Mezzanine at Hyatt

Being a seafood lover, I had been craving for a taste of the autochthonous sons of the sea - haha alright, perhaps this is hyperbolic - I meant, lobsters. Out of the few local places whose lobsters I've tried, the only outstanding one was Mezza9 at Hyatt - the briny streaks of lobster meat which I devoured rather barbarically were of just the right saltiness. 

With hopes of reliving my lascivious love story (or lobstory) at Mezza9, I made a return trip half a year later. To my dismay, the change of menu meant that the fresh seafood platter was no longer available, but lo and behold, they had a grilled seafood platter dish under the ala carte section, an option which my dining partner and I chose jumped at without hesitation. 

To avoid putting the cart before the horse, I'll expound on the starters first. Before the starter arrived, we were served a basket of piping hot sourdough bread along with a tomato-based, slightly ascerbic dip.Thereafter, we had the duck liver terrine ($36), whose texture was reminiscent of that of foie gras - buttery, yet not overly oily. The terrine was also one of the more well-balanced ones that I've tried, for care has been taken to moderate the amount of salt added so as not to saturate one's palate.

Bread with such a delectable dip

Duck Liver Terrine

As for the main course, the grill (serves 2) comprises a whole boston lobster, tiger prawns, king crab leg, salmon, tuna, aioli and a lemon ($138). While I had had a fresh lobster in mind, the grilled lobster was pretty delicious as well, being succulent and well-flavoured. In addition, while the king crab leg was on the dry side, the salmon and tuna were well-grilled such that they retained their moisture despite having been grilled to searing brown perfection. What a delight!

A Garrulous Grill, full of stories of the sea

As for dessert, we had the stone fruit tart, cinnamon and walnut crumble, vanilla bean sauce and sherbet, as well as a trio of chocolate, vanilla and raspberry gelato. The former was a rather riveting dish, especially with stone fruit being a relatively uncommon ingredient in fruit tarts. Nevertheless, the tart was nuanced and was a winner in that it refrained from being overly sweet. 

Stone Fruit Tart, Cinnamon and Walnut Crumble

As for the gelato, the chocolate was rich and redolent of dark chocolate; the vanilla, while being distinct from the mock vanilla ice-cream that most of us are accustomed to, was definitely not the best that I have tasted; the sourness and freshness of the raspberry sherbet was uplifting.

All in all, my dining partner and I enjoyed our meal at Mezza9, and while the food might be slightly pricey, the premium price is well worth it for the dining experience is complemented by the attentive service and calming ambience which offers respite from the buzz of everyday life.