...apparently is just under SG$500 for 2, with no alcohol.

Went to Iggy's last night to use up a perk from work, $350 to claim back on dinner for two as a thank-you for working five years. Iggy's is on some world's top 50 restaurants list this year, so decided to give it a try.

Keep in mind that for this price we got to sit around a bar counter with 5 other couples, not a proper table (of which J overheard there to be only 4?). At least this way we got to rub elbows (literally) with the stinking rich in this country lol.

The place only serves a 9-course gastro menu for $195++/head, which is what we had. I took some dimly-lit pics on my BlackBerry, with my comments.

First course - pre-course amuse bouche (this didn't appear as one of the 9 courses, but I'll renumber them to include this)

On the left is a foie gras creme brulee, and on the left is an uni jelly/mousse. It's like dessert in reverse, and it was very odd to have a savoury brulee and seafood-flavored mousse.

3.5/5 - I enjoyed the texture of both, but they were both quite salty

Second course was flakes of black truffle on top on some salad greens and a small slab of potato. I forgot to take a pic of this one, sorry! 

Jin enjoyed this one more than I, as I've discovered that I actually am not a fan of truffle. Being uncultured and not a foodie whatsoever, I grew up thinking of truffle = chocolate and was very disappointed on the realization that real truffle just tastes like overly strong mushrooms.

3.5/5 - I was starting to think that I wasn't cut out for fine dining by this point. Although this dish went down easily despite my dislike of truffle, I realized several courses later that I was all truffled out.

Third course - Veal wrapped around raw tuna, served with the biggest caper I've ever seen.

4/5 - This one was not bad, I enjoyed it but I found it not salty enough, I had to drown it in sauce and the line of pepper below to give it some zing. Caper helped though.

Fourth course - Snapper sitting on aubergines, with green olives and fried fish skin on top.

5/5 - Just looking at this pic is literally making me drool, it was certainly one of the highlights of the meal. The fish was just perrrfectly cooked, not overdone, and the crispy fish skin flakes really offset the other textures. Yum, I'd have this one again.

Fifth course - Capellini with sakura ebi (small prawn things)

3.5/5 - J commented that he could make something like this and I agreed. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it because the mini prawns were tasty and mouthier than regular prawns.

Sixth course - Roast suckling pig with desiccated parma ham, asparagus and potatoes

3/5 - J and I were divided on this one. J generally doesn't like suckling pig, and I quickly discovered that the parma ham had a strong whiff of truffle to it, so we swapped bits. The pig was by far the saltiest dish and I was chugging down some water to dampen the salty bite.

Seventh course - also not listed on the menu, cold essence of peach tomato on the left, and a battered fried tomato on the right.

3/5 - I think this dish was intended as a palate cleanser after that salty last dish. But yeah, this one was weird. You're basically drinking a frothy little mug of what tastes like a distilled tomato, very tart, almost refreshing but not quite hitting the spot. I really didn't know what to make of this one.

Eighth course - Wagyu beef with a bunch of baby veg

4.5/5 - So *this* is what all the fuss over wagyu beef is all about. I've never tried the "real" stuff, which I see now is only a pale imitation. The marbling on this beef is unlike anything I've ever seen before and it was good. Again, overly salty in a way, but still really good. Even though we were pretty stuffed already by this point (my mistake to gorge on the yummy olive bread), J and I forced ourselves to eat this just because it was so yum.

Ninth course - Soursop under a bed of gin jelly and lime whipped cream

5/5 - Another really odd one, but I loved this as it was very unique. The jelly was a little bitter from the gin but went really well with the soursop flesh and lime cream. It was so refreshing after all that salty savory food and really prepared me for dessert. A pre-dessert dessert if you will.

Tenth course - Milk ice cream on a medallion of coconut jelly next to pandan tapioca, basil sorbet, and a cube of chocolate ganache

4.5/5 - This was another winner. So many different flavors and textures commingling into a party in my mouth. The one weird part was the basil sorbet as I had a entree-in-reverse moment, but overall this meal was ending much stronger than it began. I admit that I'm a dessert girl and used to many combinations of chocolate, but even this was something that I've never tried before, like a high-end version of ice kacang fillings.

Eleventh and final course - Two petit fours, a banana concoction in a shot glass and a lemon tartlet

5/5 - A surprise finish. We were told to do the shot glass in a single mouthful, and though we joked about choking on this mystery thing in the middle (that looked like a poached egg), it was goood. It starts off slippery in your mouth then gently bursts to this runny banana filling. That was fantastic!  To be honest the tart looked kinda sad after that since there was no way you could top that banana thing, but it did! We each popped in the little tartlet in our mouths and all of a sudden the noise began. These tarlets had Pop Rocks in em! We couldn't stop giggling in astonishment and the table next to us looked over at us giddy undrunks.

Overall, I'm not a hoity-toity foodie girl at heart and I probably won't ever have another meal like this in my life. I can't imagine spending that much money on a meal that was good but not the best meal I've ever had. However, I felt that this was definitely an interesting new experience, the play of textures in all the courses were something that I hadn't come across before. Even a gimmick like the Pop Rocks was a nice way to make the meal memorable given that we normally go through the same few meals and restaurants in Singapore. It was fun while it lasted to pretend like money is no object and I could eat at the top tier of restaurants, but I also don't mind coming back to earth to eat at Botak Jones or Boston Pizza.