HERE'S the deal: you're in the Christmas feasting mood but it's not yet time to stuff your own turkey into the oven. But if you want a pre-taste of the festivities, some joints are already whetting impatient appetites with Christmas themed lunches and dinners before the real thing.

Stollen and spice and all things nice feature on Saint Pierre's $75 Christmas set lunch, with chef Emmanuel Stroobant taking the classics like roast turkey and ham and giving them his signature twist.

Before that, indulge in another Saint Pierre trademark - its never-fail-to-impress amuse bouche which is even fancier than some of its regular starters. The day we were there, the clean flavours of pristine salmon sashimi topped with a few pearls of caviar was just one of the stars in a medley that comprised a delicate scallop with cauliflower mousse topped with a sprinkling of beetroot salad, a tiny cube of smoked duck and a bite of organic polenta and a topping of ratatouille. To round it off was a tiny cup of gorgeous lobster bisque with none of that strong 'fishy' edge that other versions suffer from.

It was hard for the real starter - cubes of smoked salmon tataki scattered on a soup plate and a test tube of leek vichyssoise that you poured around the salmon - to maintain the high created by the amuse bouche, but it held its own admirably.

For a real taste of the season, chef Stroobant the foie gras expert whipped up a plate of Christmas in the form of melt-in-the-mouth pan-seared foie gras scented with stollen spice, poached pears and an addictive square of gingerbread (or rather a spice cake)that had been pan-fried in butter and tasted like gingery french toast. To lighten the dish a little, julienned slices of fresh nashi pear completed this winner.

For the main course, you have a choice of roast turkey breast stuffed with green apples and chestnut salsa, or braised organic ham with roasted beetroot and truffle mashed potato.

The turkey emerged the winner of the two with its tender breast meat rolled around a yummy stuffing of minced meat, carrots, chestnuts, mushrooms and green apples that offered interesting meaty, crunchy and sweet texture and taste. Even the garnishes were tasty like the fried potato cube and buttery baton of what might have been buttered spinach.

In contrast, the braised ham was a disappointment - it wasn't ham as we'd expected but regular pork which had been low temperature braised yet was surprisingly dry and stringy. What looked like an inviting piece of crispy skin took some major jaw work before it finally yielded.

The set lunch concludes with a festive staple - sticky date pudding fragrant with spices, served with a scoop of armagnac ice cream and a light drizzle of butterscotch.

End off with some coffee and petit fours - and you might well start thinking - oh the heck with the real Christmas dinner. Just have lunch instead.

Saint Pierre
#01-01 Central Mall
Tel: 6438-0887
Rating: 7.5/10

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