DUO Dining

When I was invited to review DUO Restaurant and Bar on Club Street, I was more than delighted as my mind was filled with wonderful memories of my last visit there.

As I stepped into DUO, I could not resist being seduced by the romantic charm and elegant interior of clean minimalist lines, dark wood and beige colour linens of this restaurant. The lovely maitre d’ led my dining companion and I up a flight of stairs to the second level of the restaurant1 to a private booth for two. This level contains several charming intimate booths for two but larger groups need not feel left out as there is an equally charming open dining area where they can wine and dine.

While waiting for our dinner to be served, we were treated to warm sun-dried tomato rolls and lovely crisp white rolls complete with olive oil dip to nibble as we soaked in the ambience of this elegant restaurant.

For starters, we selected the Assortment of Cold Appetisers. This delightful starter came with tea-smoked quail, spiced marinated foie gras, smoked duck breast and venison carpaccio. The quail and duck were indeed smoked to perfection, retaining all their rich flavours while the foie gras marinated with spices melted softly in our mouths; absolutely decadent.

For my main course, I was served the Slowly Poached US Beef Fillet. The beef came with foie gras and truffle wrapped with cabbage soaked in its own jus. A bunch of broccolini wrapped in crispy pancetta was added to complement the richness of the poached beef. Chef Mermilliod had poached the beef slowly to retain all the juiciness of the meat, which was absolutely delicious with the soft melting foie gras. My dining companion was served the Roasted Grain-fed Lamb Tenderloin Pastilla. The lamb came with chickpea humus, steamed roman beans and creamy polenta. When I placed a piece of lamb wrapped with a crispy wrap dipped in the garlic jus into my mouth, I knew that Chef Mermilliod had a winning lamb dish here!

No meal is complete without dessert. So, although we were feeling rather full by now, my mind went back to the sweet memories of the Chef’s selection of desserts fondly known as the Sweet Cupidon,2 which I had the last time I was here. The Sweet Cupidon consists of mini versions of all the desserts on the menu like the warm chocolate fondant with a melting core, Orange and Ginger Crème Brûlée, Pyramid of Valrhona Praliné and Lemon, and Banana and Almond Strudel. All these were served with small balls of mango and lime sorbet. Sinking your teeth into all these tantalising desserts is like a stroll in heaven. All the sweet senses in your mouth are awakened. The potent warm molten Pur Caraibe Chocolate Fondant and Banana and Almond Strudel are enough reasons for me to return to this charming restaurant again.

Mavis Tan