He's Spanish by birth and Australian by residence. Put him in the kitchen and Javier Codina creates a memorable inter-continental experience.

Savour his creamy smooth sweetcorn soup - thickened with fresh kernels blended numerous times just to get that silky, velvety texture that just slides down your palate. With some cream for body and a drizzle of home-made pumpkin seed oil, the dreamy soup got extra bite and flavour from pan-seared Coffin Bay scallops.

Hailing from Brisbane's Gianni restaurant which chef Codina co-owns, the current promotion at Ritz Carlton's Snappers Restaurant offers a sneak peek at the Catalan native's repertoire. Like all good Aussie chefs, chef Codina makes full use of Australian produce and his well-honed European cooking skills, lightened with a touch of sun-kissed breeziness.

Witness his clean starter - a milfeuilles of foie gras and smoked eel - essentially a terrine of rich chopped liver and smoky eel, the potential heaviness offset by wafer-thin slices of tart green apple sandwiching the mixture. After the initial exciting mouthful, it got rather boring. Don't be disheartened by the tiny portion - any more and it would have been too much to take. Having carted to Singapore some nice, tender and expensive squab from Australia, chef Codina did it justice with a stuffing of leek and macadamia nuts - the bird was marinated for hours beforehand, stuffed and roasted to fork-tender doneness, laced with a heavily reduced quail jus flavoured with red wine and scented with brandy.

Desserts are equally memorable - particularly the blandly titled yoghurt and honey flan served with pumpkin sorbet. The yoghurt-flavoured panna cotta turned into magic with the deceptively simple addition of sweet-mild sorbet. You have to hand it to these Aussie chefs, they really know their desserts. Chocolate fiends, meanwhile, can dive into the warm chocolate tart and orange marmalade ice cream for their own taste of happiness. Javier Codina is at Ritz Carlton's Snappers Restaurant until tomorrow. Dinner only.

Copyright  Singapore Press Holdings Limited
The Business Times Singapore

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