Luma was one of the two restaurants I went to this year for Summerlicious. I've never been to Luma before and initially thought it could be a potential Summerlicious pick. My choice was confirmed when I checked out their menu; a pretty decent 3-course dinner for $35. Not bad at all, considering a lot of high end restaurants these days are charging $45 for their 'licious menu.
It was blazing hot during the day! Thankfully it cooled down a bit during the late afternoon so we asked for a table on their rooftop patio.
Personally, one of my criteria for choosing a restaurant for 'licious is that their menu must offer a fish and a red meat as mains (because those are the two things I like the most). I do not care for chicken or vegetarian dishes! This is precisely why I like Luma's Summerlicious menu this year =D
Bread to start.
APPETIZERS
Saigon Salad - Iceberg lettuce, braised pork, crispy noodles and chili dressing.
My friends thought the dressing was nice as it wasn't too salty. The lettuce was crunchy and fresh. They said it was a nice refreshing salad.
This was an obviously choice for me because I love pate =) This one certainly did not disappoint; it was smooth, light, and the flavour was bang on strong. I enjoyed spreading the jelly on the crostini ^_^ Besides all that, look at the presentation guys! The big square glass plate, the flower petals scattered beautifully on it, the crostini cutting the pate in half...the whole plate was so pretty and elegant.
MAINS
Seared Albacore Tuna - Tonnato, spiced chickpeas, bibb lettuce and salsa verde.
The presentation here again is stellar. The height, the different shades of green with a pop of red in the middle, the colour of the difference sauces, all against a white plate just makes the whole dish so eye-catching and appealing.
With my fork, I spread out what was in front of me...five pieces of thickly cut albacore tuna! I was a happy girl =) The tuna was not only cut generously, it was extremely tender and fresh. Paired with the crispy lettuce and the salsa verde, it was my favourite course of the night. The chickpeas and the mayonnaise added a creamy element to the dish too. With all those different ingredients combined, it was quite a unique dish (and also a very filling one)!
Grilled Flatiron Steak - Mushrooms and garlic scapes.
My friends' steaks were cooked to their liking (medium rare). They said it was juicy.
Whipped potato which came with the steak. My friends said It was just regular mashed potatoes. A good portion, not too much.
DESSERT
It was getting dark so I had to use flash for the dessert pictures...
Summer Berry Pudding - Vanilla cream.
This dessert was a lot more tangier than I thought it would be. Although still good, I wish there was something sweet to balance all that sour that was going on in the cake (as it was drenched with berry sauce) and around the cake. Maybe a bigger dollop of vanilla cream?
Chocolate Jelly - Indonesian long peppercorn, stewed cherries.
My friends liked the dessert as it wasn't too sweet. The peppercorn literally popped in their mouths so they thought that was cool~
My friends and I were all very happy with our dinner at Luma. Both the food and its presentation exceeded my "'licious expectations" and I would for sure want to go back to Luma to try their regular menu. Portions were great as well. Although the service was a bit slow (our waitress took forever to bring us our wine and dessert) it didn't really matter since we were in no hurry to leave Luma's rooftop patio.
