The Jackson Plan : Can British Plan?

This is British Gastrobar that has been received mostly good reviews so far. So I was quite eager to go for a try. Looking at the pigtails, scotch eggs,chicken liver mousse, to black puddings, they really offer quite a unconventional selection. Some said that to be prepared for a high cholesterol meal when one visits The Jackson Plan.

Clearly, you can't find any trace of Italian or French cuisine here. It's really the kind of comfort hearty rich British food that reminds me of Jamie Oliver.
The service was apt and the ambience is like an old school style. Very simple but quite 舒服。perhaps because we were the only ones there on a quiet wkday, it was as though we booked the entire place for our makan trip...hehe:)

Starters 一人一个 感情不会散

We ordered one to share. Just nice there were 3 of each.

The crab cake is nicely seasoned and crunchy with the onions inside.

However, I would prefer if the entire is pan fried longer so that the outer layer is much golden brown and crispy. So for the quality and size, I think this dish is overpriced.

Main: Fisherman Pie

This was recommended in many reviews and so I went for it. Those that crave comfort food will definetely not miss this. The mash potato layer is soft inside but crispy at the top. What's more, it has been mixed with cheese....oozy goodness. That's why the mash had so much flavour.

The filling of salmon and prawns were quite generous too.

I am not too confident of it's freshness but most of the fish chunks were baked nicely. However, the prawns were overcooked and way too hard to chew.Like a rubber, probably because the size of the prawns are small, tiger prawns were not used.nonetheless, it was quite an enjoyment to have this dish.

Berkshire Pork Cheeks with White Bean Casserole

The pork cheeks were very soft and tender. It was weird to see a pork dish being covered in white sauce. But the taste was good. Could not really taste anything particularly strong from the cream.

There is a lump of pureed watercress or some veggies. It looks odd as well but it had a natural sweetness to it. The mash potato was totally different from the fisherman's pie as it was lighter and less savory. But still creamy and soft. There were also beetroots in the dish so overall I still find the looks of this dish rather strange. Pink, white, green and red or meaty red??

Beef shin with bone marrow and potato cakes

Wah... Was my reaction when I saw the pinkish red beef shin. Not that it is uncooked but this was the first time that I see a thoroughly cooked beef that had the reddish brown colour of char Siew.

The potato cakes were great. Taste like savory pancakes that are toasted just right. The beef shin is again so fork tender and I like that better than some beef stew. The shin had a little fats here and there that literally melts in your mouth.

My companion was adventurous to choose this as none of us had actually tried bone marrow. But ooh...this is so buttery fatty and rich. I think supposed to pair with potato cakes because it is like what my friend said, eating butter. Nope, should be that kind of lightly salted butter. There were some sour capers to balance the richness but I think the creaminess will just linger on......But an interesting dish.

Desserts....we were already bloated as we did not expect the mains to be so filling. We wiped
all plates clean. Hah...but of cos desserts are a must for greedy people like us.

Faquhar Mess

Meringue with Whipped cream, Gula Melaka and Mangoes

This was an Asian twist of the classic Eton Mess. The portion came larger than expected but it was oh so good. The heavy cream was whipped till less than the usual soft peaks and covered the mangoes below. I could not really taste the gula Melaka that clearly as the whole pot was sweet, including the mangoes. The cream was sprinkled with a dash of cinnamon but the taste of the obvious.

But each spoonful literally just melt in your mouth. No need any effort to chew.

Eccles Cake with Homemade Rum and raisin ice cream

Hmm....this was a hot and cold pairing. The puff pastry contained mincemeat(marinated dried fruits) that would most commonly be eaten during Xmas. The pastry was baked really crispy and good. But I just find that the ice cream was nothing awesome. Rather than rum and raisin, it was just simply vanilla ice cream with dried raisins. I could not taste the rum in the raisins and they were not soaked till plump.

And for the portion of the 2 Eccles cake, I think they can afford to give bigger scoop as the size of that day's ice cream seem rather pathetic.

In all, given that most food there was something that I have not tried before, I think it seems like a exotic food journey. Of cos, our options were rather safe, as we did not try the unusual pigtails or black puddings(猪血糕） There is not many places like this in Singapore I guess so it is difficult to compare standards. But nonetheless, it was a satisfying and enjoyable rustic gourmet experience.

The Jackson Plan
40 Duxton Hill Singapore
For Menu: http://www.thejacksonplan.com/index.php




and not to forget the sweet treats i received that day from 两位美女.....

Assorted Colourful Crackers from Thai

Chocolate Okashi=)

Thanks;)