What It Felt Like To Dine Alone At The Fat Duck When It Was The World's Best Restaurant

Welcome to The Fat Duck. A three Michelin star and World’s Best Restaurant as voted by famed Restaurant Magazine. Hollywood A-lister Edward Norton eats here. And they refer to me as Madam here. Surprisingly, the world’s best restaurant sits inconspicuously in the middle of Bray, Berkshire, a charming little village on the banks of the River Thames, on the outskirts of London with houses frothed in flowers (I’m told Elton John owns one here). It's housed in a cottage-like building that was once a pub, and it’s so inconspicuous; a man stopped to ask me, possibly the only Singaporean in Bray that day, where The Fat Duck was. But judge not a book by its cover. Here, chef and owner Heston Blumenthal serves up what is known as molecular gastronomy — an exciting, scientific approach to cooking that breaks all traditional conventions.

On my to-do list today: to not get lost looking for the restaurant — the restaurant is infamous for not holding tables. To enjoy a meal in the World's Best Restaurant — all by myself (I was in the UK on a work trip) — and not feel awkward. And of course, snap a photo with the chef-owner of the world's #1 restaurant, Heston Blumenthal.

Almost five hours earlier, I’d nervously caught a 40 minute train ride to the town of Maidenhead from central London, then a 10 minute cab ride to Bray for my solo lunch.

And as I enter, I realise why. It’s small, with 15 tables — all occupied today for lunch. It’s simply and elegantly furnished with a fireplace and tables dressed in white. With 15 chefs slaving in the kitchen, the cuisine is super labour-intensive. Immediately, I am received by the maître d’, a thin Frenchman with a fringe like a startled chicken’s. “It’s just me,” I inform him. “Oh, you won’t be alone,” he intones. Elsewhere in the restaurant are babes in Prada and a group of prosperous looking, raucous old folk — one drops her fork and collapses into giggles.

After all that trouble it took to get here, I order the famous tasting menu, obviously. An 11-course, three-hour affair. At £97.75 (S$290), it isn’t peanuts, but visiting The Fat Duck without sampling its signature meal is like going to Champagne and ordering Coca Cola.

For my first dish, the waiter unfolds a small table and places on it a silver bucket and canister as he prepares one of the restaurant’s most famous dishes – the nitro-green tea and lime mousse. This, he informs me, “is liquid nitrogen, it is -196⁰C…” He prattles on and pours the nitrogen into the bucket. He produces a plump, pale nugget the size of a ping-pong ball and urges, “Eat it as soon as you can.” Startled, I pop the light, icy ball into my mouth. At first, it’s a bit stiff like meringue. Then, it dissipates into a citrusy cloud, an explosion of snowflakes on the tongue.

Then the waiter offers me a white chocolate disc the size of a 50-cent coin. It’s topped with caviar. “Eat it with your fingers,” he says. To my horror, it slips and I stare at the upended disc in dismay and shame. “I’ll be back,” he says and disappears. He reappears almost immediately. “Right Madam, second try!” I successfully pop it into my mouth this time — a blend of creamy cocoa butter is embraced by briny fish roe. When the lady at the next table drops her chocolate disc, I smile evilly.

Then came breakfast of cold bacon and eggs. Almost four hours had passed, but I was having so much food with the whimsical, clever, and ultimately delicious food, I'd barely noticed. Moreover, the service staff were so genial, I didn't feel self-conscious or bored at all despite being the only lone diner here today.

​​​​​​​Photo: The World's 50 Best

Towards the end of the meal, Heston emerges from the kitchen in crisp chef's whites. He is warm and radiant. "How was your meal?" he asks smilingly. This was my first experience with molecular cuisine, and it was so unforgettable, I forgot to ask him if I could take a photograph with him.

What and where:

The Fat Duck in Bray, Berkshire

What it looks like:

A 16th-century pub remodeled into a restaurant which serves experimental European cuisine.

Best reason to dine there:

You can say you ate at one of Edward Norton’s favourite restaurants.

The service there makes you feel like…

British royalty

Check your bank balance because…

its signature meal, the Tasting Menu, costs £97.75 ($290).

www.thefatduckgroup.com/restaurants/the-fat-duck/