New fine dining hotpot amidst Elgin Street- French rooted yet locally influenced cuisine

Fusing elements of French and Asian cultures, Belon is a new fine dining hotspot in soho that shows no signs of slowing down. We all adored the menu choke full of interesting oriental ingredients. 

To start, staff recommended a glass of cocktail, Alpin Mule ($128) with Lemongrass-infused gin, ginger beer and green chartreuse. We wish everything could show a stronger character than the gin itself. If you prefer something tropical, and refreshing, suggested is the Hendrick's Plum ($138), which sounds like an advanced version of mojito, with a hint of lime but one more secret ingredient- we guess it's ginger that soothingly warm our throat!

Welcome snacks has set our high expectation to the whole meal of the night: hearty savoury puff oozing out piping hot cheese filling. We continue the excitement by sampling a couple of signature one bite snacks and entree. 

Hokkaido sea urchin on a bed of refreshing tomato jelly that woke up our taste buds with its sharp yet refreshing sourness ($78/piece).

Belon has a great selection of fresh fish. This Shima Aji dish was a bright and summer option, served with burnt citrus Vinaigrette perfectly balanced by bottaga, adding briny yet elegant savouriness to the dish. 

Love Smoked eel and black radish on top of Pain Perdu that mopped up with roasted chicken sauce ($58/piece). A very rich and deeply joyous starter.

Hokkaido scallop with seaweed butter ($138) with a subtle hint of lemon grass allows the seafood to shine through.

Akaroa king salmon with horseradish and walnuts ($198) was our table's great triumph. Crispy skin and moist meats that melts instantly with its umami juices has given us a great contrast in texture, complemented with choking horseradish and walnut that surprisingly matched so well when it comes to fish dish. 

Pate en croute ($198) -Rich duck and pork ( we cant tell exactly what combination of meat is that- but it's a good mix of meats which was smoky and rich) sealed in golden flaky pastry which certainly makes an over-the-moon creation!

For mains, we opted for Pithvier au cervela de lyon ($358) with truffle sauce. Not a huge fans of cervela but grant meats sealed in golden flaky pastry tserved wit truffle sauce is always a winning combination.  

The night would not have been complete without the legendary house made Millefeuille ($118). Layers and layers of pastry and vanilla custard was accompanied with almond syrup that gives a complex kick of sweetness to the dessert!

Another winner goes to whey Granita with miso icecream and lemon. ($108) Lemon foam and meringue on top has lifted up the dessert and our taste bud get calmed down with a scope of savory miso icecream and lavender ice beneath. We love the idea how layers are planned but it seems all the flavours shine brightly at once and probably lost a focus but well, it's worth taking few more seconds to figure out all these complex yet creative combinations of flavours. 

We are looking forward to the next dinner at Belon already!