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| Bread and broth at Bacchanalia |
When Bacchanalia announced its decision to uproot from the Freemasons building at Coleman Street, my heart quietly leapt for joy. I was thrilled that young chef, Ivan Brehm, an alum of Per Se, Mugaritz and Fat Duck, was finally getting his own nest, freed from the burden of the enormous 150-seat space that was fraught with little issues from the start. A kitchen cut-off from the dining room; a restaurant that juggled with various personae including that of a cocktail bar and a lounge; plus the sheer expanse of space that came at the expense of dining intimacy.
Intimacy at its new Hong Kong Street roost comes at a price. With sufficient room for just 36 seats including a 10-seat communal table tucked at the rear of the narrow but deep space, Brehm had to pick and choose his kitchen equipment carefully. The once generous bar is now in an awkward corner with just enough space for Head Sommelier, Matthew Chan, to shake his cocktails without inflicting elbow strikes on bystanders. To make full use of its horizontally challenged shop house space, aquaponics herbs are now planted in a rooftop garden. And the stainless steel-clad kitchen – it’s built right into the dining room smack bang at the entrance where Brehm and his crew work in full view of some diners.
The new Bacchanalia may not be the most glamorous eatery in the city but, to be sure, it is built with diners in mind – diners who don’t mind entrusting their dinners to the chef’s whimsy. With a decidedly smaller kitchen, Brehm has dispensed with the a la carte and, in its place, introduced a pair of weekly-changing tasting menus – 5 courses (S$115++) and 7 courses (S$150++). Depending on access to produce, particularly the fruits and vegetables that Brehm procures from 3 farms in Malaysia, the menus are sometimes tweaked bi-weekly. Some weeks, the 2 menus are completely distinct but during our visit, the smaller menu was a microcosm of the more extensive prix fixe we experienced.
To usher us in, Brehm fielded bread and broth (charged at S$10 at lunch, complimentary at dinner), a marvelous bread service of rustic, thick-crusted bread with a savoury dip of deconstructed pesto (Parmesan cheese, polenta, pine nut puree, a smidgen of pickled garlic with basil oil). This was accompanied by a shot of vegetable essence – read: essence, not stock - distilled from 7 different types of vegetables. It was invigorating and, at the same time, heart-warming. (4/5)
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| Carrots |
Carrot, a vegetable that usually plays a supporting role in my homey creations, swept in with a vengeance to appeal to the inner rabbit in me. Chunks of seared carrot interspersed among whole baby carrots and little hunks of spongy carrot cake, smidgens of toothsome carrot jam that could be considered high art and carrot cream with hummus and a dust of dukkah spice. Yes, the carrot jam was really something but no thanks to my bias against the root vegetable, my palate completely missed the fireworks in this dish. Carrots, in my opinion, are not the best vegetable to flaunt given its one-dimensional sweet flavour and neither are they a great fodder to take in the flavors of accompanying ingredients. That said, this could well be the most flavoursome carrot dish I’ve come across. (3.5/5)
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| Ceviche |
The step-sibling of ceviche came to the rescue. Slices of snapper “cooked” in fermented yacon jus were served with longan berries, starfruit, nutmeg fruit, mace and pickled chayote alongside dollops of black garlic puree and sweet potato puree. Instead of stabbing the palate with acidity, this ceviche caressed it with meandering layers of mild sweetness. It was more than pleasant even if it’s not the Peruvian ceviche that we knew. (3.75/5)
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| Milanese risotto |
Creamy and smooth, Milanese risotto cooked with Iranian saffron and aged carnaroli rice did not raise any eyebrows but it was downright delicious. Half of the mound was crowned with chopped chives and wild orchid honey, the other with dehydrated orange powder and balsamic vinegar. (4/5)
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| Scallop |
It was the scallop that took the dinner to a high. A returning signature from its days at the Freemasons, perfectly cooked Hokkaido scallop was served in its own shell with an emulsion of homemade scallop-bushi (fermented dried scallop inoculated with mold – think of it as the scallop equivalent of cured bonito). Finished with a dust of cacao and a crown of caviar, the shellfish was plump and succulent, and the umami from its bushi mood-lifting. (4.25/5)
Iberico pork loin kept the momentum unwaveringly strong. First slow cooked then seared a la plancha, the pink-in-the-middle meat had a richness that was kept in check by an earthy-bitter puree of dandelion (this may not win the adoration of some diners). Elsewhere on the plate was a leaf of Swiss chard, nasturtium, rehydrated walnuts, tahana tuile with aged balsamic, which provided bitterness, nuttiness and richness with a hint of sweet relief. (3.75/5)
For dessert, guava sorbet sandwiched between steamed black sesame and almond financier topped with feuilletine and soursop jelly was dashing (4/5). The tart of bitter chocolate ganache, grapefruit sorbet and pecan crowned with a scoop of assam ice-cream was equally – if not more - toothsome although it could do with a stronger dose of sugar to dull the seething bitterness in the background (4/5).
Unlike many chefs who think nothing of flooding the menu with wagyu, lobsters, caviar and/or foie gras, Brehm has chosen a decidedly remote path strewed with research, techniques and an endless pursuit for extracting maximum flavours from ingredients via food science. His love for knowledge is infectious and I am curious where his quest for kitchen adventure will take him. To greater heights, I pray.
© Evelyn Chen 2013
Please note that the reviews published on 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.
Please note that the reviews published on 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.