Buyan @ Duxton Hill

Russian food has never crossed our radar before until this particular restaurant Buyan kept appearing in the news for winning the bid for the world's oldest shipwrecked champagne found in the Baltic Sea - a Veuve Clicquot (1841). The price? S$53,000



So we just have to come here to see what kind of restarant is Buyan. And we were quite surprised to see that Buyan is a dual concept restaurant: On the 1st floor is the bar and small bistro, while on the 2nd floor...



... is the fine dining area with one of Singapore's most beautiful ceiling mural painted by a local artist.



Veen Velvet (S$8 per bottle) water. Well, this is not a Russian mineral water, but from Finland.



The most unique thing here is that there is no menu, but just and iPad. The menu is actually downloaded on the iPad, and when you click on the item, you get a photograph of how the dishes look like.



We were served some bread and butter balls.



Our amuse bouche.



The first appetizer was the Traditionally served Karat Caviar (S$60) - Caviar with Blinis, Onions, Quail Egg, Sour Cream and Lime. The caviar is of top quality, and we loved the presentation of the caviar.



I think I added too much of the eggs and chives!



The Borscht soup (S$16) wasn't up to our standards. It was not served as pipping hot as we had hoped for. And the soup doesn't has



I also didn't like the Ukha soup (S$16), which is a fish soup. Tasted too bland, and was not as warm as we had hoped for.



Fortunately, the other dishes were better. The Half Moon Trio (S$50) - Smoked Halibut, Sturgeon, Salmon filled with Dill Spinach, was a refreshing appetizer where we were able to taste the freshness of the fish.



We had 2 mains. The first was the Slow cooked beef stroganoff (S$50) - Cooked in its Isigny Cream Sauce with Sauteed Chanterelle Mushroom. It was a bit too rich for us, but the texture and taste was good.



The other mains we had was the Sturgeon Romanov (S$40) - Pan Seared with Creme Fraiche and Karat Caviar. I like this better as the fish and cream went well and complimented one another. Plus a touch of luxury in the form of some caviar.



After our mains, we requested to be seated downstairs at the bar where the environment is more relaxed. They had many beers, and we ordered the Newton Apple Beer (S$10 per bottle) and Buyan Beer (S$15 for half pint). The Apple Beer was crisp and light with a tinge of apple taste, while the Buyan Beer is a house specialty.



We love the desserts at Buyan! First up was the Honey Cake (S$10 per slice). I like anything with honey, and this rich and soft cake had a deep honey taste to it.



The Baked Apple (S$8) was even better. It's an entire breaded apple baked in an oven.



Open up the baked apple and the inside is filled with Lingonberry Compote. One of my favourite apple dessert in Singapore.



We had a wonderful time here and the service was top notch. For those on a tight budget, I would recommend having your dinner at the bar area, where the prices are more comfortable for your wallet. Plus the food is great too.


Buyan
9/10 Duxton Hill