Fura (Amoy)

@fura.sg is definitely a cocktail bar with a handful of small dishes and not a restaurant with a lot of drinks, so adjust your plans accordingly. With that disclaimer out of the way, this strikingly embellished bar does a biodynamic, vegetable centric spin on commonly available local produce. Every dish Fura serves is proudly vegetarian, futuristic and highly innovative.⠀
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Take for example the Milk/Mylk/Melk ($22++), which has Bewilder oyster mushrooms served in something resembling a consommé, but here it’s a nut milk dashi. Nut milk…hehehehe-excuse me. The Bewilder shrooms were bewitching, and the gently chewy texture in conjunction with the umami from the MSG that naturally occurs in mushrooms made it a satisfyingly savoury shroom dish to ruminate upon with a couple of drinks. The nut milk added a luscious, rich creaminess (don’t you dare) to the mouthwatering mushrooms, making this dish a perfectly complete dish both taste & texture wise.⠀
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Due to Fura’s highly experimental nature, there were always going to be a few misses. The Kurly Kale ($20++) sounded good based on its composition: hydroponic kale, edamame, toasted seed butter & pickled shallot. However, kale is already plenty bitter by itself, and it was charred, amplifying the bitterness. I was searching for more of the creamy & savoury seed butter to balance out the bracing bitterness, but there wasn’t enough to be found. Plus, the Kurly Kale always felt a lot more like a side piece to an entrée that never arrived.⠀
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Still, even as an enthusiastic meat enjoyer, I can certainly appreciate Fura’s bold innovations with veggies.

This is not the first time I’ve had mushroom ice , so I had an inkling of what to expect. This’ll turn your preconcieved notion on its head of what constitutes acceptable ice cream flavours, with the unmistakable umami funk of fungi sharpened with salt assaulting your senses. This decidedly vegetal dessert’s companion pieces were a crumbly zucchini cake and tangy lemon meringue yoghurt which helped cut though the earthiness of the former components.

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.