Went back to Marche at Vivo again today because The Parents wanted to try it out, especially after hearing bout the food yesterday. So we made our way down for lunch and got started.
Okay, so now I have more information about the Marche at Vivo. Apparently, much effort and thought has been put into this outlet so as to make give it a very authentically Swiss appearance and experience for diners. The interior, which is made to resemble a house in a Swiss village, was constructed by getting Five-hundred-year-old antique wood from two well-preserved huts from Adelboden (a village in the Alpine mountains). The wood was dismantled, and then very carefully transported over to Singapore and reassembled. Every window, door, hinge and knob are all original. Whoa, talk about meticulous.
My suspicions about the better quality of food were also confirmed. The rosti potatoes have changed, from the originally used American Russet potatoes have been replaced with better Yukon Gold potatoes, do it isn't just your eyes playing tricks when you see that the Rosti is a deeper, more beautiful gold-yellow now.
The meats are now grilled over applewood fires, rather than the previously used electric grills. For those who know, that's a big thing. Electric grills, though more convenient, always lack the real fire flavour. The fire flavour just makes anything taste so much better.
The pastas (which I found not to be very good at the old Marche outlets) have changed from being boiled-on-the-spot-from-dried-products to being freshly made on the premise itself. I have yet to get a chance to try the pastas though, so I'm not sure how much better they taste.
What I did get to try today is the Paella. Paella is a rich dish that originates from Spain and is a new staple added to Marche that wasn't found in the previous outlets. Now, paella is a very traditional dish that is basically made with rice, olive oil, saffron (the basics) and then with meats, seafood and veges that may vary with different renditions of paella. Paella is usually cooked in a paella pan, which is rather large and shallow. The very word "paella" itself means "frying pan" in Valencian.
our serving of paella
Marche's paella comes in two sizes - the first is a "one" portion, that is actually enough for two people to share, and the second is a "five" portion. You'll see at the counter a huge paella pan, in which the paella is cooked. I'm guessing that the "five" portion will mean that the chef makes you one entire large paella pan worth. I ordered a "one" portion, and the guy took a little pan and heaped the rice, chicken, mussels, squid and whatnots from a large paella pan that was already made.
Okay, so paella is basically the Spanish rendition of fried rice, just that with more exotic ingredients than the Singaporean ones. I was wondering what kind of rice it was, and learn that it is actually Bomba rice from Spain. Not bad. At least they remained authentic and didn't try some cheat-your-money gimmick by using other cheaper varieties like Thai rice or something. The rice is actually the most important part of the dish - use the wrong rice and it wouldn't be the right taste of paella at all. Bomba rice is the rice for paella, so you're really getting putting your money down for authentic tasting food.
Upon digging into the dish, I realised that they were very generous with the seafood! There's bound to be a squid, or some fish, or a prawn or a mussel in every square inch of the pan. There were a few large chunks of chicken too (with bone) that was rather juicy, not dry and overcooked.
I don't know how to describe the taste of paella, or how Marche's one compares to other paellas, since this was my first time eating the dish. It's such a reverie of flavours, and I can't quite put a name to it. It wasn't too salty, and the flavours of everything combined really overwhelms your taste buds. I'm guessing though, that it's the type of dish that you either like or dislike, due to the strong flavour of it. The ingredients were good, fresh seafood, nothing dry, and nothing bland. I guess you'll just have to go and check it out to see if you'll like it!
Paella is the dish from Spain, as much associated with it as chilli crab or laksa or bak chor mee is with Singapore. It's a good introduction to Spanish cuisine, and I love Marche for bringing it in.
The Father made a good point though: The entrance is sheltered but the exit is not, so how messy will it be for people to leave when it's raining! (since the only way of exit will be for people to uh, exit via the entrance). Hmmm.
Okay, so now I have more information about the Marche at Vivo. Apparently, much effort and thought has been put into this outlet so as to make give it a very authentically Swiss appearance and experience for diners. The interior, which is made to resemble a house in a Swiss village, was constructed by getting Five-hundred-year-old antique wood from two well-preserved huts from Adelboden (a village in the Alpine mountains). The wood was dismantled, and then very carefully transported over to Singapore and reassembled. Every window, door, hinge and knob are all original. Whoa, talk about meticulous.
My suspicions about the better quality of food were also confirmed. The rosti potatoes have changed, from the originally used American Russet potatoes have been replaced with better Yukon Gold potatoes, do it isn't just your eyes playing tricks when you see that the Rosti is a deeper, more beautiful gold-yellow now.
The meats are now grilled over applewood fires, rather than the previously used electric grills. For those who know, that's a big thing. Electric grills, though more convenient, always lack the real fire flavour. The fire flavour just makes anything taste so much better.
The pastas (which I found not to be very good at the old Marche outlets) have changed from being boiled-on-the-spot-from-dried-products to being freshly made on the premise itself. I have yet to get a chance to try the pastas though, so I'm not sure how much better they taste.
What I did get to try today is the Paella. Paella is a rich dish that originates from Spain and is a new staple added to Marche that wasn't found in the previous outlets. Now, paella is a very traditional dish that is basically made with rice, olive oil, saffron (the basics) and then with meats, seafood and veges that may vary with different renditions of paella. Paella is usually cooked in a paella pan, which is rather large and shallow. The very word "paella" itself means "frying pan" in Valencian.
our serving of paella
Marche's paella comes in two sizes - the first is a "one" portion, that is actually enough for two people to share, and the second is a "five" portion. You'll see at the counter a huge paella pan, in which the paella is cooked. I'm guessing that the "five" portion will mean that the chef makes you one entire large paella pan worth. I ordered a "one" portion, and the guy took a little pan and heaped the rice, chicken, mussels, squid and whatnots from a large paella pan that was already made.
Okay, so paella is basically the Spanish rendition of fried rice, just that with more exotic ingredients than the Singaporean ones. I was wondering what kind of rice it was, and learn that it is actually Bomba rice from Spain. Not bad. At least they remained authentic and didn't try some cheat-your-money gimmick by using other cheaper varieties like Thai rice or something. The rice is actually the most important part of the dish - use the wrong rice and it wouldn't be the right taste of paella at all. Bomba rice is the rice for paella, so you're really getting putting your money down for authentic tasting food.
Upon digging into the dish, I realised that they were very generous with the seafood! There's bound to be a squid, or some fish, or a prawn or a mussel in every square inch of the pan. There were a few large chunks of chicken too (with bone) that was rather juicy, not dry and overcooked.
I don't know how to describe the taste of paella, or how Marche's one compares to other paellas, since this was my first time eating the dish. It's such a reverie of flavours, and I can't quite put a name to it. It wasn't too salty, and the flavours of everything combined really overwhelms your taste buds. I'm guessing though, that it's the type of dish that you either like or dislike, due to the strong flavour of it. The ingredients were good, fresh seafood, nothing dry, and nothing bland. I guess you'll just have to go and check it out to see if you'll like it!
Paella is the dish from Spain, as much associated with it as chilli crab or laksa or bak chor mee is with Singapore. It's a good introduction to Spanish cuisine, and I love Marche for bringing it in.
The Father made a good point though: The entrance is sheltered but the exit is not, so how messy will it be for people to leave when it's raining! (since the only way of exit will be for people to uh, exit via the entrance). Hmmm.
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