Mini Kaiseki lunch at Matsu

A delightful mini-kaiseki lunch at Matsu. We were the only table of patrons two Saturdays ago, and left it up to Chef Matsu to decide what to serve us for lunch.

First course - eel and abalone in dashi jelly, with seaweed salad. This dish brought out the essence and spirit of the sea wonderfully, with each bite oozing fresh briny goodness. The dashi jelly was a delight, with its quivery soft texture and refreshing umami flavour. My favourite course of the meal!

Second course: cream of beetroot soup. This was tinted such a beautiful pinky-red colour, but the taste of the beets was overwhelmed by the corn.

Third course: bouillabaisse. Here chef Matsu adopted a light touch to the French classic soup. Tasty and included a good variety of fresh seafood, although the giant clam was rather chewy and a tad difficult to eat.

Fourth course: Kurobuta pork with plum sauce. Plump and juicy, flavourful pork - perfectly married with sweet plum sauce with just the right tinge of tartness. Whatever was left of the sauce after we finished the pork (there wasn't much of it) went into mopping up the mashed potato.

Fifth course: Matsu curry rice, a clever twist to the traditional rice course in the usual multi-course kaiseki. With melt-in-the-mouth beef cubes and a tangy flavour to the curry, this was well executed comfort food, although I felt that it was incongrous with the refined fusion theme of the meal thus far. (I personally also prefer a more spicy and stronger tasting curry aka Indian style.)

Sixth course: Dessert platter - affagato (with mascarpone cheese ice cream) , grapefruit jelly with fruits, and cheesecake. The ice cream was delicious - creamy and lucious but not too sweet - nicely balanced with the shot of expresso. Also worthy of mention was the grapefruit jelly speckled with little pieces of rind, adding a delightful zing and crunch to the wobbly jelly. The cheesecake paled though in comparison to their next door neighbour's rendition.

For Matsu, it helps to keep an open mind on the type of fusion cuisine, and not to expect the sky especially at this price point (SGD58 for the 6 course lunch, with a 1-for-1 offer for DBS cardholders). Both my visits to Matsu have not disappointed, we will be back for more.