Modern Australian fine dining restaurant Stellar at 1-Altitude celebrates its ninth year anniversary with the launch of their Elements menu.
Nine years is a long time for any restaurant, but more so for the fine-dining set the likes of Stellar at 1-Altitude, where whimsical diners have plethora of choices. But lasted almost ten years Stellar has – thanks to the tenacity of Executive Chef Christopher Millar – and to celebrate the milestone it has introduced a new menu.
It’s also, in a sense, a changing of the guard. With his role as Culinary Director across 1-Group’s portfolio of restaurants including MONTI and the recently revamped Alkaff Mansion, Chef Millar has now mostly entrusted the operational reins at Stellar to Chef de Cuisine Henry Isaac whom he’s worked with side-by-side for years here.
The new Elements menu at Stellar is hence a collaboration between Chefs Millar and Isaac, a six- or nine-course gastronomic journey where a culinary story of ingredients, flavours and technique is inspired by the universal elements of air, earth, fire and water.
Expect each of your courses to juxtapose two or more of these elements, like earth and water in the decadent The Forest in the Ocean. This delicate appetiser layers perfectly seared foie gras, sliced jade abalone from Victoria and a creamy morel sauce, all in an abalone half shell.
Air and fire are exhibited in Sea & Tea, with a charred Fremantle octopus tentacle that has been poached in camomile tea, and paired with Japanese flying squid. The brilliant way the chefs decided to trim the suction cups of the tentacle and prepare them separately to add a unique textural crunch to this Basque-inspired dish deserves a special mention.
It’s not as evident as with other restaurants that trumpet sustainability loudly, but Stellar’s Elements menu also stays true to its philosophy of using sustainable produce sourced directly through their relationships with artisanal producers and farmers. We’ve seen how they’ve used top quality Manjimup truffles from Western Australia, for example.
A perfect example is the single-source full blood Mayura Wagyu from the Limestone Coast of South Australia, one of our favourite ingredients since the restaurant introduced it years back. Here it is presented in the indulgent A Cow in the Garden, where the Mayura wagyu oyster blade MBS 9+ encrusted in bone marrow crumbs takes centre-stage, accompanied by Naruto sweet potato puree and legumes glazed with wagyu beef fat.
Similarly eco-friendly and sustainable but rarely used protein source, the rabbit, makes an appearance too. The Rabbit in a Blanket is a dish looks like something that belongs in an art gallery rather than eaten. Braised rabbit is enveloped in a wrap of scallop paste and topped with edible flowers source from local urban farmers Edible Garden City. This treatment gives the usually dry rabbit meat a juicy tenderness reminiscent of pulled pork.
Like in its previous Constellations menu, your Elements journey is given a sweet closure with Stellar’s signature Dessert Art concept. We’re somewhat disappointed to hear that talented pastry chef Jasmin Chew has left – she’s relocated to New Zealand – but the pastry team she trained continues to showcase her legacy, plating up your choice of desserts such as the whimsically named Inside a Terrarium or Rolling in Flowers right at the table with a flourish.
Stellar at 1-Altitude may not be on everybody’s lips these days, but nine years is testament to the in Singapore’s competitive fine dining scene speaks volumes to its pedigree.
Available for dinner only, the six-course Elements menu is priced at $168++ per person, while the nine-course priced at $228++. Wine-pairing are available at an additional $88++ and $108++ respectively.
Stellar at 1-Altitude
Address Level 62, 1 Raffles Place, 048616 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 12 to 2pm and 6.30pm to 10pm on Mondays to Fridays; 6pm to 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays
Tel (65) 3138 8453
Web stellarrestaurant.sg
Facebook StellarAt1Altitude
Instagram @stellarat1altitude
[…] Stellar at 1-Altitude celebrated its ninth year anniversary the end of last year with the launch of a then-new Elements menu. While that menu remains largely unchanged, today there’s an option for a change in scenery […]