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Madrid Fusion Manila 2015

May 10, 2015, 8:39 pm
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Andre Chiang's presentation on "fermentation" at Madrid Fusion Manila


It was a searing mid morning in tropical Manila.

Spanish chef, Elena Arzak of Arzak (No. 7 on World's 50 Best) was addressing an unusually excited audience of almost a thousand in the air-conditioned comfort of SMX Convention Centre, Manila.

Amongst the sea of people were chefs (including luminaries like Andre Chiang from Singapore and Paco Roncero from Spain), journalists, restaurateurs and foodies.

Glued to the edge of their seats, they were listening intently as the one-time Veuve Clicquot 2012 World’s Best Female Chef expounded on the concept of cuisine creativity.

Building on the same creativity theme, her compatriot, Andoni Luis Aduriz of Mugaritz (No. 6 on World’s 50 Best) was in the spotlight the next day, when he swept the audience away with his earnest take on innovation in the kitchen (“practise until it becomes a habit”).

The occasion was Madrid Fusion, a three-day gastronomic event held neither in Spain nor Mexico, but in Manila.

It was the Spanish food conference’s inaugural foray into Asia.
Why Manila

But why Manila, some may ask, and not Hong Kong, Singapore or maybe even Bangkok?

After all, even amidst a mini dining boom in the city, Manila has not been known to be a destination for globetrotting food cognoscenti.

Not until now.

In the recent 2015 edition of the San Pellegrino Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants awards published by William Reeds Business Media, Antonio’s at Tagaytay, Philippines, landed a prized No. 48 spot, a first for a Philippines-based restaurant since the inception of the regional list.

“Manila is developing by leaps and bounds,” said Lourdes Plana, director and founding partner of Madrid Fusion, “The gastronomic scene is expanding with the opening of new and very interesting restaurants and this will put the city on the world map as a new gastronomic point for consideration.”

According to Plana, Manila was the best of all the possible venues to organize the congress taking into account more than 370 years of common history, ties, cultural and culinary fusion between Spain and the Philippines.

The congress

At the congress, a cadre of Asian chefs took to the stage to share alongside their Spanish counterparts.

“Most restaurants are serving fruit juices only,” said Andre Chiang of Restaurant Andre (No. 5 on Asia's 50 Best), “How can we push the boundary on juicing?”

Chiang went on to distill the essence of the “why” and “how” of juice fermentation; at his restaurant in Singapore, juice pairing is offered as an alternative to wine pairing.

A day after, Hong Kong's bad boy “Demon Chef”, Alvin Leung of Bo Innovation (No. 28 on Asia's 50 Best), partook in the fun of “Xtreme Filipino” cuisine.

At one of several collaboration dinners held between visiting and local chefs, Leung cooked alongside Jordy Navarra from Black Sheep, a modern Filipino cuisine stronghold.

Perhaps most impactful were the sharings by local chefs  - amongst them movers and shakers of the local dining scene.

Lifting the lid on the abundance of the local bounty, Bruce Rickett of Mecha Uma showed us how Filipino produce - like Spanish mackerel and pigeon - are gracing his Japanese inflected menu.

Jose Luis “Chele” Gonzalez of Gallery Vask took the concept of local sourcing a step further with his awe-inspiring story of how he travelled the country in search of local ingredients; in the process, the Spaniard discovered not just a treasure cove of local ingredients, but also precious pockets of local culture, both seamlessly integrated into his cuisine.

That same night, Chele partnered with Aduriz on a four-hands dinner where privileged guests were treated to a parade of inspired creations.

Any discussions on Filipino cuisine is incomplete without so much as a mention on adobo, the Philippines’ national dish of braised meat cooked with vinegar, animal fat and lots of garlic, and Claude Tayag of Bale Datung tackled the topic with aplomb.

"Adobo is more a cooking process rather than a dish," said Tayag, “Every household in the Philippines has its own version of adobo.”

In her talk on “What Gives Life”, Margarita Fores of Grace Park cheekily suggested tuna sperm sac as a plausible alternative to foie gras.

Much to the amusement of the crowd, Fores also showed the audience how the local provinces integrate the udder and nipples of animals in their cooking.

Where to eat
Omakase dinner at Mecha Uma

To inform ourselves on the food scene, we braved the much-talked-about Manila traffic (it took almost an hour and a half to get to dinner) and descended on Mecha Uma at Bonifacio Global City one Friday night.

In a bijou space headlined by a 10-seat counter, head chef Bruce Ricketts presented us with plate after plate of Japanese-inflected dishes infused with the strong and punchy flavours of the Philippines.

The 10-course omakase, available only at the copper-topped counter, showcased dishes like the a la plancha firefly squid with Hokkaido uni, tapioca pearls and fermented squid resting on warm chawan mushi (steamed egg pudding).

A purveyor of fresh produce, particularly pristine seafood from Japan, the young chef tries to use local produce whenever possible, as evinced by the butter and lavender roasted aged pigeon from Batangas, Luzon, glazed with Mexican chillies that made an appearance during our visit.

 “Our approach is Japanese inspired,” said the 25-year-old Ricketts, touted as one of Manila’s hottest young chefs. “But the soul of my cuisine is Filipino, we like to season our produce with vinegar, soya sauce, patis (Filipino fish sauce) and dried fish products.”

Lobster from Sorsogon in green mung bean broth at Gallery Vask

The next night, we revisited Bonifacio Global City once again.

This time, it was to meet Manila’s most decorated chef, Jose Luis “Chele” Gonzalez, whose resume beams with a solid 10-year stint at Spain’s temples of high cuisine: Mugaritz, Arzak, El Bulli and El Cellar de Can Roca.

At his art gallery-inspired Gallery Vask, Chele celebrates the provenance of the mountains, land and coast of the Philippines with just 2 tasting menus, both of which incorporate an abundance of local ingredients that rarely showcase outside the Philippines.

Briny oysters from Aklan, Visayas, made an appearance blanketed with seeds of okra and upo (bottle gourd) while luscious lobsters from Sorsogon, Luzon, were served basking in savoury green mung bean broth studded with cashew nuts, pickled green mango and local herbs.

“Who says we do not have petit pois in the Phillippines,” said Chele as he presented a dish of melt-in-the-mouth braised beef tendons flecked with palate-cleansing chicharo seeds (snow peas) from Baguio, Luzon.

In true Filipino style, Chele’s mignardises were manifested as Filipino candies – including delicious Filipino pili nuts - served on a long wooden block that the locals use to play the traditional sungka game.

Grilled leek at Antonio's

The next morning, we took a 1.5-hour drive to Tagaytay.

Situated on the rim of the Taal Lake that surrounds Taal Volcano, Tagaytay is home toAntonio’s, the 13-year-old restaurant that recently made the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.

Residing on a sprawling 3.6 hectare site that also includes a farm, the Lanai Lounge and the residence of chef-owner, “Tony Boy” Escalante, the 150-seat colonial-style Antonio’s eschews the fancy schmancy tasting menu route in favour of well-executed European classics including a plethora of grilled steak dishes and the house Antonio’s salad prepped with home-grown arugula.

Over a 4-course set lunch on an idyllic Sunday afternoon, we tucked into a gigantic stalk of grilled leek with capers and crushed hazelnut and washed it down with a heady glass of mojito scented with fresh mint plucked on site.

While tackling the mains of roasted lamb cutlets, we learnt that the Escalante’s passion for fresh farm produce has led to the development 4 farmlands in Tagaytay.

Managed by the chef’s wife, Agnes Escalante, the farms supply a good 80% of the restaurant’s vegetable needs and their clientele now includes hotels and restaurants in Manila city.

On our way back to the hotel at Makati, our car whizzed pass the sky-piercing Discovery Primea, the tallest hotel and residential complex in the Philippines.

Opened in 2014, the striking tower is a fitting symbol for where Manila’s now-vibrant dining scene is headed. 

It may have taken this city a little longer to get to where it wants to be; slowly but surely, Manila is showing the world its culinary prowess.

Madrid Fusion Manila is possibly just the beginning.

 Mecha Uma
25th street, RCBC Savings Bank Corporate Center, Bonifacio South, Fort Bonifacio, Taguig, Metro Manila, Philppines; tel: 632 801 2770; www.mechauma.ph

Gallery Vask
5/F Clipp Center, 11th Avenue corner 39thstreet, Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, 1634 Metro Manila, Philippines; tel: 63-917 546 1673; www.galleryvask.com

Antonio’s
Purok 138, Barangay Neogan, Luksuhin-Mangas Road, Alfonso, Tagaytay City 4120, Philippines; tel: 63-918 899 2866;www.antoniosrestaurant.ph

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FYR Cycene Ond Drinc (Singapore)

May 14, 2015, 1:05 am
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FYR Cycene Ond Drinc



Think you’ve seen enough of grill bars in our little red dot? Think again, for a newly debuted Josper oven-centric restaurant and bar is out to prove that it's a value-added addition to the crowded scene.

Enter FYR Cycene Ond Drinc (“FYR”), a more-rugged-than-rustic joint at Boon Tat Street with sepia-hued wall murals and hardwood benches.

Opened in March 2015, this casual grill bar has been packing them in with a menu of modern European grill infused with the hearty flavours of South East Asia. To boot, diners needn’t dig deep into their pockets for dinner and drinks here: starters are priced at $10-$15, mains capped at $35, sharing plates for big groups at just over $50-$60 and desserts at $10. Even the booze is hard to resist with wines priced at $7.80 and cocktails at $10.

At a recent mid-week dinner, our taste buds were treated to a heady assortment of flavours, some more successful than others.

Oysters

A trio of freshly shucked oven-toasted oysters (S$15) arrived crowned with roasted garlic, paprika, spring onions, red cut chillies and a squeeze of calamansi. Admittedly the brininess of the bivalves was muted in such company but there was no doubt that the intoxicating flavors of the condiments were spot-on.

Bone marrow


Soft, wobbly and unctuous, the oven-baked half bone marrow (S$15) with Asian spices was also a winner, except that it was almost overwhelmed by the heap of veal sweetbread bits that topped the pile.

Aubergine

We were neutral towards the baked aubergine (S$15) crowned with a confusing assortment of flavours including a mound of chickpea ragout, which was itself smothered in a piquant coat of miso béchamel Parmesan sauce.


 
Maine lobster

The Maine lobster (S$35) did somewhat better. Doused in an incredibly heavy – albeit delicious - lemongrass accented béchamel sauce infused with the lobster’s own coral, it was close to impossible to taste the succulence of the lobster although if you sieve out the cloying cream sauce like a picky eater, the freshness of the crustacean will disarm you (as we discovered later, the Maine lobsters are brought in fresh 3 to 4 times a week).

Ribeye steak

The steak was the pièce de résistance. Grain-fed Holstein rib-eye steak (S$32 for 270g) was served medium rare with a choice of sauces (truffle, foie gras or tomato-cilantro, all of which were surprisingly tasty). Teamed with a mound of salad dressed in a savoury Javanese curry dressing, the generous slab of meat was a standout and great bang for buck.

Baked pistachio melt, pandan ice cream

Top off your meal with a dessert of baked pistachio melt served alongside a scoop of pandan ice cream (S$10). Not surprisingly, it arrived a tad sweet but this is totally in line with the lashings of flavours showcased here (another case in point was the ultra-sweet grilled pineapple juice enriched with honey). 

Judging from the full house at dinner, it's a recipe that resonates with the crowd.


FYR Cycene Ond Drinc | 19 Boon Tat Street | Tel: 65- 6221 3703



© Evelyn Chen 2013



















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New Menu - Fleur de Sel (Singappore)

May 22, 2015, 12:52 am
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Lobster bisque, a signature at Fleur de Sel

A year and a half after opening at Tras Street, Fleur de Sel, a French restaurant by Alexandre Lozachmeur, an alum of Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athenee, has added an array of new dishes to it's menu of French classics anchored by the now-famous lobster bisque.

Le Crabe

To start, order Le Crabe (S$27), a savoury salad of shredded French mud crab with creamy fork-mashed avocado refreshed with a dollop of dill-flecked balsamic sorbet.

Les Saint-Jacques

If you have a weakness for umami, we reckon you’ll prefer Les Saint-Jacques (S$27), succulent pan seared scallop drizzled with chicken jus alongside a slice of King oyster mushroom skirted by a fold of Parma ham and a leaf of arugula.

Slow-cooked Welsh lamb rump

For mains, we are impartial to the rather-dull slow-cooked Welsh lamb rump in rosemary lamb sauce (S$43) although we have no complaints with the accompanying garlic, green peas and carrots.

Slow-cooked Tasmanian ocean trout

The slow-cooked Tasmanian ocean trout (S$41), which cuts like butter, fares brilliantly particularly in the company of crispy trout skin and elegant dollops of cauliflower puree.

But the dessert department is the restaurant’s strongest suit (although we'd highly recommend that you survey the divine cheese board first).

Cheese board


Le Rhubarbe

Le Citron
La Rhubarbe (S$15), a mound of stewed rhubarb with marinated berries, custard cream and crumble, is a picture-perfect composition of sweetness and acidity. Le Citron (S$15) is equally riveting; the lemon custard tart, which arrives with a scoop of palate-cleansing basil sorbet and Italian meringue, has none of the “eggy” aftertaste present in run-of-the-mill lemon tarts.

Fleur De Sel Le Restaurant | 64 Tras Street #01-01 | 65-6222 6861 | www.fleurdesel.com.sg

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Osteria Art (Singapore) by Beppe De Vito

May 30, 2015, 2:54 am
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The bar at Osteria Art
The handsome dining room at Osteria Art

Beppe De Vito is on a roll.

Within weeks of opening iLido Bali in April, he’s back in his adopted hometown of Singapore for the debut of Osteria Art.

Opened since 18 May 2015, Osteria Art took over a space vacated by a canteen in Market Street.

Far from its less glamorous past, the 80-seat Italian newbie is decidedly swanky, with a buzzy bar in Italian marble and copper table lamps leading up to an elegantly masculine dining room enlivened by red leather seats and S$10,000-a-piece brass sconce.

It's a fitting scene for the Central Business District’s moneyed and power-lunching crowd.

Thankfully, an aperitif and/or a dinner here will not create a huge dent in your credit card.

Save for a few exceptions, cocktails are generally priced below S$18 and house pours from S$10 to S$18.

Food-wise, antipasti and pasta offerings are mostly in the S$20s, with mains weighing in slightly higher at S$32 to S$49 each (the suckling pig porchetta for two, priced at S$98, is bit of an outlier).

For Osteria Art, De Vito has written a fresh “libretto” that veers from the modern leaning that iLido Sentosa, which is closing in August, is known for. It trades hip for elegance, emphasizes refined classics over contemporary pizzazz.

During our dinner a week after its debut, we braved the packed bar and scored a table to sample some of De Vito’s menu pickings.

Grilled baby romaine with bottarga


Grilled baby romaine lettuce (S$20) from the antipasti menu arrived gently scorched and slathered in a light but savoury Caesar-inspired dressing enriched with barely-there shaved bottarga. It wasn’t a complicated dish but the layering of smoky flavour with hints of bottarga umami made this a highlight.

Porcini mushroom flan

The creamy and savoury porcini mushroom flan (S$22) was another standout. Served moated in a pool of thick leek veloute, the earthy parcel of joy was made complete with a generous shower of Umbrian truffle shavings.

The pasta dishes also demonstrated a level of finesse.

Spaghetti, ostopus, nduja


Spaghetti with octopus and nduja (S$28) was served nicely al dente with a transfixing depth of flavour and just enough heat to keep things exciting (thankfully it wasn’t tear-jerking).

Beef agnolotti


The homemade beef agnolotti (S$28) was equally delicious - the Piedmont specialty has its place in the menu to “move” leftover meats but don’t pass on the opportunity to savour it. Served in roasted beef jus with lashings of truffle shavings, the delicate pasta "dumplings" gave way to the soft and somewhat mushy ooze of the ground beef within.

Oso Bucco

For mains, you can’t go wrong with the Milanese standard of oso bucco garnished with gremolata and potato puree (S$38). The braised veal shank arrived all saucy and fork tender but it wasn’t exceptional. We wouldn’t re-order it on our next trip.

Black cod cacciucco with scampi

The black cod cacciucco with scampi (S$32), a fish stew dish native to Tuscany and Liguria, on the other hand, was first rate. Basking gloriously in a robust – but skimpy – broth were pieces of sautéed Canadian black cod, each cooked a la minute and topped with the sweetest shelf-off scampi.

Bollito misto soup with bone marrow

If there’s anything on the menu that required tweaking, it was the starter of bollito misto broth with bone marrow crostino (S$23). A classic northern Italian stew cooked with various cuts of different meats including beef and chicken in vegetable broth, the dish sounded promising on paper. But much to our chagrin, the skimmed and strained clear consommé arrived a tad weak, the blobs of bone marrow under-seasoned and the crostino frail, if under-toasted.

Coffee chocolate profiterole

Olive oil cake with Amalfi coast lemon sorbet

The desserts fared better. Chocolate lovers would appreciate the coffee and chocolate profiterole (S$12) given its strong cocoa skew. The olive oil cake with amalfi coast lemon sorbet (S$15) stood out for the amazingly refreshing sorbet although we’ve had more divine olive oil cakes elsewhere.

We applaud De Vito’s latest CBD outing, it’s a valid attempt at plugging a gaping hole for affordable yet refined Italian fare in the financial district. With a 500 label-strong wine list, a la carte-only offerings plus an incredibly affordable S$32++ set lunch deal, it appeals to both the expense account types and shoestring lunch crowd. Plus, it has a bar that actually pulsates. What’s not to like?

If you want to know what success smells like, come over and watch De Vito in action before he gets busy with his iconic new concept at the soon-to-open National Gallery.

Osteria Art | 55 Market Street | Singapore 048 941 | www.osteriaart.com
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Where to eat in Georgetown, Penang

June 24, 2015, 7:58 am
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Penang's buzzy street food scene

Georgetown, the capital city of Penang, has been on our travel radar since it was conferred the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site status in 2008.

Its street food scene ranks amongst the most vibrant we’ve seen. While many pushcart hawkers continue to flourish on the streets, some ply their trade in kopitiams (coffee shops) while yet others are tucked away awkwardly into narrow alleys in between decrepit shop houses. Apart from its much touted street food, a clutch of age-old eateries continue to thrive behind the façade of peeling paint and mouldy walls, fielding tze char-style favourites to Penangites and tourists alike.

Of late, a cadre of hoteliers has developed a clutch of charming boutique hotels to cater to visiting foodies with a discerning taste in accommodation. Set in carefully restored heritage buildings, many of these lodgings are centrally located and serve as a perfect base to explore Georgetown’s buzzy street food scene on foot.

We were compelled to make a trip to Penang when the Malaysian Ringit plunged to a new low against the Singapore Dollar recently. Unlike the United Kingdom where everything costs two times more, Penang was a steal at 2.75RM per S$1.

We were not planning on writing a piece on where to eat in Penang before we left town, as such we did not take notes on prices but bear in mind that while prices are affordable based on current conversion, they are by no means cheap to locals. A plate of char kway teow costs about RM7.50 to 9 while a meal for four at a tze char-style restaurant will cost upwards of RM80.

Whilst planning our Penang food jaunts, we plotted all the outlets we wanted to visit on Google Map (Penang) and assigned where we wanted to cover daily based on how far these outlets were from our base camp, i.e. the hotel.


The charming Jalan Muntri neighbourhood

We stayed at the heritage Jalan Muntri neighbourhood this trip. It's a quietly charming street dotted with numerous accommodation options (from dorms and hostels to luxury boutique hotels) smack bang in the heart of Georgetown. From here, we walked to most food outlets. The heat proved blistering (therefore you would need a huge hat and a bottle of water) but we wouldn't do it any other way.

A number of food recommendations are only accessibly by cab or private car (with driver). Schedule about half a day to explore these out-of-central options by car so that you can cover them all in one fell scoop.

To properly comb Penang’s rich hawker heritage, you would need to schedule about 4 days (3 nights) in Penang. We stayed for 5 nights and managed to re-visit places we love.

Tua Pui Curry Mee

1. Curry mee
Judging by the number of curry mee options we’ve seen around Georgetown, this fiery bowl of noodles served with a mélange of coagulated pork blood cubes, cuttlefish strips, fresh cockles and peppermint leaves appears to be a local staple. We did not survey many curry mee options this trip but the one that we’ve visited, we’d highly recommend: Tua Pui Curry Mee (23, Lebuh Kimerley, 10100, Georgetown; 9am to 5.30pm; closed on Wednesdays). My Penangite friend, however, suggested an alternative at a nameless road side curry mee stall along Lebuh Chulia (in front of Regent Furnishing Sdn Bhd at 281 & 283 Lebuh Chulia, 10200, Georgetown; 6.30pm to 12.30am; no info on rest days), which we did not get to sample.


Mr Poh's Duck Kway Chap

2. Duck kway chap
In Penang, kway chap is served with oodles of flat noodles basking in a robust and rich braised duck broth studded with shredded duck meat and pig innards (skin, blood, belly and intestines). For the best, look no further than Mr Poh’s Duck Kuay Chap (Restoran Kimberly, 137 Lebuh Kimberley; 6.35pm to 11pm; closed on Thursdays). Here, every mouthful of the velvety flat noodles accompanied by slices of the accompanying goodies was a cholesterol-busting delight. Note that this stall operates only at night and is located on the same stretch as Tua Pui Curry Mee.

No-name wanton mee stall along Lebuh Chulia (in front of Regent Furnishing)
 3. Wanton mee
Wanton mee stalls are a dime and a dozen in Penang. Our favourite was the nameless street side wanton mee stall along Lebuh Chulia(in front of Regent Furnishing Sdn Bhd at 281 & 283 Lebuh Chulia, 10200, Georgetown; 6.30pm to 12.30am; no info on rest days). The Malaysian stlye wanton noodles were perfectly springy and served with char siew slices in a shallow pool of both beaming with the savouriness of soya sauce. If, for whatever reasons, you’re unable to get to this, skip over – literally next door - to the wanton mee stall in kopitiam Kedai Kopi Sai Lam(junction of Lebuh Chulia and Lebuh Carnavon; 5pm to midnight; no info on rest day) – the beef soup mee here is nothing to shout about but the wanton mee is not too shabby.

Pasar Air Itam Laksa
4. Assam laksa
Assam laksa is probably Penang’s most-talked-about hawker food, think thick rice noodles served in a punchy mackerel based brew topped with a scoop of pungent shrimp paste. For a quick and easy fix, swing over to Joo Hooi Café (475, Jalan Penang, on the corner of Lebuh Keng Kwee; 11:30am – 5pm; daily), a kopitiam also served by various hawkers including an excellent Teochew-style chendol stall and a not-too-delicious char kway teow stall. If you want to try the best assam laksa the city has to offer, catch a cab or hire a car with a driver (about RM40 to RM45 per hour) to cover a handful of far-flung hawker stalls starting with Pasar Air Itam Laksa (Jalan Pasar, 11500, Penang; 11.30am to 8pm; daily). Located along the street next to Air Itam market (about 30 minutes by car from our hotel in Georgetown), this hugely popular stall by Mr Wang - and his sons - has been dishing out the city’s most popular assam laksa for 62 years.

Ah Leng Chair Kway Teow
5. Char Kway Teow
When we first arrived, we were hungry for char kway teow but the one at Joo Hooi Café failed to lift our spirits. So when we had a hired car, we asked the uncle to drive us to Ah Leng Char Kway Teow (Restoran Tong Hooi, opp Kafe Khoon Hiang, Jalan Dato Keramat, Kampung Makam, 10150 Pulau Pinang; 8.30am to 2.30pm; closed on Thursday). If you have time on your hands and do not mind waiting in a queue for an hour or so, go further to Siam Road Char Kway Teow (Siam Road, off Jalan Anson, 10400 George Town; 3pm to 7pm). Reputed to be one of the best in Penang, the uncle from this stall apparently fries the char kway teow over a charcoal stove and serves it with duck eggs. We’ve made a mental note to visit this one for our next trip.

Lam Ah Coffee Shop's Beef Koay Teow

6.  Beef kway teow
When we tried the beef koay teow at Lam Ah Coffee Shop (Opposite Beach Road Fire Station, Beach Street at the junction where it meets Chulia Street, George Town; 9 am - 3 pm; close on Sundays and Public Holidays), we knew we’ve found the holy grail of beef koay teow. Manned by a fresh-faced young lady, the beef koay teow at this centrally located stall (just a heart beat from the wall murals at Armenian Street) boasts velvety flat noodles basking in a clean and sweet broth spiked with nothing more than garlic oil and your pick of beef parts (fresh beef slices, balls, tripe, tendons and stomach). After tasting Lam Ah, we decided not to pursue the far-flung, nameless beef kway teow stall (Jalan Tan Sri Teh Hwe Lim, 11600, Penang, same row as Lam Wah Ee hospital and right next to Eve bakery, the name of the hawker center is New B Garden Café; 4:30pm to 11:00pm; closed on alternate Thursdays), located a good 30 minutes from our hotel by car.

Lam Ah Coffee Shop's Orh Luak
7. Orh luak (oyster omelette)
We ordered orh luak several times in Georgetown and hit the jackpot at Lam Ah Coffee Shop(Opposite Beach Road Fire Station, Beach Street at the junction where it meets Chulia Street, George Town; 9 am - 3 pm; close on Sundays and Public Holidays). We wanted a snack while waiting for the beef koay teow to be served and had this oyster omelette. It turned out to be one of the best on-the-spur-of-the-moment decisions. The orh luak here is crisp, fluffed-up and not quite as starchy as most run of the mill options. If you love orh luak, this stall is definitely worth a detour.

Ah Soon Kor Har Mee
8.  Penang prawn noodles
When we hired a car with driver, Ah Soon Kor Har Mee (prawn noodles) was one of the featured destinations. However, after circling Jalan Macalister for about 20 minutes with no sign of this famed prawn noodle stall, it became apparent to us that it must have moved. After asking around, we discovered that Ah Soon Kor Har Mee has moved into a kopitiam at a new location (80 Jalan Perak, 10450, Penang, near Tua Pek Kong Temple; 7am to 7pm; daily). We were undaunted and hunted it down in 20 minutes, and were duly rewarded with a heart-warming bowl of sweet-and-savoury - someone oily - prawn noodles soup that arrived chock-a-block with roasted pork, deep-fried mantis prawns, shrimps and a hard boiled egg. Pity the empty kopi tiam; Ah Soon Kor needs to get the word out about his new venue.

Aunty Gaik Lean's stir-fried assam prawns

 
Kebaya's chicken kapitan



 7. Peranakan food
Peranakan cuisine is fairly common in Penang although you’ll come to notice that the Penangite menu is quite different to what we are familiar with in Singapore. In Penang, you’ll be hard pressed to find ayam buah keluak on the Peranakan menu although chicken kapitan, a dish that we are less familiar with, features rather heavily. There are numerous Peranakan dining options in Penang; if you ask around, most would recommend Ivy’s Peranakan Kitchen (58, Jalan Chow Thye, 10250; 12noon-3pm, 6pm-9pm; closed on 1st and 3rd Monday of the month), which we did not have time to visit. A Penangite friend recommended Aunty Gaik Lean Nyonya food (1 Lebuh Bishop, Penang, 10300); 11am - 2.30pm & 6pm - 9.30pm; closed on Sundays) instead. Located not far from the Little India community (about a 15-20 minute walk from our hotel), this 2-year-old eatery by a restaurateur who used to operate in Kuala Lumpur, fields handsome Peranakan dishes like stir-fried assam prawns, sambal brinjal as well as excellent salads like the fiddlehead fern kerabu. If you yearn for Peranakan food served in a refined setting, look no more than Kebayaat the Straits Chinese-inspired boutique hotel, Seven Terraces (Lorong Stewart, 10200 Pulau Pinang; dinner only 6pm to 10pm; daily), but don’t come here expecting classics. Kebaya specializes in reinvented Straits Chinese cuisine prepped with western techniques (think sous-vide organic roasted pork and grilled chicken kapitan) and occasional Indo-Chinese influences (think prawn geng and grilled chao tom). Unless you are a hotel guest, you would have to settle for a prix fixe 4 course menu(RM120 per person). Whilst you’re at it, don’t miss the cocktails at the adjoining Kebaya and Baba Bar, it’s reputedly one of the sexiest bars in town.

Tek Sen's steamed clams with garlic and fermented bean paste

8. Tze Char
If you have time for just one tze char meal in Penang, make it the most iconic one: Tek Sen Restaurant (18 Lebuh Carnarvon, 10100 Georgetown; 12 noon till 2.30pm, 5.30pm till 9pm; closed on Tuesdays), which started life as a rice stall in 1965. Order the twice-cooked candied pork belly, sambal kang kong and steamed clams with garlic and fermented bean paste. Come latest by 6pm if you do not want to join the queue. If you have time for another tze char experience, go to 69-year-old Hainan institution, Sin Kheang Aun Restaurant (2 Lebuh Chulia, Georgetown; 11am to 2.30pm, 5pm to 8.30pm) that serves home-styled Hainanese dishes without a menu and in pared down surrounds. The food here boasts gentle flavours and does not bear the fiery wok-hei of Tek Seng. Still, it’s a gem; come for lunch as it closes early for dinner.


Follow the sign on the left to get to the alley where Line Clear Nasi Kandar operates
Line Clear's nasi kandar

9. Nasi kandar
If you have a penchant for nasi padang in Penang, head to Nasi Kandar Line Clear (177 Jalan Penang, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia; open everyday for 24 hours a day) for Penang-style nasi kandar, plain rice or biryani doused in curry and served with your selection of sides like fried chicken, curry fish head and vegetables). Note that Line Clear is tucked away in a “hidden” alley in between shop houses; do not make the mistake of walking into its next-door, housed-in-a-coffee-shop nasi kandar neighbor. Look here (http://www.penang.ws/dining/5-best-nasi-kandar.htm) for more nasi kandar options in Penang.

10. Tau sar peah
Just a few meters from Line Clear, you will see a 2-unit shop house retailing Ban Heang tau sar peah (and other goodies). Be sure to grab a few boxes back home to give away to friends and relatives. Better yet, savour some while you’re in Penang, nothing beats eating this sweet and savoury pastry fresh. We don’t have the address of this outlet as we chanced upon it whilst searching for Line Clear.


Afternoon tea at 1855, E&O Hotel

11. Afternoon tea
People say that to experience Penang is to enjoy an English afternoon tea at 1855 in the iconic E&O Hotel (10, Lebuh Farquhar, 10200 Georgetown; 2pm to 5pm; daily). Bear in mind that this experience does not come cheap, you pay about RM65 for a limited serving of scones, open-faced sandwiches and a number of fanciful tartlets. If you have time for just 1 afternoon tea, we’d much prefer you go Peranakan at Moh Teng Pheow Nyonya Kuih (off 10200, Chulia Street Night Hawker Stalls, Lorong Chulia, Georgetown, 10450; 10 am to 5 pm; closed on Mondays). Hunting down this entrance-less joint is truly laborious but the discovery of the parade of not-too-sweet nonya kuehs - like sri muka, rempah udang – and the utterly delicious nasi ulam more than makes up for the chore.

Whilst researching on where to eat in Penang, we referred to the following resources: Miss Tam Chiak, Ken Hunts FoodandTime Out Penang, with additional consulting from my Penangite friend, Tzekomah.


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HAN Cuisine of Naniwa (Singapore) introduces oden

June 30, 2015, 11:32 pm
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The oden counter at Han (Singapore)

Three years after entrenching itself as the kushikatsu restaurant of choice in Singapore, Han is out to groom a sophisticated set of audience for fine-dining oden.

Typically a Japanese street food comprising ingredients – like daikon, fishcakes and beancurd – that are first steamed, fried or boiled before being simmered and served in soya sauce-flavoured dashi, oden undergoes a mini facelift of sorts at Han, all in the name of refinement.

Under the stewardship of executive chef, Seiichiro Arakawa, an alum of kaiseki powerhouse Kitcho (Kyoto), oden is served in individual courses by the hinoki wood counter previously dedicated to sashimi service. To wit, Arakawa’s Kansai-style oden uses a more delicate white shoyu – instead of light shoyu - in his dashi preparation. The resulting consommé distills a clearer, more refined broth heightened with umami, elevating the ingredient that it’s wedded with into the realm of deliciousness.

If you’re picky, select from a concise a la carte menu of about 15 different types of oden cooked in an oden pot that now anchors the oden counter. If you’re not, let the chef decide with the Osaka oden omakase menu (S$120++) – apart from 12 different types of oden, you’ll be served an appetizer, 2 palate cleansers, a choice of udon or ochazuke and a dessert.

If you prefer variety, the Osaka oden kaiseki menu (S$160++) may just be your ticket.

The appetizer course

Like the omakase menu, the kaiseki menu starts with an appetizer.  During our visit, it was a trio of finger food (crabmeat with egg, pickled katsuo (bonito) and anago) that was more artsy than delicious.

The sashimi course

Then a mandatory serving of sashimi (akami, hirame, kampachi and hamo) – our favourite was the hamo.

This was succeeded by a rather extensive oden course, a parade of 7 individually served simmered dish, each cooked simply and served basking in a shallow pool of deeply savoury yet clean-tasting dashi consommé.

Shrimp cake oden

There was a mound of shrimp cake, first steamed then gently simmered and served with a smidgeon of yuzu kosho (chilli pepper and yuzu zest paste).

Also steamed daikon, a highlight at dinner, served with the refreshing zest of yuzu and a dollop of sweet and full-bodied saikyo shiromiso.

Pork belly ankake oden

If we have to pick favourites, it would be the concluding oden dish of pork belly. First boiled with ginger, garlic and spring onion, then cut into cubes and simmered in dashi, the pork belly was served in a gloriously silky ankake sauce prepped from the simmering liquid. It was all good although, admittedly, the meat was a tad tough.

On the downside, the ball of steamed sardine with horse mackerel topped with chopped spring onions arrived with a distinct pungent undertone that even ginger and the accompanying yuzu kosho failed to buffer.

Palate cleansers

Instead of the usual sorbet-type palate cleansers, Arakawa presented a refreshing perspective of water eggplant (apparently available in Osaka for only 2 months each year) and Amera tomato. The sheerness of the ingredients spoke for themselves, and they cleansed the palate with such aplomb that we almost asked for seconds.

 
Grilled tilefish

The effect of the palate cleanser was curbed with the ensuing dish of saikyo shiro miso-marinated grilled tilefish, which brought on an onslaught of sweet, savoury and somewhat smoky flavours.

Kushikatsu course

As if to remind us that we were in a kushikatsu-ya, the kushikatsu course arrived – a trio of skewered, battered and deep-fried delights of angel prawn, scallop and Japanese “siew mai” (chopped onion-flecked minced pork). Admittedly we were taken with the “siew mai” but the other sticks were just decent compared to the ones we savoured previously. Perhaps it was because we were seated at the kushikatsu counter then, when the skewers were served fresh hot off the cauldron.

Ochazuke

Any traces of disappointment were swept away with the arrival of the ensuing carb dish. We picked ochazuke with a choice of wasabi (other options included plum or seaweed) over udon, and were rewarded with a bowl of white sesame-flecked rice steeped in dashi gently perfumed with wasabi.

Matcha monaka
The same understated theme continued with the dessert -matcha ice cream sandwiched in monaka (wafer “biscuit” with azuki bean jam), a perfect statement for Han’s underlying zen theme.

Notwithstanding the somewhat inconsistent kushikatsu experience, our oden kaiseki menu at Han was for the most part delightful. The sheer brilliance of Arakawa’s dashi has added a much-needed refinement to a cuisine that’s often pitched as street food in Japan. Indeed, for the fine dining oden-ya that it set out to be, Han will do well to incorporate even more exciting seafood or vegetables options into its oden menu. Then, it will be set far apart from its street food brethren.


Han | #01-04 Odeon Towers, 331 North Bridge Road | 65-6336 2466 | www.han.com.sg


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Soi 60 (Singapore)

July 13, 2015, 2:01 am
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Soi 60 at Robertson Quay
 
Named for its address at 60 Robertson Quay, one-year-old Soi 60 appears, at first glance, to be one of many casual joints serving food, mediocre or otherwise, catered to the neighbourhood’s al fresco-loving expat community.

Tables and chairs strewed long the pavement that overlooks the Singapore River; upbeat music booming in the background; a dim, spot-lit space with colour-mismatched chairs and a bar boasting a backlit turquoise stand; plus the absence of distinctly-Thai artefacts all make for an impression that is far from Thai-inspired.

With this setting as the backdrop, we really don’t blame the clutch of patrons who order nothing more than a mug of beer and brazenly use the space to engage in work (laptop) or play (mobile device).

But we suggest that you look well beyond the absence of Thai aesthetics. For when you inspect the menu, you will see the rush of Thai influences. If you sample the food, you will discover somewhat off-centre Thai fare that’s sometimes unconventional. And if you ask for the chef, you will meet a 27-year-old Bangkok native, Nam Pongpanich (“Nam”), who has more than Thai street food cred, having graduated from the Culinary Institute of America (New York) and done stints at Daniel Boulud’s outlets in New York and Singapore.

During our dinner on a recent weekday night, Nam fielded a clutch of her signature dishes that demonstrated her flair at matching remotely different ingredients to yield a mostly delicious contemporary cuisine that stays true to the Thai palate.

Crab betel leaves

Crab betel leaves (S$14 for 4 pieces), shreds of blue swimmer crab teamed with chopped peanuts, coriander and coconut, were an unexpected yet successful counterpoint to the subtly bitter note of the glossy betel leaves that cradled the crustacean salad.

Salmon tartare

Salmon tartare (S$14), while not uncommon, was refreshed with lime, coriander and chillies for that distinctive Thai-pizzazz. Better yet, scoop a smidgen of it onto a piece of prawn cracker (served on the side) and savour the unfolding of flavours and textures.

Crispy duck pancake

Duck and lychee - unlikely bedfellows, you think? Nam paired them immaculately with onions and basil in a wrap-like pancake (S$12), delivering sweetness, savouriness, spiciness and a whisper of refreshment in every bite. The accompanying reduced black vinegar dip provided a – surprisingly - nice kick of acidity

Iberico pork

For mains, the slow-cooked Thai spice-crusted Iberico pork (S$26) accompanied by a heady tamarind dip was a show-stealer. The iberico pork was first dry rubbed with a mélange of spices including coriander, black pepper and chilli, then slow-baked for 3 hours until the aroma of the spices totally permeated the meat. The full-on-flavour pork proved to be somewhat tear jerking but even if we had to choke back tears, we would re-order it. And the delicious pile of pickled ginger and young garlic salad served on the side, this could well be a dish on its own to be devoured on clean-eating days.

Lamb massaman

We were less enthusiastic about the lamb massaman (S$26), a straight off Thai recipe with bone-in lamb that was aptly fall-off-the-bone tender. The curry was, however, lacking in robustness although it did not fall short in the "richness" department while the potatoes offered enough resistance to give the jaw an unwelcomed workout.

 
Coconut chicken salad

If you try to seek solace in the coconut chicken salad (S$16), you wouldn’t find comfort in the shreds of bare-tasting chicken tossed with toasted sunflower seeds, pomegranate seeds and pea sprouts. To add insult to injury, the “spicy” coconut dressing arrived dull, with nary a hint of spice nor flavour.

The desserts brought somewhat better tidings.

Black sticky rice

Instead of the classic mango sticky rice, Nam melded a few classics and presented it as black sticky rice (S$10), coconut cream-doused black glutinous rice crowned with a slab of fresh mango. You will like it if you were not expecting the expected (i.e. mango sticky rice).

Butterfly pea tapioca

If you enjoy sago, try the butterfly pea tapioca (S$10), clumps of butterfly pea-tinted sago pearls with young coconut shavings, so-tough-it-was-impossible-to-chew dehydrated pineapple and a dollop of refreshing pineapple sorbet.

Notwithstanding the few lows, Soi 60 is a worthy contender in the sparsely populated contemporary Thai space. If only more patrons would come here for the food, a budding mod. Thai chef is lurking in the kitchen just waiting to be discovered.



Soi 60 | 60 Robertson Quay #01-04 The Quayside | 65-6635 6675 | www.soi60.com.sg



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Corner House (Singapore) by Jason Tan - SG50 and First Anniversary menu

July 20, 2015, 6:47 am
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Corner House

To commemorate special occasions, some chefs write cookbooks, yet others resort to throwing parties. Thankfully for diners who rather eat than read or revel in merrymaking, chef Jason Tan of Corner House has chosen a path less travelled.

In celebration of the restaurant’s first anniversary and the nation’s 50th year of independence, the 32-year-old chef is introducing an 8-course special menu (S$248++). Available for a limited-time only, from 23 July to end August 2015, each course of the menu charts the major milestones in Tan’s career – from the time he toed the F&B industry to his current role as chef patron of Corner House – and ties them to a different chapter in the city’s foodie history.

Snacks -"yu sheng" fish cracker

Ratte potato "begedil"

Cucumber sphere

To start, Tan tickles your palate with a parade of Singapore-inspired snacks. A smidgeon of yellowtail “yu sheng” on a undulating sheet of fish cracker to pay tribute to the Singapore-style raw fish salad eaten during Chinese New Year. Then, drawing inspiration from the popular Malay snack of begedil (deep fried potato patty), a crème fraiche-crowned patty of fried ratte potato. And to invigorate the palate, a ball of mustard seeds-flecked cucumber sphere packed with the exhilarating pickling liquid of achar (South East Asian pickled vegetables/fruits).

"Remembering Oyster Omelette"
“Remembering Oyster Omelette” is Tan’s nod to “orh luak” (oyster omelette), a Hokkien Chinese-style street food of oysters and egg batter that grew in popularity during Singapore’s pre-independence days. Tan re-interprets this with aplomb as plump, deep-fried battered Royale oysters served alongside a gloriously sous-vide egg resting on vegetable emulsion. To match it to its fine dining surrounds, the chef crowns it off with blades of nasturtium and oyster leaves, a scatter of burnt leeks for a deep smoky depth and a dollop of Chinese Kristal caviar for good measure. Even with the extra ingredients, the “orh luak” flavours are unmistakable. Delicious.

"How Pizza Changed My Life"

The advent of the 1970s brought with it the deluge of American fast food chains. “How Pizza Changed My Life” is Tan's interpretation of how he was awed by the “magic” of melding flour, water and eggs when, at the age of 15, he was working as a dishwasher and kitchen help in an Italian eatery. With a pool of mozzarella cheese-encased yeast emulsion serving as the “dough” and toppings of tomato confit, basil leaves and a clump of burrata, this may not be your well-loved thin crust pizza, but it encapsulates the ingredients and flavour profile of one brilliantly.

"At Picnic With Wagyu Beef Parmentier"

Hot on the heels of the opening of Singapore’s first air-conditioned food court, Scotts Picnic, in 1982, similar food courts began to flourish. For his commemorative menu, Tan pays tribute to the then famed Scotts Beef Noodles with “At Picnic With Wagyu Beef Parmentier.” Featuring folds of torched Toriyama wagyu flanked by little tubes of rigatoni pasta parmentier (pasta stuffed with chopped wagyu) – instead of noodles - in a shallow bath of east meets west beef broth spiked with pickled vegetables, the dish offers beefy refinement sans the thick gravy and beef balls that we’ve come to associate with the noodle dish. It’s positively different and a definite highlight of the tasting menu.

"To My Mentor, Monsieur Bompard"

In the dizzying rise of French fine dining that characterized Singapore’s gastronomic landscape in the 1990s, Tan’s passion for French fare took him to the city’s best kitchens. From Les Amis, Le Saint Julien and Sky on 57 (where he was executive chef until March 2014) to Joel Robuchon Au Dome in Macau, Tan has quietly learnt the ropes. “To My Mentor, Monsieur Bompard” is Tan’s way of paying homage to his mentor, Sir Julien Bompard, with the latter’s famed lobster bisque recipe. True to its reputation, the crotons-studded bisque is as creamy, sweet and robust as it should be.

"Seeing Green with Alain Passard"

Proceeding to the 2000s when gastronomic events thrived in tandem with the city’s growing affluence, Tan recalls his 2005 encounter with French culinary luminary, Alain Passard, who had then just announced his decision to remove red meat from the menu. Inspired by Passard’s brilliance with vegetables, Tan endeavours to express the same dexterity with vegetables in “Seeing Green with Alain Passard.” Slow roasted French beetroot topped with candied almonds are teamed with beetroot tartare and wafer thin slices of black radish. Served alongside a disc of confited Cevennes onion blanketed with Manjimup black truffle shavings, it's an indulgent vegetable dish although it’s not quite the more robust Passard style that we know.

"Hitting The Sky With Franco-Asian"

The debut of the Integrated Resorts in 2010 marked a turning point for Singapore’s dining scene; almost overnight, the city became a hotbed for big name chefs like Joel Robuchon and Tetsuya Wakuda. In the same year, Tan scored a position as head chef in the kitchen of Justin Quek’s Sky on 57. His dish, “Hitting The Sky With Franco-Asian,” features Western-style grilled halibut and Asian-style wok-fried squid with trumbetta zucchini in a Quek-inspired aged shaoxing wine sauce. The deep and mellow sauce is exceptional and one that demands an encore. Hopefully it’s not the last we’ll see of it.

"My Singapore Turns 50"

As Singapore turns 50 this year, Tan’s celebrates this achievement with “My Singapore Turns 50,” a dish aptly comprising ingredients – like duck, rice, sweet potato, ginger and pandan - used by all races in the city to signify racial harmony. In this dish, the duck is first brined, cooked in via sous vide, then pan-seared and served in a pool of soya ginger broth with pandan-flavoured basmati rice and a dollop of sweet potato puree. We can't fault its execution but save for the perfectly executed crispy duck skin, the dish is not entirely memorable.
 
"My Corner Of The World"

But the concluding dessert, “My Corner Of The World” brings the tasting menu back to par. Tan’s personal ode to his restaurant’s first anniversary sees the creation of a durian dessert which – to some - may taste better than durian itself. A generous scoop of durian emulsion is matched with coffee ice cream, filo pastry, a parcel of bread and butter pudding and finished with evaporated milk – a perfect balance of sweet, bitter, cream, crisp and soggy. It’s delicious to most who eat durians but to those who don’t, it can be life changing in a positive way.

Writing this review feels very much like writing a thesis of Tan’s life-kitchen journey, each milestone represented by a dish in the tasting menu. If reading it makes you think that Tan can really tell a story, a dinner here will show you that this chef can really cook.

Even if you are unable to jump on this SG50 boat-Anniversary boat, Tan’s gastro-botanica menu is well worth a trip to Corner House.


Corner House | E J H Corner House, Singapore Botanic Gardens, 1 Cluny Road | 65-6469 1000 | www.cornerhouse.com.sg


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Cure by Andrew Walsh (Singapore)

July 24, 2015, 9:19 am
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Cure by Andrew Walsh

The bistronomy movement has taken cities like London and Paris by storm but in Singapore, the seats are just warming up with Sorrel’s debut six months back and Cure making its much-anticipated entry at Keong Saik Road last week.

Andrew Walsh


The rationale for the anticipation is simple. Former Esquina head chef, Andrew Walsh, has washed his hands off small plates and traded them for ‘haute’ but affordable tasting menus that put the spotlight on seasonal ingredients – predominantly British and Irish produce.

If this brings to mind fine dining, Cure’s quietly austere shop house setting actually looks the part, think a gorgeous – albeit minimally embellished - interior with charcoal grey walls adorned with enormous planks of grey canvases.

Probe further and the menu will show you otherwise.

On weekday nights, Walsh fields a monthly-changing 4-course tasting menu priced at S$95++ and on weekend nights, it’s 5 courses at S$110++. A vegetarian tasting menu is also available upon request.

Like the fine diners, Walsh is generous with the extras like snacks, a complimentary pre-dessert and petit fours.

A trio of snacks

During our visit, snacks appeared as a trio of pop-in-the-mouth delights - Galway Bay oyster paired with British beef tartare on a blade of oyster leaf, chicken skin teriyaki with pickled ginger and a morsel of croquette that burst forth with the sweetness of sweet corn.

Bread service with fermented cabbage and the dangerously addictive bacon butter

Bread service, which arrived with fermented cabbage and bacon butter (both cabbage and bacon are staples in the Irish diet), was equally - if not more - impressive. Of note was the dangerously addictive house whipped butter with rendered bacon, which was begging for multiple top-ups of the breadbasket.

Walsh’s bistronomy cuisine is produce driven. It is evident from his plating, which puts the spotlight on no more than 3 to 4 key ingredients at any one time.

Asparagus, buckwheat, Comte, ricotta

During our visit in July, spears and shavings of lightly poached asparagus were teamed with a quenelle of house made ricotta, pearls of toasted buckwheat and Comte mousse for a light, smoky and creamy finish.

Scottish scallops, duck ham, kohlrabi, English peas

Scottish scallops were served two-ways – grilled and raw – with house cured duck ham, folds of thinly sliced kohlrabi and balls of uncooked English peas. It was a good dish but not perfect. Much as we loved the sheerness of the ingredients, the dish could benefit from some hydration, be it a drizzle of olive oil or a dash of light dressing.

Lobster colcannon

For mains, there was a choice of leek ash dusted French quail with leg kiev or mackerel with carrots in a Japanese inspired sesame dressing infused with soya. Both were positively decent but overshadowed by an off-menu lobster-inspired colcannon dish that Walsh serves exclusively at the chef’s table (chef’s table is priced S$150-$180 per head including Champagne and caviar).

The chef’s take on colcannon, a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes with kale (available on the vegetarian menu), arrived as ratte potato puree deftly matched with a petite but plump hunk of lobster poached in its own “milk” (roasted herbed lobster shell infused with milk and buttermilk). Served in a shallow bath of chervil oil alongside a dollop of deliciously pungent horseradish yoghurt, the dish was beyond reproach. If we had a choice, this would replace either the French quail or mackerel on the set menu.

"Strawberry and cream"

Trailing not far behind was the dessert of “strawberry and cream” – yoghurt, strawberries, fennel granita, dehydrated milk skin and shortbread – a perfect balance of sweetness and creaminess, with a gentle buffer of acidity. Best of all, it wasn’t overly fancy.

On the whole, we love Cure.

We adore upscale dining without the hefty price tag; we love how the dishes flirt with British/Irish ingredients and traditions while bringing something a little new to the dining scene; and we love that Walsh is personally steering the kitchen and serving the diners.

But the rave is not without reservation. Admittedly, it’s still early days and the restaurant is still coming to grips with its first few weeks of operation but there are minor tweaks – be it the right dressing or simply a lick of char on the protein - that will propel some of the dishes from “decent” to “good for a return trip” or even “worthy of a detour”.

With Walsh’s strong track record, it’s an easy fix.

That said, we'll be back to savour Walsh's wider repertoire of ingredients in his new menu in the coming weeks. 

Can't wait.

 
Cure | 21 Keong Saik Road | 65-221 2189  | www.curesingapore.com



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Chef Kang’s (Singapore)

July 27, 2015, 10:04 pm
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Chef Kang's at Mackenzie Road


If the newly opened Chef Kang’s does not ring a bell, try dipping into you foodie databank for Cantonese chef, Ang Song Kang, who once held the reins at Lei Garden. Still nothing? What about Canton Wok or Canton Recipes House, both defunct establishments where Kang once helmed?

If all these draw a blank, fret not. If not for anything, it’s because Kang’s eateries were lurking in the forgotten corners of Havelock Road, Serangoon North, Joo Chiat or Albert Street.

But city dwellers can now rejoice.

Since May, Kang has quietly opened a 50-seat space occupying 3 units of shop house space at MacKenzie Road (opposite Rex Theatre). It’s just 5 minutes by car from Newton Circus and a stone’s throw from Little India.

Interior of Chef Kang's

Unlike its flashier, colour-coordinated Chinese brethren at nearby Orchard Road, Chef Kang’s sports none of the glitzy interior that will turn heads.  On the contrary, it’s a tight 3-room configuration with garish purple table linens and luridly bright lights.

Not that it matters. Kang’s long-time customers are already flocking in droves to his new venue.

For a minimum of S$80 (minimum 5 pax), the chef will plan a handsome 5 to 6 course communal-style dinner based on the freshest ingredients he has acquired from his personal, thrice-weekly trips to the market. Of course one can order from a la carte too but the menu appears to be less useful than a chat with the chef, whose repertoire of dishes seems to be more extensive than what one gets from the menu.

Marbled goby fish soup
 
During our visit on a crowded Tuesday night, Kang swept us off our feet with an opening dish of marbled goby fish soup (S$80). The whole fish was first deep-fried and then simmered until it turned milky. Served with sautéed garlic, olive seeds, white cabbage and tomato, the broth was endearingly sweet and mellow, if a little deliciously perky.

Braised homemade toufu

The braised homemade toufu (S$18) was pure pleasure. Made fresh by Kang daily, the toufu was all silky and aromatic on its own but when paired with Kang’s special sauce - a delicious blend of chicken stock, dried leather jacket fish and dried scallops - it was elevated to yet another gustatory realm. While toufu dishes are a dime and a dozen in Singapore, this umami sauce by Kang is almost without equal.

Shrimp paste claypot kai lan

The same emphasis on sauce was evident in the vegetable dish. Leafy sprigs of Hong Kong kai lan (S$18) arrived in a clay pot shoulder to shoulder with fried garlic cloves and crispy pork lard. The pot also teeming with a shrimp paste-spiked sauce so piquant and tasty that we almost licked the plate clean.

 
Dual flavoured pork ribs
The rhythm of perfection was broken by the appearance of the dual flavoured pork ribs (S$24). Thumb-sized pork ribs, half of which were glazed with an overly sweet coffee paste and another half coated in an underwhelming mustard flavour, were deep-fried and served studded in sesame seeds. It was delightful to look at but less so to eat.

The desserts department was another weak link, not that we got to taste anything because only one item was available on the night of our visit.

But we are not complaining.

Kang’s cooking was, for the most part, highly accomplished. He fielded familiar Cantonese classics (sometimes with Teochew influences) but with a level of mastery rarely seen here. Not only did Kang manage “wok hei” with aplomb, he was particularly meticulous with sauces, often going the extra mile to enrobe simple dishes – like toufu and vegetables – in umami-enriched sauces.

It may be premature for us to judge a dinner basing on only four dishes. But Kang’s packed rooms do not lie and neither do his hordes of wine and whiskey-toting fans.


Chef Kang | 25 Mackenzie Road | 65-6238 6263 



© Evelyn Chen 2013

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Where to eat in Australia? Here is a snapshot of Australia's best restaurants...

December 2, 2014, 6:26 am
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Photos courtesy of Attica, Brae, Quay and Sepia


Australia, the land of milk, honey, wagyu and pristine seafood, might well be one of the world’s most under-appreciated foodie destinations.

Over the past 3 years, Australia consistently came in with just 1 or 2 listings on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, on par with Singapore (whose population is a quarter of Australia’s). Continental USA, which is about the same size as Australia, scooped an average of 7 entries per year during the same period.

With celebrity chefs and trend-setting restaurateurs setting their sights down under, the situation looks set to change.

In 2011, Momofuku Seiōbo debuted in Sydney, the first restaurant by David Chang of the Momofuku group to open outside the USA.

Joining the fray in mid 2015 is Kensington Street Social, a joint project between Loh Lik Peng and Jason Atherton in the former’s soon-to-open The Old Clare boutique hotel in Sydney.

Come August 2015, Heston Blumenthal, owner of the three-Michelin starred Fat Duck and two-Michelin starred Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, will cut the ribbons to his outpost at Crown Melbourne, the first overseas foray for the feted British chef.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Chang of Momofuku was quoted as saying: “I've just fallen in love with Australia. I'm just fascinated by the food scene in Sydney and Melbourne. People are excited about food in Australia. It's fresh and it's energetic.”

Interestingly, Sydney and Melbourne are not the only Australian cities with a vibrant food scene. With the 2011 opening of the Museum of New and Old Art in Tasmania, the once-sleepy city of Hobart has been given a shot in the arm with restaurants like Garagiste and, mostly recently, Franklin, gradually creeping onto the dining bandwagon.

Haven’t been to Australia of late? No worries; get your fork and spoon ready and join us on a armchair roundup of Australia’s best restaurants.

Note: Since we couldn’t get seats at Franklin and Garagiste, both Tasmanian restaurants have been omitted from the story but we have a hunch that if we’d planned our reservations well in advance, they would’ve made the list quite effortlessly.


Brae: Raw wallaby wrapped in BBQ radicchio (Photo courtesy of Brae)

Brae
After spending time as chef de cuisine of Mugaritz and, most recently, Royal Mail, Dan Hunter resurfaced in a whitewashed country house set in a 30-acre property in the Birregura region, an hour and a half's drive from Melbourne. With an olive grove, an orchard and an edible herb garden in his backyard, Hunter rises to the occasion with an inspired menu of terroir-driven creations encapsulated in a delicious 10-course tasting menu (the snacks course alone features 9 items). Petit pois procured from a nearby bio-dynamic farm are gently smoked in the BBQ, served with calamari, fermented celeriac and rounded with beef fat to deliver a perfect balance of sweet, tart and crisp finish. Freshly plucked broad beans, strawberries and fig leaf from the resident edible garden are served alongside green almonds in a pool of minimalist yoghurt whey to heighten the intensity of the fresh vegetables on the palate. A delicious meat dish of raw wallaby ensconced in BBQ radicchio keeps things interesting for the carnivores, as does the 18 day-aged Peking duck roasted in a wood fire oven. If there is any doubt if Brae is worth the schlep, take it from us that it is. 4285 Cape Otway Rd, Birregurra VIC 3242, Australia; +61 3 5236 2226; www.braerestaurant.com


Attica: Salted kangaroo with red carrots in bunya bunya (Photo courtesy of Attica)

Attica
When in Australia, a trip to Attica, voted no. 32 on S.Pellegrino World’s 50 Best list 2014, is a must, if only to steep in the storied life of chef-owner, Ben Shewry, told over a 10-course dinner that spans 5 hours. The New Zealand native who gained international fame for his passion for foraging now has access to multiple plots of edible garden at Ripponlea Estate - all within a 4-minute walk from the restaurant - and these edible herbs, fruits and flowers (plus a handful of native ingredients like red pepper berries from Tasmania), feature in Shewry's tasting menu that draws inspiration from both New Zealand (where Shewry grew up) and Australia. Bunya bunya (ground berries) from Shewry's 15-acre garden is teamed with rare salted red kangaroo meat and red carrots from Mornington Peninsula while slow-roasted Greta Valley pork loin is crusted in coriander seeds and served with a sauce of fresh corn, rotten corn (a traditional Maori technique for preserving corn) and lemon aspen. Just so to remind you that you a truly down under, Shewry also serves up a snack of pikelet (or blinis) made with wallaby blood that comes complete with a tongue-in-cheek recipe. 74 Glen Eira Rd, Ripponlea VIC 3185, Australia; +61 3 9530 0111; www.attica.com.au

The Bridge Room: Steamed Victorian Murray cod with winter melon and new season ginger in reduced Chinkiang black vinegar sauce


The Bridge Room
You can say the Ross Lusted is a dark horse in Sydney's culinary race.  A latecomer to the chef-restaurateur business after almost a decade as the jet-setting F&B head at Aman Resorts, Lusted hung up his white collar in favour of a chef's white so that he can get his hands busy in the kitchen once again. For the South African's Sydney debut in 2012, he handpicked a decent-sized space just a stone’s throw from the Circular Quay and decked it with lightwood and glass to yield a contemporary sheen. This set the stage for Lusted's light and uncluttered cuisine that throws the spotlight on the Australian produce at hand. There is only one a la carte menu here, which plays at lunch and dinner but if tasting menu is your preferred route, Lusted will gladly whip-up one for you (about 5 courses for lunch and 9 for dinner). Ash-dusted grilled duck is served with new season cherries, caramelised pear puree and aged vinegar with mulberry powder while steamed Victorian Murray cod arrives with winter melon and new season ginger in a reduced Chinkiang black vinegar sauce flavoured with chillies and garlic. Judging from what we had at lunch, Lusted is a master in exercising restraint with the Asian and European influences that inspire him. Truly, Aman's lose is Sydney’s gain. 44 Bridge St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia; +61 2 9247 7000; www.thebridgeroom.com.au

 
Quay: Snow egg dessert (Photo courtesy of Quay)
Quay
If Asian fusion is your cup of tea, Quay Restaurant at The Rocks offers that and an added bonus of panoramic views of the Sydney Harbour that spans from the Harbour Bridge to the iconic Sydney Opera House. Executive chef, Peter Gilmore has distilled a contemporary Australian menu that draws inspirations from Asia and dishes like 5 sea textures (red prawn, squid, octopus, vongole and scallop) in an intensely savoury - if salty - XO sauce and congee of Australian mud crab in umami-packed chicken broth with fresh palm and egg yolk emulsion reflect the restaurant's lineage. Don't miss the awe-inspiring dessert of "snow egg", a Quay Restaurant icon (and the most talked about dessert in all of Australia) that is completely worth a detour. Depending on how hungry you are, these dishes are available in the 4 course set menu, 8 course tasting menu and the a la carte. When making a reservation, request for the glass-wrapped upper deck for breathtaking harbour views. Upper Level, Overseas Passenger Terminal 5 Hickson Road, The Rocks NSW 2000, Australia; +61 2 9251 5600; www.quay.com.au

 
Sepia: Kingfish "bacon" (Photo courtesy of Sepia)
Sepia
If there is one lesson to be learnt from a dinner at Sepia, it is that nobody understands umami (or the fifth taste) better than its chef-owner, Martin Benn. Banking on his extensive knowledge of the fifth taste, the native of Britain and former Tetsuya’s head chef has created a Japanese-influenced menu (pick from the four-course set menu or degustation menu) that showcases Australia’s abundant produce from the sea and land, each prepped with umami-enriching ingredients. For amuse-bouche, kingfish is compressed and matched with iberico strips and served as “bacon” topped with smoked ikura pearls and ponzu while for mains, David Blackmore wagyu brisket is charcoal grilled to yield a deep smoky tang and paired with Japanese pickles and miso mustard. Most come for Benn’s tasting menu but if you’re hard-pressed for time, a 4-course set menu is available for midweek dinners and Friday lunch.201 Sussex St, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia; +61 2 9283 1990; www.sepiarestaurant.com.au

Momofuku Seiobo: 154 day-aged seared Ranger's Valley wagyu served with fermented rye-dusted swede


Momofuku Seiōbo
With David Chang, you never know what to expect. After planting the Momofuku flag firmly in New York, the co-founder of Lucky Peach magazine spread his wings and landed a prized spot 3 years ago on the grounds of Sydney's one and only casino hotel, The Star. Unlike its noodle bar flagship, noodles are not on the tasting menu at Momofuku Seiobo and neither is American or Korean fare. Head chef, Ben Greeno, an Englishman and the former sous chef of Noma, has conceived a borderless cuisine neatly translated into a 10-course tasting menu that draws inspiration from his time in Europe. Snacks like deep-fried parson's nose topped with caviar tickles the palate before Greeno sweeps you off your feet with dishes like the 154 day-aged seared Ranger's Valley wagyu served with fermented rye-dusted swede. As Greeno will tell you, there are no signature dishes here but the seared wagyu cubed with sliced radish, fermented black bean powder and charred watermelon rind dressing has - ironically enough - been on the menu since day one. The Star/80 Pyrmont St, Pyrmont NSW 2009, Australia; +61 2 9777 9000; www.momofuku.com/sydney/seiobo

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Interview with La Vie magazine on Andre Chiang

December 8, 2014, 12:07 am
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Bangkok hottest restaurants

December 14, 2014, 6:00 pm
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When Nahm clinched the top spot on San Pellegrino’s Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2014, Bangkok was officially crowned Asia’s foodie capital.

Hot on the heels of its win, the city became a hot spot for new restaurant openings with Michelin stars-decorated chefs joining the fray with outposts like J’aime by Jean-Michel Lorain (which we did not get to visit), Ginza Sushi Ichi and the soon-to-open L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon.

For those who are willing to venture beyond Nahm, here’s what’s hot and haute in Bangkok.

Gaggan: Foie gras mousse, onion "baguette"

Gaggan
The best Indian restaurant in the world resides not in India but in a white washed colonial house smack bang in Bangkok. But make no mistake; this is not where you go for your butter chicken fix. Gaggan Anand, chef-patron of Gaggan, propelled to international stardom when he landed the 17th spot (and highest new entry award) on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list in 2014 and his meteoric rise is best explained by a dinner feast on one of 3 multi-course tasting menus (1,800 bht, 2,800 bht and 4,000 bht). Leveraging on his 6-month stage at el bulli, the Kolkata native takes creative liberties with his progressive Indian cuisine, dispatching a series of small plates that tease the palates with a mélange of Indian and international flavours inspired by his travels. Yoghurt is served on a spoon as a sphere while onion chutney makes an appearance with foiegras mousse sandwiched between light-as-air onion "baguette". Gaggan's passion for all things Japanese also comes to the fore with his matcha tea cake with mascarpone cream, vanilla salt and a hint of fresh wasabi. Advance reservation is required.68/1 Soi Langsuan, Ploenchit Road, Lumpini, Bangkok 10330; 66-2- 652 1700; www.eatatgaggan.com

Issaya Siamese Club: Lamb shank in Massamam curry

Issaya Siamese Club
Thai fare cooked with western sensibilities is the bill of fare at Issaya Siamese Club by local celebrity chef, Ian Kittichai, whose vast F&B consulting empire spans from New York, Thailand to India. Set in a storied 100-year-old colonial house surrounded by a beautifully manicured garden in Sathorn, the food - like the colourful interior - is a kaleidoscope of flavours that are unapologetically rich in spices and herbs. If you are here in a small group, opt from one of two tasting menus (1,500 bht for 8 course Issaya Menu. 2,500 bht for 10 course Chef Ian Tasting Menu) while larger groups are recommended to pick signatures from the a la carte. Highlights include salad of duck leg confit with cashew nuts and starfruit in plum dressing perfumed with red chilli peppers; slow-cooked house cured salmon doused in red curry paste with locally farmed Jerusalem artichoke and sunflower sprouts; and the gargantuan lamb shank cooked via sous-vide in Massamam curry sauce. For dessert, ask for the "broken bucket".4 Soi Sri Aksorn, Chua Ploeng Road, Sathorn, Bangkok 10120; 66-2-672-9040; www.issaya.com

Bo.lan: Tumeric fried fish

Bo.lan
At its new Sukhumvit address set in a reclaimed wood-decked Thai house complete with a swimming pool, chef-owners Duangporn Songvisava and Dylan Lan Jones dish out rustic Thai flavours based on their unique interpretations of Thai classics. To experience the true essence of Bolan, we suggest you come at dinner for the quarterly-changing chef's tasting menu (1,880 bht for 7 courses, 2,280 bht for 11 courses) that feature hearty Thai flavours - sans espuma and foam - in dishes like squid and banana blossom salad with chilli jam and Tumeric fried fish. A limited a la carte menu is also available in case you wish to sample more from the chefs' repertoire - try the Northern style duck noodles with duck sauce if it’s available on the menu. House number 24 in Soi Sukhumvit 53, (Soi Pai dee ma dee) Klong Toey Nua， Wattana, Bangkok 10110; 66－2－260 2962；www.bolan.co.th

Sra Bua: Deconstructed tom yum soup

Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin
If you ever tire of formulaic Thai, Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin comes to the rescue with progressive Thai cuisine courtesy of Denmark-based Kiin Kiin by Henrik Yde-Andersen, the only Thai restaurant in the world to lay claim to a Michelin star right now. While the restaurant offers a limited a la carte menu, the fun is to partake in one of two tasting menus (2,200 bht for 7 courses and 2,700 bht for 11 courses) that feature the restaurant's playful take on streetfood (like miang kham cornette) and Thai classics (think deconstructed tom yum soup). To put the restaurant's iconoclastic instincts to the test, order the signature dish of frozen red curry with lobster salad (available on the a la carte only). Poached lobster is served with a deliciously spicy red curry ice cream and lychee foam alongside herbs, chopped cashew nuts, lychee and served complete with smoky fanfare.Siam Kempinski Hotel Bangkok, 991/9 Rama 1 Rd., Bangkok 10330; 66-2-162-9000.

Ginza Sushi Ichi: Keiji salmon

Ginza Sushi Ichi
Sushi aficionados n Bangkok now have another place to call in. Ginza Sushi Ichi recently opened an outpost in the basement of Erawan Mall where Tsukiji market-fresh fish flown in daily features on the various set menus at lunch and dinner. If the parade of sushi – like hotate, maguro, seabass and flounder - does not excite you, ask about the daily specials such as the keiji salmon (available from October to January) or the in-season crab promotion. Come with thick wallets. 494 Ploenchit Road, LG Fl. Erawan, Bangkok 10330; 66-2-250-0014; www.ginza-sushiichi.jp

Benjarong: Crispy pork ribs with fermented cabbage in Sriracha chilli sauce

Benjarong
6 years after cutting his teeth with Kiin Kiin (2007 to 2010) and then Sra Bua by Kiin Kiin (2010 to 2013) chef Morten Boejstrup Nielsen took the helm at Benjarong at Dusit Bangkok in late 2013. The decades old Thai restaurant re-opened in June after a makeover to unveil a revamped menu that marries classics (some comes with a twist) with inventive Thai. Don't miss Nielsen's signature tasting menu (1,700 baht) that features a beautifully deconstructed crispy catfish salad resting on tom yum custard with crabmeat. For those who prefer something hearty, Nielson also serves a homey crispy pork ribs with fermented cabbage tossed in Sriracha chilli sauce (320 baht on a la carte).936 Rama 4 Road, Dusit Hotel, Bangkok 10500; 66-2-200 9000.


Where to stay

Dusit Thani Bangkok
A Bangkok icon since its inception in 1970, this 517 rooms and suites hotel with distinctive Thai furnishings of silk and teakwood is located a stone’s throw from Lumpini Park and adjacent to two rapid transit stations. All guests of “Club Room” and the various suites have access to the Thai-styled Club Lounge that serves breakfast and refreshments throughout the day. 946 Rama IV Road, Bangkok 10500;  +66-2- 00-9000; www.dusit.com


Siam Kempinski Hotel
This resort-like property of palatial proportions boasts 303 rooms and suites (including 21 pool access rooms) and 98 serviced residenceskitted in contemporary elegance, a strategic location next to shopping malls like Siam Paragon and easy access to BTS Skytrain (Siam Interchange Station). For guests who booked the Executive Room (and above), help yourselves to the Executive Lounge, which comes complete with a small meeting room, complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, evening cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages. Rama 1 Road 991/9,10330 Bangkok; +66-2-162-9000; www.kempinski.com




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Meat Smith (Singapore)

August 17, 2015, 9:42 am
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Meat Smith at Telok Ayer

Decades after taking a reprieve from the dining scene, Southern American BBQ makes a comeback by way of American smokehouse, Meat Smith.

This 60-seat Telok Ayer newbie is no mass-market chain restaurant but an indie setup by hotelier-restaurateur, Loh Lik Peng, with chef and co-owner of Burnt Ends, David Pynt.


Interior of Meat Smith

Set in a shop house just steps away from Amoy Road Food Centre, the low-lit space oozes an industrial-esque, laidback charm that takes inspiration from the working studio of a blacksmith.

The food – headlined by meats smoked with lychee wood and jarrah wood in one of two gigantic stainless steel-clad smokers imported from the United States - by American chef, Andrew Baldus, follows a similarly rustic approach, matched by a well stocked bar with an array of cocktails, craft beers, boubons and wines.

Crispy pork rinds


To start, the crispy pork rinds (S$5) were airy and crisp, with just enough coating of cayenne pepper to excite the palate.

Smoked beef tongue



Smoked pastrami


Thinly sliced smoked beef tongue (S$13), decorated with crushed peanut, coriander, pickled celery, daikon and dollops of electric-orange tongue-numbing Sichuan aioli, was a massive crowd pleaser, as was the off-menu smoked pastrami with bread crumbs and horseradish with Russian dressing.

Aburi oysters

From the chalkboard, the day’s special of aburi oyster (S$5 each) was less about the beauty of the raw oyster than what it was topped with, with the warm and heady sauce of Sriracha, wasabi mayo and pickled cucumber masking any hint of brininess from the mollusk.

Lox

Lox (S$16), Scottish salmon cured in a salt and sugar, arrived with a riot of pea shoots and folds of mint and mint oil-marinated cucumber basking in a vibrant-green bed of pea and wasabi puree that underwhelmed with a prominent bitter note.

Meat Smith BBQ Platter

The star at dinner was the Meat Smith BBQ Platter (S$135, perfect for 3 or 4 if you’re ordering other things to share) – a mixed bag of beef brisket, beef short rib, pork rib and Nashville fried chicken, with sides of slaw, potato salad and rolls served alongside pastrami-flecked butter. 

The 2-hour smoked pork ribs finished with a house-made smoky BBQ sauce was slick with fiery, smoky and sweet flavours. But the gigantic chunks of Californian 365 grain-fed brisket and Australian Black Angus beef rib, while fork tender, were not sufficiently suffused with smoke, not did they bear the intense caramelization that one would expect from meats cooked in a heavy duty BBQ. Admittedly diners may defer to the army of sauces (smoked bbq, chipotle bbq and mustard bbq) at the table for some flavour distractions. We had better luck with the cayenne pepper-dusted Nashville fried chicken (half for S$22, full for S$40); careful the spice though, it’s capable of making grown men mist up. 


In case you’re still hungry after chowing down on those meats, consider these sides from the chalkboard: warm smoked cauliflower (S$8) with sliced almonds in subtly pungent blue cheese sauce; or ham hock greens, a mish-mesh of kale, mustard green and kalian boiled in pork broth and served with pulled pork. Both have distinctly different profiles – the former a tad heady but delicious nevertheless while the latter was a sea of savoury monotony chalk-a-block with wilted vegetables.

To conclude, we will resist the temptation to compare Meat Smith with its more refined sibling and judge it purely on its merits. It’s a strong concept backed by some of the most serious smokers you’ll ever see. This intention, however, needs to be communicated through its star products, i.e. the smoked meats - each hunk of meat to be infused with just enough smoke such that it envelops the palate, all the time retaining its juiciness.

Considering that this is a smoked meat joint, it’s not a tall order we hope?
  
Meat Smith | 167-169 Telok Ayer | 65-8126 0431













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Alma by Juan Amador (Singapore)

August 31, 2015, 1:35 am
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Alma by Juan Amador at Goodwood Park Hotel


What do you make of a restaurant that serves Spanish-based modern European cuisine prepped with Asian spices?

This is a question best answered by visiting Alma by Juan Amador (“Alma”), a new restaurant formed by the Oso Ristorante Group in consultation with Juan Amador, a German-Spanish chef who last helmed the 3 Michelin-starred Restaurant Amador at Mannheim, Germany, before closing it recently in favour of an upcoming move to Vienna.

Taking over the space - almost lock, stock and barrel - formerly occupied by Gaia at Goodwood Park Hotel, Alma looks elegant and quietly austere, much like its predecessor. Save for the repetitive clones of paintings that adorn the walls, nothing much has changed.

The menu by chef de cuisine, Christophe Lerouy, a French native, promises to bring diners on a “multi-sensorial tasting of various dishes focusing on the gustatory system, senses and high culinary art” – a tall order indeed.

There are two a la carte menus, one “tradicion” and another “evolucion” but if you rather leave your meal to chance, the Surprise Menu is a good place to start.

Priced from S$68 for 4 courses to S$148 for 8 courses at dinner, the Surprise Menu features items from “tradicion” and “evolucion” as well as spot dishes created just for the day. Technically, the chef decides what you eat but we pushed our luck with the 6-course menu (S$108) and made a request to taste 3 specific dishes (foie gras ice cream, pigeon in purple curry and brick in the wall) from the “evolucion” menu, leaving chef to decide on the rest. Lerouy served us dishes exclusively from “evolucion”.

Dinner commenced with no signs of snacks or amuse-bouches in sight, just bread-in-a-sack served alongside a lovely dip of extra virgin olive oil.

 
Foie gras ice cream, mango gazpacho, pistachio

The opening dish lived up to Alma’s promise -pistachio dust-flecked foie gras ice cream (S$18 on the a la carte) basking in a pool of mango gazpacho that was refreshing as the morning dew. The combination of sweet, savoury and creamy flavours, whilst unusual, worked like magic, with texture from the pistachios thrown in for good measure.


Scallops, hazelnuts, turron




The ensuing dish-of-the-day sustained the high - pan-seared scallops with sliced cauliflower, crushed hazelnuts and turron (a Spanish nougat-like candy made with almonds, honey and egg white) in a fragrant and creamy langoustine bisque perfumed with lime, coriander oil and turron puree. The hit of acidity from the lime, sweetness and crunch from the turron, more textures from the hazelnut and cauliflower, plus savouriness from the broth left us hankering for more.

Salmon, Bloody Mary



The momentum dipped with the arrival of the salmon (S$24). The fish was cooked via sous vide and served in a cocktail of green tomato-based Bloody Mary with a clump of apple and celery chunks on one side and a dollop of lemon-accented celeriac puree on the other. The pungency of the salmon weighed in even as we sipped on the Bloody Mary, which was undecided about whether it should be an alcohol-packed cocktail or a refreshing broth.

Duck liver, papaya, PX Vinegar

It hit a low with duck liver (S$18), our second serving of foie gras in a sitting. Apart from committing tasting menu faux pas, the generous parcel of pan-seared foie gras was busy juggling a mound of Thai-inspired som tam toppings (peanuts, shredded raw papaya and deep-fried shrimps) whilst attempting to pledge allegiance to the chef’s Spanish heritage with a drizzle of PX vinegar dressing.

Pigeon, Mango, Coco, Purple Curry

The pigeon (S$32) offered a brief respite. Touted as the dish that won Amador his third star in Germany, the pigeon breast arrived lightly dusted in a layer of ginger bread, yielding a crisp texture that was beyond reproach. The condiments and sauces, however, offered fodder for confusion, with the dollops of coconut and mango puree overwhelmed by the intensity of the hibiscus-accented “purple curry” perfumed with cocoa. On its own, the curry was rather adorable but we were less optimistic about its pairing with the poultry or the pureed fruits.

Brick in the Wall

We were also neutral towards the “Brick In The Wall” (S$18) dessert – spiced milk cake encased in beetroot “walls” crowned with raspberry sorbet and variations of raspberry and beetroot meringue. It was a pretty dessert at best.

Our verdict?

While kitchen execution by Lerouy was immaculate, the fusion of flavours at Alma felt like the aftermath of a western chef’s whirlwind tour around Asia. If this dinner were anything to go by, Alma lives up to its promise of bringing diners on a multi sensorial journey but the Asian fusion ride does not guarantee to be a smooth one.

Hopefully, the “tradicion” menu will offer a less bumpy ride.

Alma by Juan Amador | Goodwood Park Hotel, 22 Scotts Road | Tel: 65- 6735-9937| www.alma.sg


© Evelyn Chen 2013






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The Disgruntled Chef @ Ann Siang Road

September 7, 2015, 11:46 pm
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The Disgruntled Chef at Ann Siang Road


Five years after rooting at Dempsey, The Disgruntled Chef (“TDC”) by Daniel Sia has birthed an offspring in the Central Business District.

Coddled in the recently re-launched The Club Hotel at 28 Ann Siang Road, TDC’s new digs is decidedly roomier, sexier and a tad sophisticated.

The 50-seat main dining room features a black marble bar and a mix of booth seats and banquettes in American leather matched with armchairs upholstered in Venetian fabric.  There is also a 30-seat terrace for alfresco dining, or, if you prefer exclusivity, a handsome underground private room for 12 guests that comes complete with a glassed-in wine cellar.

Like its flagship, the menu of “small plates”, “big plates”, “sides” and “puddings” is modern European but that’s where TDC’s resemblance with its Dempsey outlet ends. While some dishes - like the seared scallops and crackling suckling pig – were initially exported from Dempsey for the opening menu, these are in the process of being phased out so that the menu here remains distinct.

Wagyu beef carpaccio

During our recent visit, a blanket of wagyu beef carpaccio (S$26) came to the fore with cep puree, crispy shallots, grated Parmesan cheese and a confit of egg yolk as centrepiece. We broke the yolk, mixed it with the cep puree and savored the spread. If anything could make this better, it would be a shower of black truffle shavings.

Burnt leek

Burnt leek (S$21) was another highlight. While its name has an uncanny resemblance to a hugely popular dish of the same name at Burnt Ends, take heed that Sia’s rendition was more complex. The tender insides of the burnt leek was removed, mashed and mixed with sauce gribiche (a mayonnaise-style cold egg sauce) and morsels of bone marrow before it was returned to the grill. Served in its own black-as-coal “shell” with brioche crotons and one toast too many, the jazzed up leek was deliciously savory. Pity the “invisible” bone marrow, which probably melted before it could be given due credit for amplifying the appeal of the offering.

Tomato and watermelon tartare

If you like tuna sashimi, the vegetarian dish of tomato and watermelon tartare (S$21) may pique your curiosity. Semi sundried tomato and compressed watermelon were steeped in kombu, cubed and crowned with homemade togarashi and smidgens of yuzu-accented mayonnaise to yield a refreshingly savoury flavour that somewhat paralleled that of tuna sashimi. We were less fascinated with the trail of pimento rice puffs that adorned the plate.

The big plates were just as riveting.

Surf & turf dish of Maine lobster and chicken pot roast
There was an eye-candy surf and turf dish of Maine lobster and chicken pot roast (S$56) with fried quail’s eggs, porcini mushrooms and parsley. Apart from looking pretty, it won plaudits for being toothsome. The Maine lobster was plump and grilled to luscious perfection - it was first rate. On the down side, the first sous-vide then pot-roasted chicken tasted a tad dull but was saved by the deeply savoury porcini sauce that doused it.

Sia’s crispy beef shortribs (S$36) was a crowd pleaser. The bone-in meat was first sous-vide for 36 hours in a braising liquid, then coated in corn flour and deep-fried and served in its own braising jus spiked with gochujang (a Korean hot bean paste). To cut the richness from the meat, which was unusually fatty for a shortrib, it arrived on a bed of mayonnaise doused spicy kimchi with honey soy-glazed potatoes. Top marks for the fall off the bone-tender shortribs but the kimchi was divisive, one of us liked it and the other didn't.

With these much food, we’d usually stop by now. But if you have space for just one more item, we’d say skip the desserts for the tasty truffle brioche with nori butter and sea salt (S$12). For the record, we did have the strawberries and mascarpone (S$16) dessert; it just didn’t rank as highly relative to the fore courses.


The Disgruntled Chef | 28 Ann Siang Road| Tel: 65- 6808 2184 | www.thedisgruntledchef.com


© Evelyn Chen 2013






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Open Farm Community (Singapore) by Ryan Clift

September 17, 2015, 5:26 am
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Interior of Open Farm Community


With the concrete jungle that is Singapore, strolling in a farm is hardly something a Singaporean can attest to doing often, let alone actually dining in one. But the July debut of Open Farm Community (“OFC”) gives us reasons to be optimistic.

A tripartite collaboration between Ryan Clift of Tippling Club, Cynthia Chua of Spa Esprit Group and Edible Garden City, OFC rests on a sprawling 35,000 square feet plot in Minden Road, a relatively quiet stretch in Dempsey Village. The urban farmland, which is a stone’s throw from the Singapore Botanic Gardens and 5 minutes by car from Orchard Road, boasts about 100 types of edible crops including a plethora of herbs – such as cat whiskers, five types of basil, sage, thyme and mint - and an array of vegetables like eggplant, lady’s finger and cherry tomatoes.

The raison d'être of the farm is the restaurant, which is set in a glass and steel building in the mist of the lush property. Opened to a packed house since July, the 70-seat eatery looks the part of a farmhouse with its generous use of recycled materials ranging from the planks of recycled gate grill lamps that light up the room like stars in the evening, to the recycled wood flooring that gives the place a trendy but rustic feel. Tucked at the far end of the room, a bright and cheery semi-open kitchen – with a stainless steel-clad Paolo Parisi custom-built coal oven– holds court.

Flanking the pretty kitchen frame are chefs fast at work. You will not see Ryan Clift doing his culinary swagger in the kitchen, plating the dishes or cutting the herbs in the garden. His Open Door Policy (ODP”) henchman, Daniel Sperindio, an Italian native, splits his time between ODP and here.

The cuisine here is neither avant garde nor Italian. To call it farm-to-table will also be a stretch (at the moment, only 60% of all herbs and 20% of the vegetables used are harvested on site). “Fresh”, “casual” and “family style” are better catchall phrase to describe OFC’s approach, which is underscored by a cuisine style that leans towards Asian-inflected modern European.

Coal-baked omelette

During our visit on a packed weekday night, we were awed by a seemingly simple dish of coal-baked omelette (S$24) that could have passed for brunch. We had it for dinner, topped with sliced smoked French haddock and enriched with a coat of mornay sauce. Moist in the middle and just a tad crisp on the edges, the omelette was devastatingly simple but simply irresistible.

Chilled avocado and ginger broth with yabby

The dish of chilled avocado and ginger broth with poached yabby (S$20) wouldn’t have looked out of place in a spa café. To give the soup the fragrance of Thai tom kha, avocado puree and coconut milk were blended with mixed herbs including galangal and coriander, and then served tableside over a plate of poached yabby decorated with bits of chervil and nasturtium. The Malaysia-farmed yabby was surprisingly plump and the broth aromatically refreshing although it started to cloy towards the last few sips. We reckon you should share it before “diminishing returns” hit.

Fermented carrot tartare

The fermented carrot tartare (S$24) sounded promising on paper. Baby carrots were bran-fermented on a nuka pickling bed and served on ground carrot topped with a disc of free-range organic egg yolk. Served steak tartare-style alongside do-it-yourself sides of pickles, chives, capers, gherkins and gochujang (Korean fermented chili paste), the mash-up was tart, sweet and spicy. Interesting? Yes. But not necessarily delicious - carnivores need not apply.

If the starters were great, the house made pastas were better (well, mostly).

Rigatoni with porcini, smoked pancetta, Silton blue cheese

Of the three types of pastas we sampled, pan tossed rigatoni with porcini and local mushrooms (button and shimeji) stood out with an intensely profound umami flavour amplified by the addition of smoked pancetta and Stilton blue cheese. It was first class.

Squid ink tagliatelle in tomato-based inferno sauce

Trailing behind quite closely was squid ink tagliatelle, each strand richly coated in a tear jerking tomato-based “inferno sauce” spiked with chilli padi. It arrived with calamari, its deep-fried tentacles and short spears of asparagus, which provided distractions but offered no reprieve from the heat.

Mud crab spaghettoni

Unless you’re a fan of creamy pastas, we don't suggest you venture down the path of mud crab spaghettoni. Notwithstanding the lovely shreds of poached Indonesian mud crab, the Thai-inspired curry sauce was choking with coconut cream. And apart from delicious wedges of yellow squash, there was nothing in sight to cut the richness.

Barramundi

For mains, there was a chunky piece of Malaysian-farmed barramundi. It was pan seared until the skin turned a crispy, golden-brown while its white flesh remained nonchalantly moist. Like a work of art, it arrived on a plate with a smooth spread of baba ganoush (a Levantine dish of roasted-mashed eggplant mixed with onions and yoghurt) perfumed with curry. A side of shredded cucumber salad with yoghurt and mint added to its overall Indian-esque appeal. It was pretty decent.
 
We were less intrigued with the chicken. Pan-seared chicken breast and its leg confit were served coiffed up high with braised leek in a crushing avalanche of hazelnuts glazed in burnt butter chicken jus. There was no doubt the mound looked visually stunning but, taste-wise, it failed to match up. If we may venture a guess, the earthiness of the hazelnut stole the thunder from the chicken jus, yielding a flavour that was less than savoury.

OFC offers honest-to-goodness food with a strong urban farm concept and mostly unpretentious cooking that steers clear of modishness. Even if our dinner wasn’t all milk and honey, you could have a mighty good meal if you know exactly where to look.


Open Farm Community| 130E Minden Road | Tel: 65- 6471 0306 | www.openfarmcommunity.com



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Maggie Joan’s (Singapore)

September 24, 2015, 11:22 pm
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Maggie Joan's entrance at the far end of Gemmil Lane


After a brief respite, the Club Street dining enclave is humming again. The buzz now centres on Gemmill Lane, a nondescript laneway home to offices, a pilates studio, a dodgy-looking spa as well as Luke’s Oyster Bar & Chop House and Club Street Social.

Now joined by Delicacy and Bar-a-Thym, with Angeleno due to debut in November, the once quiet street has awakened from a deep slumber. Its allure has even spilt over to an adjoining alley where the backdoor of an Amoy Road shop house opens into a new ‘hidden’ restaurant, Maggie Joan’s (“MJ”).

The only newbie on the street without a shop front, MJ is the brainchild of the Ballis father-and-son team behind Moosehead Kitchen Bar and Darren Micallef, junior Ballis’ college mate from Australia.

Set in the rear corner of a shop house space shared with an office tenant that is separated from the restaurant by an erected concrete wall, the 50-seat windowless eatery has an underground vibe that feels almost illicit.


The first dining room at Maggie Joan's

The main dining room where a cage-in semi-open kitchen sits

The first dining room is dark, somewhat narrow, with tables, chairs and banquettes in dark wood set against original exposed brick walls.  It leads to a roomy main dining room with more brick walls and a ceiling festooned with giant copper-like cylindrical lamps. At the end of the room, which is shared with a caged-in semi-open kitchen, a round table holds court below a glorious antique chandelier. If you’re planning on conducting a clandestine affair and prefer not to draw too much attention, adjourn to the corner private room - it’s cozy, pretty with Mediterranean tiles and provides comfortable seating with padded banquettes.

For diners who have been eating and drinking Mediterranean since the inception of Esmirada or the likes, MJ reads like a new chapter – even an annex – in Mediterranean dining. It embraces ingredients like olive oil, tomatoes, seeds, nuts, herbs and spices that are available in abundance in this heart-healthy cuisine but gives them a modern spin. It banks on the Ballis’ Greek-Mediterranean heritage but also builds on the contemporary cooking chops of British head chef, Oliver Hyde, former sous chef of Pollen and an alum of Waterside Inn and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay.

Garlic and rosemary-speckled bread with hummus

Deep fried and dukkah-dusted slow-poached egg with yolk-like saffron mayo



Jerusalem artichoke, Manchego, toasted nuts



During our dinner several weeks after opening, we grazed on garlic and rosemary speckled bread dipped in cumin-laced hummus (S$5); dipped into a perfectly seasoned slow-poached egg that was deep-fried then dusted with dukkah (S$6), which broke and oozed into a yolk-like disc of saffron mayo; and feasted on wedges of earthy Jerusalem artichoke resting on Manchego cheese sauce (S$8), each evenly coated in shaved Manchego and toasted nuts (almonds, sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds) so crisp that the next door diner could almost hear the crunch. The flavours were flawless and the textures spot on. (4/5)

Heirloom tomatoes, compresse peach, burrata, tapenade

The salad of caramelized heirloom tomato with sweet compressed peaches and clumps of burrata on tapenade (S$21) was nothing radical but a well-composed salad with equal parts of sweet, savoury and creamy notes. (4/5)

Yellowtail "sashimi", carrot escabeche, brandade

Instead of serving sashimi straight up, Hyde brushed the raw yellowtail fish (S$25) with a thick syrup of oven-roasted lemon and orange so that it imparted a mellow-sweet flavour. Assembled artfully on a plate with carrot escabeche and a fish-of-the-day brandade, this was one of the more accomplished western interpretations of sashimi we’ve tasted. (4.25/5)

Hokkaido scallops, peas, Iberico paleta

There were also thick lobes of sliced Hokkaido scallops (S$21) marinated in sherry, lemon and olive oil served alongside mint-accented pea puree, fresh peas and fried iberico paleta. Finished with a generous dust of fried sour dough crumbs, the dish had a marvelous balance of refreshment, textures and umami. (4.25/5)

Iberico secreto, prunes, cauliflower

For mains, top marks went to the Inka oven-grilled iberico secreto with prunes and cauliflower (S$34). To give the pork its tender bite, the meat was brined and slow-cooked for 12 hours. It was finished on the grill and served on a bed of cauliflower puree with pickled cauliflower, marinated prunes and fried curry leaves. (4.5/5)

Pan-roasted seabass, tomatoes

There was also a dish of pan-roasted seabass with variations of pickled and marinated tomatoes (S$28). It was comparatively less memorable; we put it to the less-than-savoury pesto broth that overwhelmed the palate with the richness of the pine nuts. If vegetable stock were in the recipe, we did not taste it. (3.5/5)

Roasted apricot, ricotta, lemon and orange zest

For desserts, you'll be richly rewarded if you step off the beaten track. Roasted apricot with melted house made ricotta perfumed with rosemary oil and the zest of lemon and orange. Slivers of chopped almonds were also thrown in for added texture. (4.25/5)

When a restaurant reinvents the wheel on a cuisine, particularly something as well loved as Mediterranean, it’s often a risk that can prove suicidal. Thankfully, Maggie Joan’s gamble paid off quite handsomely.


Food Rating: 4.1/5


Maggie Joan’s Dining & Bar | 110 Amoy Street #01-01 (entrance from Gemmill Lane)| Tel: 65- 6221 5564| www.maggiejoans.com



© Evelyn Chen 2013


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Restaurant Labyrinth by Han Li Guang @ The Esplanade

October 13, 2015, 8:36 pm
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Restaurant Labyrinth at The Esplanade

Years after the closure of El Bulli, the influence of Ferran Adria’s cocina de vanguardiais still being felt halfway across the globe.  

Spheres and foams are slowly but surely seeping into a genre of contemporary ethnic cuisine in Asia where familiar local flavors meet inventive cooking techniques.

In Singapore, a city renowned for its wallet-friendly street food, a cadre of chefs is boldly reinventing local classics. At the vanguard of what’s now known as modern Singapore cuisine is Restaurant Labyrinth (“Labyrinth”), an 18 month-old eatery that recently moved from a 21-seat Chinatown digs to a roomy 60-seat space that comes complete with three private rooms at The Esplanade.

 “Today’s customers are well travelled, they have dined in fine restaurants and been exposed to progressive cooking techniques,” says autodidact chef-owner, Han Li Guang. “We serve new-age Singapore cuisine to appeal to this new generation of diners.”

When Labyrinth opened in February 2014, it was a watershed moment for the former corporate banker, who dived into a cooking career with nothing more than a basic certificate in culinary art, on-and-off kitchen stints at local restaurants and a heart full of passion.

Soon, Han’s avant-garde style cuisine started turning heads with his precise execution of creatively interpreted local fare. Bookings gradually trended upwards, particularly on weekends when reservations would shoot through the roof. Constrained by capacity, Han started scouting for a new location where he could showcase his uniquely Singapore cuisine to a wider audience. To leverage on the July opening of his new space, he also worked around the clock to develop a suite of new menus.

To appeal to the Central Business District lunch crowd, there’s now a Lunch Menu (3 courses for S$38, 4 courses for S$48) and Lunch Tasting Menu (5 courses S$88). Dinner is a more extensive affair with a Discovery Menu (5 courses for S$98, 6 courses for S$105) and an Experience Menu (9 courses for S$168). The latter is highly recommended if you have 3 hours to spare as it tracks the dishes that food-obsessed Singaporeans typically devour at breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper.

At a recent dinner at his spot lit Esplanade roost, the Experience Menu sparkled with a succession of standouts.

"Bak chor mee"

For "breakfast", there was Han’s seafood-inspired riff on “bak chor mee” (minced pork noodles) with saffron-infused sliced squid as springy “noodles”, flash-fried sliced Hokkaido scallop as “fish cake” and olive powder and anchovies as “minced pork”. Every ingredient played its purported role dutifully yet deliciously. Like the real thing, it was finished with a drizzle of black Chinese vinegar and a smidgen of heady dried shrimp sambal. It was briliant. (4.5/5)

"Char siew siew yoke fun"

"Lunch" was a delicious outing in roast meat rice or “char siew siew yoke fun”, another popular local hawker fare. Instead of using pork, Han fielded his most powerful “weapon” yet of otoro (a premium cut from the tuna belly) done 2 ways. The first slice of tuna was marinated lightly in char siew sauce and draped ever so gently over a parcel of torched rice. Its twin offering was cubed, pan seared on one side and served tataki-style with rare insides and a crust of crispy roast pork crackling. It was near perfect. (4.75/5)

"Hainanese curry rice"

Banking on his Hainanese heritage, Han also served a “Hainanese curry rice” course for "lunch". A popular Hainanese street food of steamed rice in curry gravy teamed with a selection of dishes, the returning favourite at Labyrinth has evolved in refinement. Presented on a plate blanketed with curry-infused red and white risotto “rice”, there was a dainty onsen quail’s egg flanked by a rock of Mugaritz-inspired “clay potato” on one side and, on the other, a rock of chicken mousseline encased in a deep-fried squid ink covering. (4/5)
  
Singapore’s national dish of chilli crab got a twenty-first century nod with Han’s playful assemble of deep-fried soft shell crab alongside a dollop of piquant chilli crab ice cream and a smidgen of ethereal crab bisque foam. Served on a beach of gritty fried man tou (Chinese buns) ‘sand’, Han’s third iteration of his most iconic dish remains one of his best. (4.5/5)

"Cereal prawn"

The momentum dipped with the arrival of the “cereal prawn” dish, a popular tze char (stir fry) dish served at dinner. Deep-fried dehydrated ama ebi was minced and mixed with oats, chilli and curry leaves, bound with caramelized sugar, compressed, cut and served like an Uncle Toby’s cereal bar. In theory, it ticked all the boxes of an inventive rendition of cereal prawn but on the palate it was dry and just a tad sweet. (3/5)

The "dinner" course proceeded with a choice of mains - “beef hor fun” or “Hokkien mee”.

"Beef hor fun"

Han’s take on “beef hor fun” was presented as a marbled slab of pan-grilled A4 Kagoshimaya wagyu in beef trimming jus alongside oodles of radish and turnip “hor fun” (flat rice noodles) crowned with pickled chillies. This could well be the most decadent beef hor fun we’ve had - the wagyu practically melted in the mouth, its richness cut by the pickles. Although the strips of radish and turnip “noodles” did not leave much of an impression, the dish was on the whole beautifully interpreted. If Han could somehow capture “wok hei” in an essence, we would have requested for a healthy dose of it. (4.25/5)

"Hokkien mee"

“Hokkien mee” may never be the same once you have tasted Han’s. Silicon tube extruded egg yolk “noodles” were teamed with smoked lard white “noodles” and headlined by a piece of pan-seared Boston lobster topped with caviar. But the real star of the show was the shallow bath of lobster broth strewed with spring onions. Rendered from the roasted head and roe of the crustacean, the broth was intensely savoury and robust, lacking nothing (oh well, perhaps a touch of crème fraiche).  (4.25/5)

"Bak kut teh"

For pre-dessert, we were served a shot of intensely savoury chilled “bak kut teh” (pork rib soup) - pu erh-laced bubble tea flecked with pearls of soya sauce and pork stock. We couldn’t taste much of the pu erh tea (an aged dark tea from Yunnan) but that wasn’t a bad thing because the prominence of the soya sauce and pork stock rose to the occasion. (4.25/5) 8

The dessert course was great as a showcase but needed tweaks for gustatory appeal.

"Singapore supper dish"

Take the “Singapore Supper” dish, which looked more like century egg porridge if you ask us. It was an assembly of soya milk and grass jelly in a light gruel of glutinous rice flour seasoned with gula Melaka (palm sugar) sesame oil, pepper and fried dough fritters. It wasn’t off the charts but the mélange of sweet and savoury flavours passed muster. (3.25/5)

"Singapore breakfast"

A returning signature dessert, the “Singapore Breakfast” dish of egg shell-encased mango panna cotta (with balsamic as “black sauce” and almond powder “pepper”, both in squeeze bottles) was Han’s attempt at reimagining “soft boiled egg” and it was matched with a short glass of teh tarik (frothy pulled tea) crème brulee. On visual appeal alone, this dessert would have scored full marks but to our unaccustomed palate, teh tarik was not the perfect match for mango panna cotta. A kopi (local black coffee) crème brulee might have been our cup of tea. (3.5/5)

Snacks at Restaurant Labyrinth

To ensure he left no stones unturned, even the snacks were anything but formulaic. Bite-sized wonders arrived in a two-tiered tingkat tray (stacked lunchbox) - radish cake “marshmallow” brimming with minced scallops and dried shrimp; kaya butter “macaron” sandwiched between a layer of house whipped salted butter; nasi lemak-flavoured chwee kueh (water rice cake) topped with sambal ikan billis; and house made dough fritters ensconced in a tangy rojiak sauce.  Not only were the amuse bouches vibrant, fun and full of local character, they provided a window to Labyrinth’s soul. (4.25/5)

A dinner at Labyrinth is indeed a spectacle even if a few garden-variety courses could benefit from some adjustments. 

For the modernist yet uniquely Singapore-style cuisine, we’ say it’s a “die die must try!”


Overall Food Rating: 4.05/5


Restaurant Labyrinth  | 8 Raffles Ave  | Tel:+65 6223 4098 | www.labyrinth.com.sg

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New Menu at Tippling Club

October 23, 2015, 6:27 am
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Tippling Club

Tippling Club has launched a new menu.

Introduced in September, both the Classic (S$160++ without pairing, S$260++ with pairing) and the Gourmand menus (S$265++ without pairing, S$420++ with pairing) build on a solid format of snacks, mains, cheese, pre-desserts in the case of the Gourmand menu only and desserts mapped out on Clift’s stylized menu.

The Gourmand Menu which we sampled, is Clift’s 4 hour-long tour de force that is worth skipping lunch – and breakfast – for. On paper, the menu proffers 12 courses but with snacks weighing in with 9 items and pre-desserts with 5, the 24 item-long menu remains one of the city's most ambitious.

During our dinner sampling of the new menu, Clift was absent but his head chef, Paul Gajewski, rose to the occasion effortlessly.

Margarita pizza flavoured "beef tendon"

Chorizo "sandwich"


Tom yum mousse



The new menu made its strongest entrance yet with the snacks course – 9 morsels of bite-sized delights invigorated with more punchy flavours. Some were reimagined returning favourites like “beef tendon” (3.75/5), which came flecked with heady seasonings of margarita pizza and “styrofoam” (3.25/5), which re-appeared with a cloak of white truffle oil flavour. But the standouts were reserved for newbies like the chorizo sandwich (4.75/5), a sliver of chorizo sandwiched between 2 rectangles of brix pastry topped with tomato fondue and olive oil caviar. And the nondescript-looking but dizzyingly toothsome tom yum mousse (4.75/5) that refreshed the palate with a mélange of vibrant flavours from the laksa leaves, textures of coriander (puree and tempura) and freshly grated coconut. On the downside, bak kut teh mousse (2/5) with poached salsify underwhelmed with the overwhelming flavour of commercial seasoning that tasted nothing close to the pork rib soup that we adore. (Average rating for snacks: 3.8/5)

Just as before, the game at mains was fairly strong.

Lobster
Poached Canadian lobster arrived with dollops of sea buckthorn puree, fragrant herbs and a thin film of taste-less milk skin clinging onto the crustacean for its dear life. Adorning the plate was a thin spread of chive puree and clumps of horseradish snow to cut any hint of richness. We couldn’t have asked for a more perfect composition although we couldn’t figure the value-add of the milk skin. (4/5)

Razor clams
Showing a rare comforting streak, poached Scottish razor clams made a welcomed appearance alongside parsnip root, parsnip chlorophyll and parsnip chip basking in a savoury broth of milk-braised Brittany purple garlic strewed with tarragon flowers. The garlic flavour was sweet rather than sharp, thanks to the milk braise. It was a highlight at dinner. (4.75/5)

Foie gras
The foie gras dish - which was enriched with brandy, tempered at 50 plus degree C and served with textures of apple, gaufrette biscuit and hibiscus - was not mind-blowing but it worked. (3.75/5)

Australian snow crab

Steamed Australian snow crab kept the momentum strong. The mound of crabmeat was tossed with nothing more than lemon, olive oil and nashi pear, then served with tomato heart and discs of thinly sliced frozen kyoho grapes that were individually crowned with shiso flowers. Others would do well to take a leaf out of Tippling Club's light and refreshing approach here (4.5/5)

Mangalica pork

Next, the coveted Mangalica pork of Hungary made a grand entry. The pork collar was slow braised and teamed with nuka fermented carrot slices and cucumber, fried nori and golden pursalane (from Tippling Club’s rooftop garden at Wheelock Place) and it was swiftly accompanied by an aromatic cinnamon-infused dashi poured at the table. Our only complaint: the dashi was lost when teamed with the richness of the Mangalica pork (which turned out a tad dry). But the dashi, it was spot-on. (3.5/5)

Ox tongue
Offering a needed reprieve from the rich and savoury pork course was smoked ox tongue paired with slices of smoky hay baked beetroot, pickled pearl onion, beetroot infused quinoa and dollops of horseradish gel for vibrancy. Great dish. (4.25/5)

A4 Toriyama beef

The dinner hit a climax with the last savoury dish of A4 Toriyama beef, a marbled slab served alongside Japanese fruit tomato, pickled Jerusalem artichoke, Hokkaido burrata infused with horseradish and a sheet of kombu-cured wagyu. The richness of the beef was counterpointed by the pungency of the horseradish with hints of acidity from the remaining ingredients. If we could venture a guess, this could well be the top pick of many diners. (4.5/5)

Manchego




Sentiments plummeted with the ensuing cheese course – 2 rectangles of Manchego cheese with jamon on Manchego sauce-stuffed puffed bread, puffed quinoa, pickled globe artichoke and basil pesto on a generous disc of Manchego cheese. Apart from having too many distinct ingredients that were not palate buddies, this was one dish that could have gone easy on the Manchego. Remember, less is sometimes more. (2.5/5)


matcha yuzu feuilletine

Our mood was lifted momentarily by the succession of pre-desserts, of which many like the passion fruit fizzbomb, matcha yuzu sorbet coated with chocolate feuilletineand “strawberry cheesecake” pills were returning fixtures. (3.5/5)

Blackberry financier

New dessert, crumble of blackberry financier with blackberry sorbet, rambutan, wood sorrel as well as granita of apple and celery brought interesting flavours to the table although not in expected ways. Diners who are not fans of celery would be wise to brace themselves. (3.25/5)

Mandarin cheesecake

Perhaps the weakest link in the entire desserts line-up was mandarin cheesecake. Freeze-dried and thyme oil-marinated fresh mandarin orange slices were paired with black molasses-caramelized yoghurt, crème fraiche ice cream, lactose “paper” and edible branches. It was refreshing until we bit on the fresh mandarin slices, which were let down by the dull marinade of thyme and olive oil. Don’t get us wrong, we love our thyme and olive oil, just not as a marinade for sweets. (2.75)

Even if some of the courses were not up to expectations, you would find most of the snacks excellent, pre-desserts mostly fascinating and mains compellingly delicious.

Reasons to make a reservation at Tippling Club you think?




Tippling Club  | 38 Tanjong Pagar Road  | Tel:+65 6475 2217 | www.tipplingclub.com


© Evelyn Chen 2013

Please note that the reviews published in this blog are sometimes hosted. I am under no obligation to review every restaurant I've visited. If I do, the reviews are 100% my own.



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