Sponsored Review: E'spuma Lab @ Pomo Mall (1 Selegie Road)

Went for a tasting last Wednesday.
It was actually my day off, but since I don't really reject any offers if I can, I went for it.
I requested to bring along a plus 1 as I had an appointment with her.

The outlet is actually quite small, with limited seats available.

A brief introduction of what to expect:

E’spuma Lab at Pomo is a new casual dining outlet that makes use of espuma and sous vide in its dishes at wallet-friendly prices!

espuma: 

• Spanish for foam or froth
• a culinary technique in which an espuma siphon is used to infuse air into food, creating an airily light mouthfeel. espuma adds an interesting new dimension to the texture of natural ingredients that have been pureed, mashed or juiced.

sous vide:

• culinary technique in which food is cooked in a vacuum at a constant temperature, using a Thermal Circulator. This technique helps ensure perfectly cooked eggs – without having to use an egg timer. Thicker or uneven cuts of meat sometimes are not cooked evenly or become tough and dry due to overcooking, but sous vide ensures that the meat remains tender throughout.

This is the menu of E'spuma:

Done with the introductions, on to the dishes!

My first dish was Sous Vide Egg with Smoked Norwegian Salmon.

The egg is cooked in a tank at a constant temperature using a Thermal Circulator. The egg is served with smoked Norwegian Salmon, topped with Crispy Salmon Skin and Ginger Soyu.

From the picture, don't you think it looks like soft-boiled eggs?

It tasted like soft-boiled eggs too!

Sous Vide Egg with Smoked Norwegian Salmon elevates the local breakfast favourite of soft-boiled eggs to new heights with the addition of premium ingredients. 

The difference I feel is that, soft-boiled eggs gets its salty taste from dark soya sauce,

but this dish, the salty taste comes from the smoked salmon and the salmon skin.

I don't usually eat salmon skin, but this salmon skin is really crispy and fragrant.

The smoked salmon is a tad too salty, but is perfect when you eat it with the eggs.

2nd dish was a main course.

My friend ordered a Curry Chicken with E'puma Potato Foam.

The chicken is cut into small chunks, cooked with various spices & simmered till tender. It is paired with potato foam & crispy curry fritters.

I think this is a creative twist to Singapore's famous Curry Chicken.

The curry chicken is very flavourful, and the Potato Foam tasted like mashed potato. The texture is much lighter than mashed potato, but the taste is almost similar.

With the crispy Curry fritters, the dish combines fragrance, crispness and flavour all in one!

My first main dish on the other hand was the Sautéed Mushrooms with E'spuma Potato Foam.

I am a big fan of mushrooms, as I think they have so much Umami in them, which is the main reason why mushrooms have a really nice sweet taste to it even if you eat it alone.

The mushrooms to this dish are really well cooked, but I think it fared below my expectations. (Maybe because I had the Curry Chicken dish first.) 

The main dishes with the E'spuma Potato Foam, I feel they are suitable for people who are on a diet.

Potatoes have a much lower calorie count than rice, and don't under-estimate the size of the potato foam. It is really really filling, especially after you had the appetiser.

Our serving for the appetiser was only in a tasting portion that day, and I was already full. 

Imagine having it in the normal portion!

On to our 2nd main dish!

My friend had Fragrant Rice Served with Cajun Chicken Leg and E'spuma Curry Sauce

The rice tasted like Chicken Rice, but a little lighter in taste. With the addition of raisins, it feels like a Chinese or Western version of Nasi-Briyani.

The E'spuma Curry Sauce here is not as fragrant as the previous Curry Chicken dish.

To me, it tasted like the Singapore version of Japanese Curry? (Complicated I know, but that's what I feel).

It tasted lighter, but still had the Singapore taste to it.

The chicken, perfectly tender. The skin was flavourful, and most importantly, not fatty!

Looks quite similar to the PangGang in Ngee Ann Polytechnic don't you think?

For my 2nd main dish, I tried the Garlic Spaghetti With Chicken Cutlet & Espuma Bacon Sauce.

To be honest, this dish isn't really good.

The chicken was quite a small portion (for me). I like fried chicken, so a bigger portion will be able to satisfy me. It didn't taste special as well, tasted like any other chicken cutlet out there.

The spaghetti was dry. I preferred the Fragrant Rice Served with Cajun Chicken Leg and E'spuma Curry Sauce more than this dish.

Finally for the add-ons, since both my friend and I don't take durian, we both had the Calamari

This dish is more well-done than my 2nd main dish. 

The fish is crispy on the outside, and tender on the inside. The only thing I feel is that the batter used is a tad too salty.

Someone had the Durian Fritters, so here's a picture of it.

The durian smell wasn't as strong as I expected. She was sitting next to me, but I could only smell the durian when she cuts it open, and the smell was also not as strong. According to the PR, premium D24 durians are used to make this dish. For all the durian lovers out there, I am sure you guys know the value of D24.

Enjoy a 3-course set meal comprising a bowl of Cream of Mushroom with Sautéed Shitake and Wild Rice, your choice of main course, and a drink for an amazingly wallet-friendly S$8.80 nett! (With no extra charges like GST or service charge). Rest assure that there are no hidden charges as well.

Rate: 3/5

For the price of $8.80 nett, you get to have a 3 course meal, I think it is actually very worth it. Considering the meal to be very filling and special. If you choose the right dishes, you will actually be very satisfied.

You get to try E'spuma and Sous Vide dishes for only $8.80. What more can you expect.

Perfect for students, and small gatherings.

Read the shorten Chinese version here!