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Graze at Rochester Park – They Still Amaze!

Rating:

By Veron Ang

Graze at Rochester Park. This restaurant needs no introduction. I have raved about it time and again, and named it in my famous list as the best restaurant I visited in the whole of 2006.

Photo by zoovee108

This time round, I brought along two very important persons with me — james, the big boss of tomorrow.sg and U-Zyn, the big boss of ping.sg.

Besides the awesome food, ambience and service, I was thrilled that Matthew Lawdorn, the head chef, still remembers me. I spotted him from a mile away and we finally got to have an actual proper conversation!

And boy, does he really take extra care of his customers. Barely after we had placed orders for our food, we were served complimentary oyster shooters!

Ginger Wine Oyster Shooter
Photo by graze

Ginger Wine Oyster Shooter
S$8++
Rating:

These oysters were soaked in ginger wine and cucumber oil, with a hint of wasabi when you get to the bottom of it. Nice, small and very tasty. I had never been a fan of oysters (I’m the muscles, I’m sorry, mussels kind of girl). But after sampling these shooters, I was completely sold! All three of us loved it!

What a great way to start a meal. I went for the butter fish as my main course.

Prosciutto Wrapped Butter Fish

Prosciutto Wrapped Butter Fish
S$32++
Rating:

Look at those generous portions of the white fish! Matthew had personally recommended the dish, which I fell in love with immediately. Every part of it was excellent! Whether it was the tenderness of the fish, the salty ham, or the sweet and sour vanilla pear vinaigrette, the different flavours complemented each other perfectly.

There was black olive mash and shaved radish black sesame too. Now, how do chefs come up with these concoctions?

Seared Lamb Loin and Spring Vegetables

Seared Lamb Loin and Spring Vegetables
S$36++
Rating:

That’s the seared lamb loin served with spring vegetables. U-Zyn felt that the lamb didn’t exactly retain much of its original flavour. Too much seasoning, perhaps? It had parsley mash, tomato, black olive and fetta salad with a mango citrus vinaigrette.

Black and White Sesame Crusted Tuna Sashimi

Black and White Sesame Crusted Tuna Sashimi
S$20++

Perhaps the most Asian dish on the menu, the tuna sashimi was another recommended dish. James tried this and said that it was good. But what struck me most was how pretty it looked! With that delicious multitude of colours, it’s practically art on a plate!

The best surprise of the night came when we were presented with a dessert platter after we were done with our main courses. “it has every item on the dessert menu,” said our favourite waiter. Wow!

Dessert Platter

What was impressive wasn’t just the huge spread of desserts in front of us, but the fact that our waiter knew his stuff so well. He could name and describe each and every single dessert on the platter in detail without faltering.

Every item on the platter was good. And I’m not just saying it because it was complimentary :)

One half of the graze Black and White Pudding Plate

This is my favourite dessert — chocolate lava cake (no surprises there). It forms one half of graze’s popular black and white pudding plate, a dessert that is highly raved about by people who have tried it. Love the dark chocolatey goodness oozing out of the rich chocolate cake. Ahhh…

Matthew said that they would be having special plans for Christmas and new year’s. Last year’s Christmas dinner at graze proved to be one heck of an experience; it made me fall in love with the place, and made Christmas really magical too.

They still amaze.

graze
4 Rochester Park
Singapore 139215
Tel: +65 6775 9000 | Website
Service:

Tags: alfresco/outdoor dining, Australian, Buona Vista, dinner, fine dining, restaurant, Rochester Park, western

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About the Editor

Veron Ang is the Founder and Chief Editor of Sparklette, a Singapore restaurants guide, lifestyle and travel blog. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and runs a web design firm at Sparklette Studio. To get in touch, head on over to the contact page or follow @Sparklette and @VeronSG on Twitter.

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Responses Leave a comment

Miccheng
90 comments

Gosh, it looks yummy!
Reply
Posted October 3, 2007 at 12:45 am
Veron
3438 comments

It’s the best!
Reply
Posted October 3, 2007 at 12:52 am
Miccheng
90 comments

Looks expensive too.. kee kee…
Reply
Posted October 3, 2007 at 1:29 am
Joyz
43 comments

wow, the food looks incredible and I always appreciate a bit of presentation on the plate. Enriches the entire dining experience! The oyster shooter looks apt for starters; looking at it seems to expand the palate! Btw, is that dessert platter complimentary and specially done for you guys or is a regular fixture on their menu? (Noticed no price for it.)
Reply
Posted October 3, 2007 at 9:01 am
Veron
3438 comments

Those oyster shooters are really awesome! Ahhh…
Not so sure whether the dessert platter is something from the menu. I did notice there is such a similar-sounding item on the menu costing around $35. But I don’t know if they are the same, that’s why I didn’t dare to put a price to it.
Reply
Posted October 3, 2007 at 11:20 am
Joyz
43 comments

refer to my next comment…some error initially that made me input the comment again and made some changes to it. Sorry abt it!
Reply
Posted October 3, 2007 at 11:47 am
Joyz
43 comments

aahh, the perks of being a famous blogger…complimentary stuffs! I’m sure you are endorsing quite a few products now!
Reply
Posted October 3, 2007 at 11:50 am
Sihan
6 comments

hey! i was wondering whether the dessert platter is a feature on the menu? it seems lyke a treat to die for! i mean who doesn’t want a little of EVERYTHING?
Reply
Posted October 3, 2007 at 7:16 pm
JY
1 comment

So how much did you guys pay for the dessert platter? I wish I can order that too!
Reply
Posted October 4, 2007 at 12:06 am
desmond!!
2 comments

Hmm yes, like JY, I’m curious about the price of the dessert platter too, since you didn’t write about that. That looks very appealing!
Reply
Posted October 4, 2007 at 12:19 am
Veron
3438 comments

Looks like everyone is interested in the dessert platter! It was a complimentary treat for us so I am not sure whether you can order it from the menu.
Reply
Posted October 4, 2007 at 1:02 pm
matt
1 comment

hi all, yes I can confirm that the dessert platter is on the menu and is the same as you see in the photo. $34 per platter not including taxes and serchage.
enjoy
Reply
Posted October 4, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Veron
3438 comments

Hey, the big chef himself!
Thanks Matthew!
Reply
Posted October 5, 2007 at 12:19 am
Angelia
2 comments

I chose Graze as the restaurant of choice for my bday celebration after reading ur review and I was blown away by the food & the service! Yes, the oyster shooter was really yummy. Hmm, I should go back there again soon. The tuna sashimi looks really good man *slurp*
Reply
Posted October 5, 2007 at 11:44 pm
py
183 comments

I was hungry for the food as I read about this. The service there sounds great too!
Reply
Posted October 6, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Veron
3438 comments

Angelia: That’s wonderful! graze is a very safe bet for celebrating special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries. Great food, dedicated service, awesome ambience.
py: It is fantastic. I believe that great service is what makes the dining experience memorable, more so than just the food itself.
Reply
Posted October 7, 2007 at 4:25 pm
colbert
2 comments

walau. great post. feel very hungry right now. and how come you know so many blogging VIPS? They only VIP I met last mth in Spore was the MOS boss. It was a hot night at the club!
Reply
Posted October 18, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Foodaholic
2 comments

These guys are awesome! affordable as well.
Reply
Posted July 8, 2008 at 8:45 am