Singapore: Iggy's

Amuse Bouche - medley of heirloom tomatoes

Bread Service - sour dough

Foie Gras - pear, balsamic, candy (pop rocks)

Bread Service - baguette

Alba White Truffles - linguine, poultry jus, parmesan
Suckling Pig - tanba beans, chickpeas, natural jus

Strawberry - basil, cream cheese, oats

Iggy's is located at the Hilton Singapore off of Orchard Road. I was never a fan of "hotel" restaurants unless it was in Las Vegas. That's because I've never dined outside of the U.S. I guess Singapore restaurants are the exception.

Iggy's was my first real fine dining experience in Singapore. Unfortunately, I opted for the lunch menu because I wasn't willing to fork out SGD$275 for the Gastronomic dinner menu. Especially sight unseen since not many food bloggers in the U.S. have dined here. The lunch menu was 4-courses and set at SGD$85++. The white truffles was a supplement of SGD$9 per gram. Geez, just for lunch the price was already getting pretty steep.

Iggy's is currently ranked #27 on the S Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurant. The experience was good but nothing ground breaking. The service staff were very attentive and knew how to cater to diners with big cameras. I guess had the dishes been more entertaining, I would have booked dinner reservations. Lunch was definitely the deciding factor as there were a wealth of new restaurants at the Marina Bay Sands hotel. Then again, maybe if Iggy's served dinner and lowered the cost to about SGD$180-$195 then maybe but knowing Alinea is priced at US$215, the price was too steep for not having a head executive chef.

As a food-centric nation, Singapore has yet to succumbed to the fine dining scene. In the U.S., the It-thing is to dine at places you can't get a reservation at, regardless of the day of the week. I wouldn't be surprised if Waku Ghin dethrones Iggy's in its ranking. I'm looking for the "WTF-factor" and I didn't get it here.

* I'm aware that most fresh ingredients are imported from other countries but still, it's WAY too expensive.