Skai @ Swissotel the Stamford: Equinox Revamped, European Fare with Japanese Flair

By Rubbish Eat Rubbish Grow on February 21, 2019 • ( 1 Comment )

What was once known as Equinox has been rebranded into Skai on the 70th floor Swissotel, offering a gorgeous panoramic view of the city. The restaurant is touted to be a grill and seafood restaurant, helmed by Executive Chef Paul Hallett who serves European food using Japanese ingredients. The mains for dinner start from $46 but the set lunch goes for $39 (2 courses) and $49 (3 courses).

For appetisers, the Angus beef tataki, seared at the edges, is paired with black truffle, artichoke, and ponzu. The beef is sliced rather too thinly, and does not give enough flavour. A kind person may describe the dish as light in flavour.

The other appetiser is much better: the raw yellow fin tuna is mixed with nashi pear, giving a nice crunchy sweetness. The bonito, known for their umami properties, adds an oomph.

For the main course, the yuzu miso pork belly is topped with black truffle and comes with roasted cauliflower and savoy cabbage. The pork is fat enough and not greasy. It’s tender but still has a nice bite. Unfortunately, there is no crackling, and why does the black truffle here have no taste?

The John Stone short rib, lightly coated with red wine sauce, has a nice texture: chewy and not overly soft, just as how I like it.

Chef Chong Koo Jee is the pastry chef behind the fantastic desserts. The exotic trifle (pictured above) looks gimmicky with dry ice spewing like a choo choo train but it is very delicious. Consisting of coconut, mango compote, lemon grass sorbet, and a jelly, this is less like an English trifle but more like the common mango-pomelo dessert found in Chinese restaurant. But this is an elevated version that does not hold back on its sour flavours: super refreshing after a meal.

The Ichigo strawberry is a mousse-like cylinder top with a coin-like meringue. It also comes with a poached buddha hand, a citrus fruit. This dessert has the sensibility of the Japanese: very light and delightful. I predict the pastry chef Chong will have a bright future.

In conclusion,
Cons:
-the savoury food is lacklustre
-The servers are efficient and do their jobs well but they work perfunctorily like automatons and they look bored
-Water is charged at $3/pax because they use the Norqac filtration system that is popular with restaurants these days

Pros:
-the desserts are spectacular
-The view is stunning

We paid $60 per person for a 3-course lunch: not a bad deal for a room with a view.

Menu