening Hours: Daily 11.30am - 2.30pm (Last Order at 2.15pm), 6.00pm - 10.30pm (Last Order at 10pm)
Contact: +65 6577 6688
Email: dining@rwsentosa.com
Website: http://www.rwsentosa.com/Homepage/Restaurants/CelebrityChefs/OceanRestaurantbyCatCora

To get here
1) By car: Drive towards B1 West Car Park and follow the directions to the restaurant
2) From S.E.A. Aquarium: Entrance is on the left of Open Ocean Gallery

Ocean Restaurant by Cat Cora Menu

OCEAN 6 Parts at SGD 168++

OCEAN 4 Parts at SGD 118++

We took the OCEAN 6 Parts menu as we would like to have more variety of food. As I'm allergic to lobster, I requested for a change and they swapped my third course with Crispy Skin Barramundi after consulting the chef. (By the way, I noticed that their menu has changed on the website. The new menu has more flexibility for each course.)

Table Setting

We were seated at the most left "front-row" table next to the Open Ocean. Our view was 'cut-off' on the left though. =/

Table next to us, with a better view, was not occupied yet

Empty tables at the back

Champagne for our dinner

Average bread and nice butter

There was only 2 types of bread to choose from. We took 1 type each as we really didn't want to stuff ourselves with carbo and not having enough stomach space for the courses later.


First Course

42°C Sous Vide Salmon (Salmon Tartare, Citrus Minestrone, Ikura, Fennel)

42°C Sous Vide Salmon

It tasted as expected from how it was presented. Salmon and ikura was fresh, nothing extraordinary to brag about. We rated this dish average.

Tiny cup of nice snack

Second Course

Smoked Eel (Sunchoke Textures, Duck Foie Gras Terrine)

Smoked Eel

Smoked Eel with Sunchoke Textures and Duck Foie Gras Terrine

Thankfully, the second course was a saving grace. The combination was well selected and tasty.


Third Course

Lobster Dumpling & Croquette (Coral Cream, Uni-mash, Carrots) for YH;
Crispy Skin Barramundi (Fermented Black Bean Paste, Sauteed Baby Vegetables, Pepper Salsa, Green Pepper Juice) for me

Lobster Dumpling & Croquette

YH enjoyed this dish very much. The lobster flesh was huge and delicious according to him.

Crispy Skin Barramundi

Living up to its name, the skin of the Barramundi was indeed crispy! I think it would be lovely if they use cod fish instead.

NOISY!

While we were dining halfway, a large group came in and threefold the noise level in the restaurant! A couple (in the picture above) even came next to our table to snap pictures for at least 5 minutes. They were not the only one! >.<  I really find it disturbing for this to happen in a fine dining restaurant. I wouldn't mind if it's just one or two pictures. But 5 minutes? Come on, if you wish to take so many pictures, perhaps you should go to the S.E.A. Aquarium? *Don't block my view* 

Fourth Course

Beef Wagyu Striploin MS6 (Parmesan Mash, Mushroom Duxcelle, Smoked Onion Puree, Cep 'Soil')

Beef Wagyu Striploin MS6

After dining at Pollen and recently crowned Michelin 3-Star Joël Robuchon, my taste bud for beef has been terribly spoilt. Despite that, I would say this medium-rare beef wagyu striploin was pretty good! The beef by itself was decent, mixing it up with the other ingredients resulted in a better taste.

Another one..

One of the female staff was very warm and friendly. She offered to help us take a picture with the marine creatures and she took quite a few shots too - because I said I want a pictures with stingrays. =D


Fifth Course

Citrus Refresh (Limoncino Mousseline, Lemongrass Milk Espuma, Mascarpone Lime Sorbet)

Citrus Refresh

I guess the Citrus Refresh served as a palette cleanser? Quite a decent refresher I would say.


Sixth Course

Green & Red (Pistachio French Toast, Textures of Strawberry, Balsamic & Strawberry Sorbet)

Green & Red

Honestly, I think that french toast was too heavy to finish off the meal as a dessert. =/ I could not finish this plate of Green & Red. Taste wise, it's alright. BF finished his though.


Birthday Cake

Yay, I got my birthday cake this year!! Happy Birthday to me!! Another year older, another year wiser? I hope so. My perception really does change along the years and thankfully in a better way. I grew to be less sensitive towards negativity, contribute to the society (donations + taxes) and learn to know who are the true friends around me. Especially those who remembers my birthday by memory. Thank you! Last but not least, my family! <3

Thank you for the cake, Ocean Restaurant!

Making the same wishes every year

By the way, I had salad / less-carbo meals for one whole week before this day so that I can look better in the dress. Verdict? Don't do it. I weighed the same and 'suffered' for nothing. JUST EAT AND BE HAPPY. Exercise too!

Entrance from S.E.A. Aquarium

Peeped into S.E.A. Aquarium Open Ocean Gallery

There is something about the rays that kept my eyes occupied for quite a while during the meal. They calmed my nerves and somehow has a little hypnotizing effect. I wish I could have them in my house! Before I got slammed by netizens, NO I wouldn't do that. They deserve to roam freely in the real ocean. This tank is definitely not big enough. =(

Mesmerizing

Oh hello!

Entrance from Car Park

Thank you for my birthday planning. From River Safari in the day to dining at Ocean Restaurant in the night, I must say it was a very ocean-blue day with all the marine animals!

As for Ocean Restaurant, I would say that it has an interesting concept with incredible view of the sea creatures. Service was up to standard. However, in terms of fine-dining, food was average and the ambience was disrupted by the large group. The moment the large group came in, it felt more like Din Tai Fung / Putien than a fine-dining restaurant. Don't get me wrong, I love and frequent both Din Tai Fung and Putien. My view is, if the price is 10-20x higher than the usual restaurants, the expectation will be at least 10-20x higher too.

For those who are eager to try, I would suggest you to go during lunch time as their lunch menu is cheaper. Don't expect too much on the food. Go for the experience.