Rumah Rasa’s Sate Lilit ($7.90)
Satay is by no means an uncommon dish here but the Balinese sate lilit is a little harder to come by. At Rumah Rasa, a casual Indonesian restaurant at the ground floor of Bay Hotel, the rendition is made with tender minced chicken marinated with a spice paste of ingredients like kaffir lime leaves, garlic, chilies and turmeric. This moreish mix is then wrapped around sticks of lemongrass and then char-grilled over a pan. It differs from the local variety where chunks of meat are marinated, skewered and grilled over charcoal.
While sate lilit hails from the sun kissed paradise that is Bali, the restaurant itself serves up a wide array of Indonesian cuisines with a heavy Sundanese influence. Other dishes worth ordering includes the soup buntut (oxtail soup) which can be an appetiser as well as a bowl of comfort where oxtail is braised till tender in a broth that offers spoonful after spoonful of umami goodness. Keep your eye out for the edible garden which, in time will be used to harvest herbs and spices for the restaurant’s use. Level 1, Bay Hotel.
Fratelli’s Milanese Veal Cutlet ($148)
One-year-old restaurant Fratelli has introduced a new menu which showcases the signatures of its main outpost, three-Michelin-starred Da Vittorio in Italy. One standout dish that every diner has to order is the Milanese veal cutlet where veal rib is butterflied and tenderised. This is then coated with beaten eggs and a mixture of grated bread and breadsticks, then shallow-fried in clarified butter. The result? A crispy slab of fried goodness that tastes deceptively like buttery pastry. It’s an incredibly rich dish so be sure to make full use of the lemon wedges as well as the serve of sweet-tangy tomatoes that comes on the side. #02-144 & 145, Hotel Michael, Resorts World Sentosa.
Nami's Japanese Saga Waygu Beef, Sea Urchin, Rice and Seasonal Truffle ($65)
Shangri-la Hotel has just unveiled a new face to its tower wing – and with it, Nami, a brand new Japanese restaurant perched on the 24th floor with a view of the surrounds. The head chef hails from Yokohama and has 30 years of experience, including the honour of cooking for Japanese royalty on ceremonial occasions. Here in Singapore, his dish of Saga wagyu beef sirloin served with sea urchin, truffles and an onsen egg on a bed of rice is a standout for its classic combination of flavours and textures. It is at once luxurious from the wagyu yet hearty for the rice, rich from the uni yet earthy from the truffles. Level 24, Tower Wing, Shangri-la Hotel Singapore.
Coriander Leaf’s Dry-aged Rib Eye Steak ($39)
If you’re in the mood for a good, juicy steak then Coriander Leaf might have just the fix. Here, rib eye that’s been dry aged till its natural umami flavours are concentrated are cooked over a charcoal grill to your liking. We had ours medium-rare and the middle is kept a tempting blushing pink while the outside is beautifully charred. If that’s not flavoursome enough, the chef elevates the dish with a small slab of seaweed butter for a good kick of fattiness.12 Ann Siang Road.
New one-Michelin-starred restaurant Saint Pierre’s newest A-Z 26-course adventure menu is proof that good things really do come in small sizes. On the menu are 26 (of course) daintily plated dishes showcasing exquisite ingredients such as black truffles, caviar and wagyu. What stands out is the beautiful oyster dome. A single fine de Claire morsel is packed with picked crab meat into a thin jelly, plated on a dark slate with a delicate almond tulle arch over it. It’s a dish that is as tasty as it is beautiful to look at. #02-02B One Fullerton, 1 Fullerton Road
Pan-Seared Red Snapper from Audace
The Wanderlust Hotel restaurant, which takes over Cocotte, might have an audacious-sounding name, but the menu here dishes out safe and pretty solid French bistro food. Executive chef Jeremy Gillon shops at Tekka Market for his vegetables and fruits, which appears on dishes such as slow-cooked chicken breast with sautéed kang kong and spinach coulis. But Gillon has also brought over his own magic jars filled with exotic sounding Alpine herbs, and these he scatters into dishes in the form of light floral foams or as a garnish over meats. The pan-seared red snapper with pumpkin, in particular, is enhanced with a light mousse made from matricaire, which has a distinctly bitter taste. Wanderlust Hotel, 2 Dickson Road
Nouri’s Chicken Done Two Ways (part of a 7-course tasting menu from $170)
Nouri is chef Ivan Brehm’s newest playground, and it’s here that he is back performing magic in the kitchen since he left The Kitchen at Bacchanalia late last year. Described as crossroads cooking, the food here takes influences from around the globe that highlight similarities across cultures. If that’s all a bit too much brainwork for a meal, let it be said that the food here is tasty and hits all the right spots. A simple chicken, for instance, is served two ways; as a cheong fun (rice flour roll), and poached in butter. The thighs are first confit in garlic shoots and white pepper, then draped in a handmade paper-thin skin and garnished with bits of sakura ebi, pistachio and pomegranate. For part two, Brehm shows off his skills in turning an often-overcooked part — the breast — into a succulent tender piece of meat that yields easily when sliced into. The poached meat is blanketed in a dandelion puree that accents the dish with bitter notes. 72 Amoy Street.
Ippoh Tempura Bar’s Uni & Caviar Tempura
There’s only one star ingredient in this cosy 18-seater — 12 counter seats and a table for six — and that’s the crisp tempura sans thick doughy batter. It’s a very understated experience here, with just one deep-fryer stove and a single chef to cook your ingredients in front of you, but it’s a show of dedication. The raw vegetables and seafood are first presented on a wooden tray, then dipped and swished in bubbling oil and served piping hot right in front of you. One dish we don’t get to see cooked, but is a stand-out, is the Singapore-exclusive uni and caviar tempura. Cold, creamy Hokkaido uni and a dollop of French caviar is served on a crunchy piece of tempura seaweed, the perfect vessel to scoop up all that briny goodness. 17 Dempsey Road, COMO Dempsey
