I’ve been to many places and countries. Every one is different and special but no country comes close to Morocco. To me, this exotic African country holds many beautiful memories. I remember the tiny souks filled with incense aroma and the beautiful architecture in Marrakech. Over the years, with the increased interest in this amazing country, Moroccan cuisines have also gained popularity with more foodies.

It’s difficult to find good Moroccan food in Singapore. Over last weekend, Capella Singapore held its Old World Spice & Wine event helm by celebrity chef Ms Meryem Cherkaoui.  She was in town to showcase some of Moroccan’s finest cuisines at  the Knolls restaurant.

An artichoke puree with free-range chicken egg yolk and dried beef kickstarts a delightful gastronomic experience,. The half-boiled egg yolk, when mixed with the artichoke puree, adds more flavour to the creamy and silky soup. Chef Meryem used dried beef to give it more taste. Beef is used instead of bacon as the pork meat is prohibited in Muslim culture.

My favourite dish is the pan-seared foie gras. The goose liver is served with bread made to look like strands of noodles, rose-infused tomato jam and saffron- flavoured chicken broth. The foie gras is lightly flavoured with salt after it has been pan-seared to a slight crisp.

The next dish is the Octopus and Sausage served with crushed barley scented with spices, grilled vegetables, and citrus broth with shellfish and saffron. Instead of couscous, Chef Meryem uses crushed barley which gives this dish a different dimension and texture.

My least favourite dish has to be the main course, which is lamb. I’m not a fan of mutton because I dislike the red meat’s overwhelmingly strong taste and smell.  I was hoping that the dish would change my opinion of mutton.  But my hope was misplaced. The rack of lamb done in tajine style with gnocchis, cumin and mushrooms has a very strong mutton taste.

For dessert, Chef Meryem, again, gave her own interpretation to a traditional Moroccan dessert – the pastilla. The Moroccan pastilla is a savoury meat pie dusted with a thin layer confectionery icing sugar and cinnamon when served. I had it in Morocco and loved it.  Hence, I was a tad disappointed when Chef Meryem decided to buck the tradition. Her take on this traditional savoury dessert is to have panna cotta cream between the layers of pastry. The sweet dessert is superb but I still prefer the traditional savoury and sweet version.

Despite the disappointing main course, the four-course set dinner is an enjoyable trip down memory lane. The set dinner without wine pairing costs SG$88++ and another $80++ with wine pairing.

I hope that Capella Singapore can invite her back next year.  But I do hope that there will be choice for the main course if she does return.

Old World Spice & Wine – 30 Aug to 1 Sep 2013
The Knolls, Capella Singapore
1 The Knolls, Sentosa Island, Singapore 098297