Features 1 minute 28 June 2017

Redefining Classics: Chef Tam of Jade Dragon, City of Dreams Macau

Chefs are redefining favourite classic dishes for this year's MICHELIN guide Singapore 2017 Star Event.

"To me, classics are the life experiences of our predecessors, which are able to endure the test of time and remain relevant," says Chef Tam Kwok Fung of two MICHELIN-starred Chinese restaurant Jade Dragon, City of Dreams Macau.

Slow-fired soups are a classic in Cantonese cuisine. Using carefully selected ingredients, these are left to simmer over hours for the flavours and essence of each ingredient to be fully extracted and infused into the clear tasty broth. And to Chef Tam, winter melon soup, a popular health tonic during summer, is the most classic. He was inspired by the winter melon soup to create the double-boiled dendrobium, yellow squash soup with Brittany lobster and pork shank for this year's MICHELIN guide Singapore 2017 Star Event.

For the soup base, chef Tam uses lean pork, Jinhua ham and old hen (chicken). These ingredients are diced into smaller sizes and blanched before they are double-boiled together with Luo Han Guo, aged mandarin peels and dried longans for four and a half hours.

To add a twist to this traditional Cantonese soup, chef Tam uses blue lobster from Brittany, France. "For the Brittany blue lobster, they will be made into shrimp balls and added to the soup, elevating the essence of seafood," says chef Tam. The traditional winter melon soup is paired with meat instead of seafood, so the blue lobster is a little different from the traditional combination.

Chef Tam first removes the shell of the blue lobster. The head and shell are kept to make the lobster stock. The lobster flesh is cut into 1x1 cm cubes, and then mixed with shrimp mousse to form lobster balls. Seasonings such as salt, sugar and white pepper are added to enhance the flavours before simmering the lobster balls in lobster stock.


To celebrate the second edition of the launch of MICHELIN guide Singapore, Robert Parker Wine Advocate along with Michelin will be hosting the MICHELIN guide Singapore Star Event.

Come and be the first in Singapore to celebrate with your favourite local chefs and restaurants as they receive the city's Michelin stars. Book your seats here.

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