Seraphina

To be completely blunt, I was a bit apprehensive visiting Seraphina since I heard differing opinions on them.  However, in all fairness, they are completely new and just trying to find their stride.  Jackie and I went in with an open mind and empty stomachs.  Located right below Vesper Lounge and taking over the spot that once housed Blackbird and subsequently Royal Dinette, Seraphina has a simple elegance to its dining space with a few show-stopping pieces.  I particularly liked the light fixture in its lobby.

But really, we were here for the food right?  We kicked things off with the pepper crusted Ahi Tuna Crudo with cucumber gazpacho and cucumber salad.  So this was pretty bright and refreshing, yet at the same time, surprisingly spicy.  That gazpacho had a nice cucumber freshness to it but that kick was something else.  If we weren't awake before that, we were certainly so after digging into it.  The tuna itself was evenly seared on all sides while the centre was perfectly rare.  

One of our favourite dishes was one that didn't appear on the menu (just yet).  It was the Black Vinegar Glazed Pork Belly.  These big pieces of pork belly had a good balance between meat and buttery fat.  Hence it was hearty and meaty while still tender.  The exterior was crispy despite the amount of glaze. About that, it was sweet, sticky and had the unmistakable depth of black vinegar.  Truly a properly fused Asian-inspired dish.

Onto the mains (as if the pork belly wasn't big enough already to be considered a main), we had the Pan-Seared Ling Cod with edamame puree, tapioca crisp and apple.  This was another solid dish with perfectly seared fish.  It was slightly crispy on the outside while properly seasoned.  It was flaky and moist.  I really liked the caramelized fennel as it was aromatic and sweet.  The edamame and apple provided complimentary sweetness.

In addition to the excellent pork belly, the Pistachio-Crusted Lamb Rack was my next favourite dish.  As you can see, the lamb was perfectly medium-rare.  Hence, the meat was juicy and tender.  The pistachio crust was nutty and crunchy while well-seasoned.  Loved the gratin dauphinoise as it was delicate and creamy.  There was also a smooth and naturally sweet pea puree underneath where I used the succulent lamb to sop it all up.

We also got the Pure BC Wagyu Burger on a beer bun with gruyere, pickles, butter lettuce and caramalised red onion.  This was completely legit with a juicy and well-charred burger patty.  It was rich in flavour and that evenly melted gruyere on top added butteriness and nuttiness.  Those fresh cut fries on the side were money where they were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.  It came with a side of house-made tomato ketchup which was delicious and tangy.

Onto dessert, the first one I tried was the Chocolate Mousse with pistachio, hojicha and apple.  Hidden within chocolate ganache, the mousse was creamy and light while still rich at the same time.  Balanced sweetness and plenty of slightly dark chocolate bitterness.  This was complimented by the tea bitterness of the hojicha.  However, the pops of sweetness from the apples balanced it all out as well as come nuttiness from the pistachios.

To keep things light, the Coconut Sago was a refreshing way to end a wonderful meal.  It featured coconut jelly, mango compote and tropical fruit.  It really emulated a mango sago in some sense, but had all of the aromatics of coconut.  The picture was taken before the compote was poured on top.  When combined, this was definitely fruity and purposefully sweet.  In general, the food we had at Serphina was well-prepared and you could definitely see the attention-to-detail.  Looks like the food has been more refined since I first spotted it on IG.  Looking forward in returning and sampling more of their dishes.

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- Well-prepared proteins
- Some bold flavours
- Beautiful dining space

The Bad:
- Still working out the logistics (including the downstairs kitchen not being open yet, that will take care of the smaller dishes and snacks)