Restaurant Ember (Singapore) with Sufian Bin Zain

Long before Keong Saik Road morphed from a red light district to the dining cluster that it is today, there was Restaurant Ember (circa 2002), a modern European stronghold at hotel 1929 credited for breathing life into a once-sleazy street in Chinatown.

Lauded as much for its wallet-friendly prices as for its light, Asian-inflected touches, the eatery by head chef, Sebastian Ng, and F&B honcho, Loh Lik Peng, was cast into the limelight when Peng sold the hotel property in September 2013, followed swiftly by Ng’s April 2014 announcement to exit the business due to labour shortage.

In early September, Restaurant Ember (which Peng still owns) re-opened after a two-week refurbishment to unveil a brighter space with the same plate-glass windows, new  carpets, crisp drapes as well as upholstered turquoise chairs to match a white feature wall decorated with "corals".

Taking the helm in the kitchen is publicity-shy former Waku Ghin executive sous chef, Sufian Bin Zain, whose resume boasts branded cooking chops including a 4-year tenure at Iggy’s that culminated in the role of head chef in 2007.

In keeping with the restaurant’s modern bistro manifesto, Sufian has recalibrated the menu but not the approach, which remains affordable contemporary European with occasional Asian accents.

Returning regulars will be pleased to find all-time favourites - like the crispy toufu with foie gras in mirin sauce as well as Chilean seabass with mushrooms and smoked bacon ragout - on the rejuvenated menu.

If you want a solid meal without the distractions of Asian accents, Sufian has it down pat too.

These are available via a la carte or as set lunch (S$42++ for 3 courses) and set dinner (S$88++ for 4 courses).

Before you get your hopes up too high, note that Sufian’s “new” menu additions are nothing radical. But where Sufian comes to the fore is his mastery of classic techniques, something we tend to take for granted but that transforms the fare here beyond a safe bistro checklist to an assembly of hits.

Burrata (S$14) arrives all creamy with shreds of endives mingling with halved cherry tomatoes and rocket leaves in deliciously fuss-free basil dressing thickened with pine nuts.

Smooth and earthy, the Jerusalem artichoke soup (S$14) topped with light-as-air artichoke crisps is creamy without cloying, with an added reward of a delicious grilled Hokkaido scallop hidden within. For the price, we’re unfazed by the hint of truffle oil.

There’s also a simple and heartwarming steamed egg custard made completely irresistibly by the crowning mélange of crab, asparagus and aonori seaweed gently cooked in chicken stock and dashi.

Mains are a little more predictable and a tad heartier but no less well executed.

Meat lovers will endear themselves to the rectangle of fork-tender 60-hour slow-cooked Angus shortrib (S$38) resting on with burnt onion puree, tomato confit and beef jus.

Or the duck confit ($32, advance notice required), a lush and rustic affair of crunchy, almost brittle skin with brawny flesh paired with soft as silk mashed potatoes decorated with sautéed Swiss brown mushrooms.

Bouillabaisse (S$32) is also a standout. A riot of market-fresh seafood - clams, scampi, Hokkaido scallops and seabass – stacked atop a shallow bowl teeming with heart-warming broth that’s sweet and briny.

A highlight from the dessert menu is - ironically - the most formulaic-sounding dessert of Valrhona chocolate brownie with peanut butter parfait and banana (S$18), an execution that is spot on.

It’s no stretch to say that Sufian’s cooking is very accomplished indeed. But given his calibre, we reckon that it’s no stretch for the young chef to step out of his safe harbour to take on more "risks" in the kitchen.

For when he does, I think Sufian’s cuisine will start turning heads.