With former Noma staff behind the concept, you can be assured of a certain baseline of quality, creativity and foremost, sustainability. @fura.sg owns its vision of the “future of food”, with a menu revolving around plant-based local produce sourced from smaller businesses and plants from their own rooftop garden. The sleek lines within the minimalist interior at once impresses and puts one at ease, and the long, expansive bar counter invites you to watch the chef and bartender at work.
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The cocktails are playful, inventive and most importantly tasty af. Make Tomatoes Great Again sees Monte Lobos Espadin Mezcal, MSG-Lacto fermented local tomatoes, coriander seed infused vermouth, green apples, parsley, and basil premix freshly carbonated before it hits your table. the drink is at once bright and refreshing with savoury, smoky undertones, bringing to mind an elevated and effervescent Bloody Mary.
Highly reminiscent of local favourite goreng pisang, the stack of crisp, deep-fried bananas ingratiates itself with its at once familiar yet slightly different taste. The extra oomph lies in the lashes of courvoisier vsop dulce de leche that imparts a boozy sweetness to the melt-in-your mouth fruit.
It’s rare to see natural wines made in-house in Singapore bars, so I definitely had to try at least one at fura.sg. On the sweeter side than I’m normally used to for natural wines, Strawberry Generation was easying-drinking and summery, lush with the essence of 60 day fermented strawberry, cherries, red apple and a top note of vanilla.
The menu descriptions of the 100% vegetarian small plates and desserts at this new cocktail bar in Amoy St certainly piqued my interest, as did @fura.sg ‘s overarching themes of sustainability and its vision of food in a resource-scarce future. Some of the stronger dishes deserving mention include the umami-laden Milk/Mylk/Melk, featuring meaty oyster mushrooms from local producer Bewilder, topped with crisp shallot and enriched with a smooth nut milk dashi.
I quite enjoyed all the pungency you’d expect from cempedak in the rich, velvety cream piped atop the slice of Min Jiang Kueh which was more akin in texture to Bika Ambon. The refreshing salted coconut ice cream also went brilliantly with the heavier elements, and all in all, this was quite the successful marriage of beloved local flavours. I’m very much looking forward to their next venture, whether it be a popup or more permanent spot.
It was refreshing to see Singaporean-inspired desserts on the menu. Of course, they came with Focal's own unique twist, such as this riff on kueh salat which sees pandan custard replaced by corn. Each slice is brushed with smoked maple and brown butter glaze. I think a hint of salt as a counterpoint to the sweetness would have made this even better, but the soothing hot corn tea served alongside complemented the kueh very well as it is.
The fatty Hokkaido Snow Pork lent itself well to being grilled on the barbecue. Perfectly cooked, the fat to meat ratio was to my liking, and the unabashedly flavour-forward combination of coffee oil and chicken jus that graced the protein only served to amplify its savouriness. On it's side sat a pile of crunchy you mai cai that had a delicious smokiness from spending some time on the grilled. This was topped with an intriguing dehydrated celeraic "katsuobushi".
Watching the chef duo meticulously prep the separate elements before assembling the dish from our front row seat into the open kitchen only heightened our anticipation for the final product. Masterfully tossed wok-fried premium Japanese Koshikari rice, fragrant with the aroma of ulam herbs, was the main component of the dish presented in a large claypot. I felt it was under-seasoned however, although that was probably due in part to me not following instructions to break apart and mix in the piece of barbecued Ebodai(Butter fish) . Which personally I feel, would have been a waste as it's exquisitely glorious melt-in-your-mouth texture and buttery flavour would have been muted amongst the grains.
The duo of young chefs here have a storied pedigree, both hailing from acclaimed Whitegrass and Magic Square, with separate stints in Odette and Naked Finn. Their fine dining experience is evident in our first appetiser - practically an amuse bouche - a powerhouse of flavours crammed atop miniscule squares of crisp brioche. The freshness of the raw fish melded with the lush richness of crab fat spread for an intensely umami single bite. What an excellent start indeed.
Drawing flavours from around the world and applying it in our local context, @restaurantfocal.sg 's "Progressive Singaporean" cuisine certainly intrigues the palate, what with left-field combinations such as Laksa leaf pesto and Chalet D'Alpage Cheese. The former cedes slightly into the background due to the latter's potent pungency, but nonetheless worked well as a whole on the tender if slightly dry frog legs.
@jofameepok's unique selling point are its undeniably addictive fried fish sticks which garnish every bowl of noodles. The deep-fried fish paste wrapped in beancurd skin is shatteringly crisp and savoury.
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The basic bowl came with your usual suspects of minced pork and pork slices, 1 fishball as well as 2 pork meatballs that had a rough-hewn texture I enjoyed. A generous amount of sinfully oily crunchy pork lard only improves things.When it comes to the sauce and noodles, It's a decent if mild mix that warrants no complaints from me.
This little stall in Toa Payoh Palm Spring Market is run by an eldery Cantonese couple and specialises in classic fried rice and hor fun. The old school taste is evident in the expertly fried grains - not at all oily, even slightly dry, and barely seasoned. The wok hei wafts from the plate, and the rice itself is laced with plenty of fluffy egg and bits of spring onion.
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Whilst the rice was good, the chicken was even better. Each golden nugget is encased in paper-thin crispy batter, and the tender meat was fragrant with the taste of Shaoxing wine.
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Happy Wok
93 Toa Payoh Lor 4
