Delights from Albert Menes & Cafedirect

{Product Review}

Something arrived at my door step last month and it happens to be Violet Fig Jam and Matzo Bread from the House of Albert Menes, and Cafedirect Freeze-dried Medium Roast instant coffee.

The House of Albert Ménès was founded in 1921, famous for over 350 French fine artisan foods, made from original classic French recipes

Cafédirect is the UK’s first and largest 100% Fairtrade beverage brand. Cafédirect also has a hot beverage range that includes 100% Fairtrade tea and hot chocolate. The Medium Roast Freeze-Dried instant coffee from Cafédirect is a perfect formula of balancing the sweet and chocolaty Arabica beans from South America, with the all-rounder beans from the highlands of Central America, and the vibrant bold-bodied East African Natural Robusta coffee beans. Carefully selected for roasting to a pleasing medium 3 scale, and freeze-dried to retain its natural goodness

The Matzo Bread is an unleavened bread traditionally eaten by Jews during the week-long Passover holiday.

 The Violet Fig Jam is made from carefully selected whole figs grown in Soilles-Pont in Var, south of France. The figs are peeled and cooked the rustic way by the loving hands of French artisans, in an open copper cauldron, like all other jams from the House of Albert Menes, preserving the natural taste of the whole fruit

I brought the coffee to office, just add hot water and tada~~  a cup of hot coffee for an instant pick-me-up in the office. The coffee has a pleasant aroma but as I'm not much of a coffee person, the coffee is a little too bitter for my liking when taken without sugar & creamer. The colleagues find the coffee very fragrant & smooth

The Matzo Bread has the crispiness of crackers and fragrance of toasted bread. However, it is a little bland on it's own. The jam on the other hand is quite sweet and has chunks of fig flesh in every scoop. Pairing them both makes it a very nice combination. Great fro tea breaks in office =)

Cafédirect Freeze-dried Medium Roast Instant Coffee is priced at $10.90 per 100g jar and is available at major supermarkets like Cold Storage, FairPrice Finest, Giant Hyper, Jasons and Market Place while The Violet Fig Jam ($18) and the Matzo Bread ($9) are sold at Market Place at Paragon, Raffles City and Tanglin Mall, Jasons the Gourmet Grocer @ ION Orchard and Sentosa Quayside as well as Robinsons Orchard

Thanks Mileage Communications for the for sending over the yummy delights!

E'spuma Lab - Media Invite

Wendy received an invitation from Mileage Communications for a tasting session at the newly established Causal Dining restaurant, E'spuma Lab, and they also extended the invitation to Sam & myself

E'spuma is located at level 1, POMO (formerly known as Paradiz Centre) and can be easily spotted by the striking yellow chairs

E'spuma Lab serves up affordable western fusion set meals cooked with either espuma or sous vide technique, usually found only at fine dining establishments.

Espuma is Spanish for foam or froth, is a culinary technique in which an espuma siphon is used to infuse air into food, extruding through a N2O canister. The introduction of air in food gives it a lighter and smoother texture without changing the physical composition or taste of a dish.

Sous vide is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath or in a temperature-controlled steam environment for longer than normal cooking times at an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 55 °C (131 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F) for meats and higher for vegetables. The intention is to cook the food evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside, and sealing in the moisture.

We were also presented with information related to company history & methods of cooking, as well as menu

Mr Andrew Koh, the Marketing & Communications Director at E'spuma Lab, gave us a a brief explaination on their unique culinary concept

Chef Teo Yeow Siang doing the demostration of espuma cooking technique

Chef also explained how the sous vide machine works, and the technology behind creating evenly cooked dishes. More siphons and used canisters were also on display at the shop front

After the short introduction... ... let's sit back, relax & enjoy the dishes that will be served to us in just a short while =)

Sous Vide Eggs w/ Smoked Norwegian Salmon $3.80, served with crispy salmon skin and ginger soyu. Egg is perfectly poached while Salmon toppings & ginger soyu blends very well. I swear if they are opened near me, I would probably pop-by & order this at least every other day! 

Curry Chicken w/ E'spuma Potato Foam $6.80; The curry chicken cubes blends well with the potato foam which was light and creamy, like a cream soup version of the mashed potato

Sauteed Mushrooms w/ E'spuma Potato Foam $6.80; Mushroom was plump and juicy, and the tasty truffle crumble topping added an extra crunch to the dish

Both are served with mini french baguettes. However, we were not given baguettes as we will be having more dishes later. 

Here comes our main dish!

Fragrant Rice w/ Cajun Chicken Leg & E'spuma Curry Sauce, comes with a whole chicken drumstick with thigh that is steam baked till crispy on the outside but retaining its tenderness inside. Best eaten with the lightly textured curry foam sauce. The fragrant rice looks like nasi biryani but tastes like chicken rice with sweet raisins, which is quite nice. 

Fragrant Rice w/ Pan Seared Sous Vide Chicken Breast & E'spuma Pesto Sauce, comes with a chunky sous vide chicken beast that is lightly pan seared to achieve a slightly crispy exterior, served with pesto foam sauce. The chicken breast was evenly cooked throughout and remains moist and tender inside.

Spaghetti w/ Swedish Meatballs & E'spuma Caramelized Onion Sauce, comes with crispy beef meatballs and aglio olio spaghetti, served with sweet onion foam sauce. The pasta is bland on its own but taste pretty good with the onion sauce. The meatballs were also kinda ordinary until eaten with the sauce. The portion featured here is a tasting portion size.

We were also given a small portion of Chicken Breast for try cos Sam & myself did not order the dish that comes with it. 

Lastly, we had a small serving of dessert/snack each. There is a choice of Spiced Calamari w/ Fries $5.80 or E'spuma Batter D24 Durian Fritters $3.80. Durian fritters, which has a light as air crispy coating with warm and creamy durian puree inside. Durian fritters are great for those who has a sweet tooth.

*P/S: All above pictures of dishes were served in tasting potion (except for both the rice dishes). Actual serving size is of bigger portion

Thanks E'spuma Lab & Mileage Communications for the invitation =)

E'spuma Lab

1 Selegie Road, #01-20/21, 

PoMo Mall S188306

Tel: 8222 1113

Opening Hours:

Monday to Saturday: 11 am to 9 pm

Closed on Sunday