Impress Your Date: 5 Things To Know About Truffles
Thinking of where to bring your better half on a date in Singapore? Well, truffle season is back, and you’re in for a visual and sensory feast from now till 31 August! And instead of taking him or her cafe-hopping for truffle fries, why don’t you elevate the experience at Resorts World Sentosa?
At Syun, savour black truffles in an exquisite Japanese menu compromising fresh Hokkaido scallops, wagyu beef and more. Or discover how its distinct flavour, together with other gourmet fungi, complement the best of mod-Australian cooking at Osia Steak & Seafood Grill. And at Feng Shui Inn, you’ll marvel at the way this sought-after ingredient elevates fine Cantonese cuisine like nothing else.
And if you’re a Maybank Cardmember or RWS member, we’ll shave 20% off the food bill. Time to make a reservation, and here are five fun facts about truffles to impress your date!
What are truffles?
Well, they are edible fungi, like mushrooms. Truffles are very particular about where they grow and are generally found deep underground near the living roots of trees. The truffles featured in Osia’s limited-time menu are the Perigord black truffles from Manjimup, Western Australia, which are grown in association with hazelnut trees and oak trees. Truffles are natural, wild products which are very difficult to cultivate or control. This explains why they are so rare, and this unpredictability can lead to a high price tag.
They’re naturally occuring underground and hard to cultivate
The truffles featured in Osia’s limited-time menu are the Perigord black truffles from Manjimup, Western Australia. Truffles are very particular about where they grow and are generally found deep underground near the living roots of trees. In the case of the Manjimup ones, they are grown in association with hazelnut trees and oak trees. Truffles are natural, wild products which are very difficult to cultivate or control. This explains why they are so rare, and this unpredictability leads to the extreme prices.
Female pigs are natural truffle hunters
It’s not easy describing what truffles taste like: musky,and perhaps the gamey flavour of some mushrooms. What do they smell like? Oaky, nutty, and some may say the fresh smell of soaked earth after a rain.The scent of truffles is extremely similar to mammalian reproductive pheromones secreted by boars and humans, which explains why, with a good nose for that scent, female pigs can sniff out truffles. Unfortunately, they will dig the truffles up and gobble them down, hence dogs are preferred as assistants instead!
A rich dude paid US$330,000 for a 1.5kg truffle
Yep, the late Hong Kong casino mogul Stanley Ho bought a 1.5kg truffle for a whopping U$330,000 in 2007. The money raised during the auction went to charities like Caritas Macau, Britain’s Consortium for Street Children and Telethon in Italy.
Largest truffle in the world weighs more than 1.7kg
According to the Guinnesss World Records, the largest truffle in the world is a Tuber magnatum pico found in Italy - it weighed in at 1.786kg! The champion truffle was sold to a phone bidder from Taipei at Sotheby’s New York auction house on 6 December 2014 for US$61,250.
Truffles are said to be an aphrodisiac
You’d probably only want to mention this tidbit if the date is going well, or else you’ll end up sounding creepy. Since the time of the ancient Greeks, truffles have been known for their aphrodisiac qualities -- Napoleon was said to eat truffles for that reason!
