Highlights from this month's must-eats: pastry poster girl Janice Wong's too-pretty dim sum dumplings, a two-Michelin-starred Tokyo kaiseki restaurant's affordable Singapore outpost, Iggy's new Spanish chef and Justin Quek partners with the Bordeaux Wine Council to open a winebar in Chinatown
1. Wagyu Mabushi Lunch set, $38
Nabe Seizan
True to the Japanese way of modestly pursuing excellence without drawing too much attention to themselves, Tokyo’s two-Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant Seizan, has quietly opened a Singapore sister restaurant within the recently opened Japan Food Town in Wisma Astria. Unlike the Tokyo original, the nabemono-focussed Nabe Seizan offers just one set meal each at lunch and dinner.
The bang-for-your-buck $38 lunch set gets you a generous bowl of Omi wagyu beef rump slices and minced meat atop plump Hokkaido short grain rice, served with a side of dashi stock - the latter made by simmering kombu, fermented tuna and Japanese ginger together for a subtle spice. A starter of crab and raw scallop, both from Hokkaido, and a dessert of Hokkaido strawberries with white wine jelly were fittingly elegant bookends to the meal. The Wagyu Dashi Shabu Course ($180 per person) at dinner, meanwhile, features Hokkaido snow crab croquettes with Omi Wagyu and seasonal vegetables regularly air-flown in from Japan.
#04-44, Wisma Atria, 435 Orchard Road. Tel: 6262 3259
(Read more: What our inspectors have to say about two-Michelin-starred Seizan in Tokyo)
2. Bomba Mellow Rice
Iggy’s
An early pioneer of Singapore’s fine dining scene, Michelin-recommended Iggy’s has reopened on 1 Sept after a short facelift to fete its 12th anniversary, and along with it, a lighter, brighter new look and a brand new chef fronting its kitchen. Spanish chef Aitor Jeronimo Orive comes to Iggy’s from stints at Mugaritz, Fat Duck and Paco Roncero, and can be seen working his magic through a newly installed, almost full-length glass window between the restaurant kitchen and the elegant dining rooms.
Menus are degustation-only at Iggy’s ($175 for 4 courses, $195 for 5 courses, and $235 for 6 courses, excluding snacks and dessert) and the rather eclectic progression of dishes takes you from silk-smooth Japanese somen in mushroom consomme, to Spanish mackerel with sago pearls, and French pigeon. Snacks such as the Corn F(l)akes of parsnip and puffed rice with parsnip milk, and the Ebi Two Ways (sakura ebi and konbu crisp alongside a cone of shiro ebi sashimi) were delightful introductions, but it was the Bomba Mellow Rice that stood out for its luscious lobster chunks and umami-rich squid ink butter. Don’t miss your chance to admire the rare private collection of Michelin Guidebooks dating back to the 1920s - on display in bookshelves near the entrance corridor.
Level 3, 581 Orchard Rd, Hilton Singapore. Tel: 6732 2234
(Related: Read what our inspectors have to say about Iggy's)
3. Dassai Box by Ginza Sushi Ichi, $38
Dassai Bar
The renowned sake brand from Japan’s Yamaguchi prefecture may be known for being US President Barack Obama’s preferred pour of sake in the White House, but few realise that the food at Dassai Bar’s 6-month pop up in Japan Food Town is prepared by the chefs from nearby Ginza Sushi Ichi at the Marriott Hotel, which recently received a star in the 2016 Michelin Guide Singapore.
Skip the other dishes like the Futomaki set or the Grilled Fish set and go straight for the Dassai Box, filled with a Hokkaido snow crab croquette, a toro katsu, anago-wrapped burdok, sesame tofu, a sake-tinged Dassai cake made fresh daily at Ginza Sushi Ichi and carted over every morning. Avoid going on Mondays, when Sushi Ichi is closed and the bento box is off-menu. Feel like slipping in a cheeky drink at lunch? Just add $4 to your set for a cup of the Dassai 50 sake.
#04-52 Wisma Atria, 435 Orchard Road. Tel: 6262 3465
(Related: Read what our inspectors have to say about one-Michelin-starred Ginza Sushi Ichi)
4. Charcoal Grilled Marinated Fresh Chicken Livers with Bordeaux Glaze, $6
Grignoter
For his latest venture tucked snugly within the Keong Saik triangle of cool, veteran local chef Justin Quek of contemporary Franco-Asian restaurant Sky on 57 offers a #throwback to the classical French cooking of his early career. Grignoter means ‘nibble’ in French and the menu is accordingly replete with affordably priced small bites such as a luscious Parmentier En Cocotte and a gourmet Croque Monsieur from the family recipe of a former French chef colleague. Our preferred pick? A duo of skewered chicken livers, grilled to a perfect silky texture - their smokiness accented with a rich Bordeaux wine glaze. Pair them with an equally wallet-friendly carte of Bordeaux wines averaging $70 a bottle, thanks to a partnership with the Bordeaux Wine Council.
2 Teck Lim Road
(Related: Read what our inspectors have to say about Sky on 57)
5. Romanesco with Burrata Mousse and Shaved Bottarga, $24
Braci
No one does produce-forward cooking quite like the Italians, and Beppe de Vito of the Il Lido restaurant group - which produced Michelin-recommended hotspot Aura - proves this veracity with his week-old venture, Braci. An Italian term for ‘ember’, Braci prides itself on charcoal cooking via alternating usage of the Spanish Josper oven and the Japanese shichirin grill (the latter said to have been recommended to de Vito by chef Tetsuya Wakuda of one-Michelin-starred Waku Ghin).
There’s a value-for-money $100 5-course ‘omakase’ menu for the indecisive, but for a sure-fire favourite, zoom in on the lightly grilled romanesco - its smoky earthiness given a multi-dimensional lift when surrounded by elegant dollops of pickled beetroot puree and generous shavings of umami-rich bottarga. Akin to a Hong Kong private kitchen, the 16 table seats in this snug fourth floor eatery are set around a fully open kitchen with a luxe marble counter as its centerpiece. Adjourn to the chic rooftop bar one floor above to take in unblocked vistas of the CBD and Singapore River.
#05-01, 52 Boat Quay. Tel: 6866 1933
6. Japanese Omelette stuffed with Pork Belly, $8
Osaka Kitchen
Bib Gourmand-awarded Tokyo import Osaka Kitchen is known for its okonomiyaki so we were surprised when the must-have dish to have here is not the well-loved cabbaged-laced “pancake” but the Japanese Omelette stuffed with Pork Belly. It’s a simple dish but hits all the right spots: pork belly along with crispy bacon-like bits are encased in a layer of egg, topped with kewpie mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce. To get the best experience and a bit of everything that the eatery has to offer, go for the omakase menus at $35, $50, or $80 and sit by the counter to watch the action.
#04-46, Wisma Atria. Tel: 6262 3271
7. Signature 5 Dumplings, $15
Janice Wong Singapore
Singapore’s golden girl of pastry Janice Wong ventures from her dessert station and into the hot kitchen with her latest outpost at the National Museum of Singapore, her first full-fledge restaurant venture on homeground after successful openings in Tokyo and Hong Kong. The 1,500 sq ft restaurant attached to an immersive exhibition space offers a “flour-forward” menu spanning dim sum and Asian-style noodles, along with Wong’s signature sweets such as mochi, chocolates, edible paints and ice-cream in Asian-inspired flavours such as kaya and rice lemongrass.
To get a sense of Wong's flair, zoom in on the Signature 5 Dumplings, a platter of artistically shaped dumplings made with high gluten flour, potato starch crystal skin, medium gluten flour and low gluten flour and filled variously with ratatouille, chicken, mushroom and prawn and scallops - each one as eye-catching as a bauble, and too pretty to eat.
#01-06, National Museum Singapore, 93 Stamford road. Tel: 97125338
8. ‘Chicken’, $26
SPRMRKT Kitchen and Bar
Restaurant renditions of Singapore’s favourite dish, chicken rice, are a dime a dozen but so few actually live up to the original. At SPRMRKT Kitchen and Bar helmed by head chef Jonathan Ong, the chorizo-stuffed chicken roulade served with soft lentils and bak choy is a triumph. The plating might look uninspiring – dated even – but where it lacks aesthetics, it makes up in flavour. The lentils are surprisingly soft and the bak choy is so fresh and crunchy, one would be forgiven for thinking the restaurant grows its own produce (it doesn’t). The space itself is two floors – the first is a gourmet deli so head upstairs for the more polished, upmarket restaurant
#02-01, STPI - Creative Workshop and Gallery, 41 Robertson Quay. Tel: 9736 4170
(Related: Read what our inspectors have to say about two-Michelin-starred Les Amis)
9. Myoban Uni, $23
Le Binchotan
Back alley restaurant entrances are all the rage right now, and the latest to join the fray is Le Binchotan, a brand new venture off Gemill Lane by Salud and Au Petit Salut restaurant founder Jessica Lim. Former private dining chef Jeremy Chiam fronts the kitchen, fusing Japanese ingredients with French cooking techniques and a quick finish over the restaurant’s namesake charcoal grills. On the menu of small and large plates, appetisers stood out most, such as the signature Myoban Uni, in which curls of creamy, luscious uni and charred corn sit atop a double layered corn custard and jus made with gelatine and agar. Dehydrated soy sauce crystals sprinkled atop complete the textural feast while carefully keeping a balance between smoky, sweet and savoury hints.
#01-04, 115 Amoy Street. Tel: 6221 6065
Bigiya Ramen
Think of ramen and rich tonkatsu soups made from boiling down pork tendons till they nearly disappear come to mind. Tucked away in Takumen Ramen Gallery is Bib Gourmand Tokyo-rated ramen joint Bigiya, which offers a refreshing take with its White Shoyu Ramen with Yuzu and Ajitama. Yuzu zest is grated into a broth made by boiling fish and chicken bits for long hours and served with noodles made of whole wheat flour. It’s a style that’s previously unseen in ramen eateries here and if you have a lunch time craving for ramen without the guilty indulgence, this would be a worthy choice.
66 Circular Road. Tel: 6536 4875
Coo
As an homage to the neighbourhood it resides in, newly opened sociatel (that’s a social hostel for those of us not used to the unnecessary bastardisation of words) Coo has whipped up a panna cotta served in metal tin cups traditionally used to steam chwee kueh, a popular steamed rice cake. Instead of chai por (fried preserved radish), Coo’s dessert version is topped with a cluster of candied walnuts and balsamic-soaked strawberries as a trompe l’oeil twist. The dining room’s neon lit interiors were put together by Ministry of Design to attract the convention-defying flashpacker set but feels too offbeat for a casual lunch fix, so drop in for drinks and dessert post-dinner to better appreciate the venue’s seductive, nightclub vibes.
259 Outram Rd. Tel: 6221 7060
Pyxiemoss
Surly British restaurant consultant Tim Ross-Watson is back to day-to-day restaurant operations after a four-year hiatus since the closure of his progressive restaurant, Garden of Eden. The appetisers outshine the mains on Pyxiemoss’ menu but a must-try among them is the Seaviche, a clever, vegetarian-friendly take on seafood ceviche made with diced sea coconut, a tropical fruit used more commonly in Chinese desserts. Here, the texturally apt substitute for the sweet, gummy flesh of raw shrimp is served with the usual punchy ceviche toppings like cilantro, chilli, onions, and a side of corn chips that comes in a brown bag. Other dishes like Not Just The Tip (celery interpreted six ways) sound curious on paper but pale in fiddly execution.
43 North Canal Road
Baba Chews Bar and Eatery
Ikan sambal is a down-to-earth homely dish usually enjoyed in Malay and Peranakan homes but head chef Alvin Leong at Baba Chew’s has taken it down the gourmet route. Here, it’s called Barramundi Goreng Chilli and he uses locally farmed barramundi from Kuhlbarra, pan-seared the till the scales are crispy and slathered with a delicious, piquant sambal all over it. The sweet, tender flesh goes beautifully with the spicy chilli paste. It’s a taste of home, albeit one with a discerning cook in the kitchen with a penchant for premium produce.
#01-01 Katong Square, 86 East Coast Road. Tel: 6723 2025
