The meal I was looking forward to most at this start of the year, Mustard Seed really delivered a comforting and delicious line-up. Having tried more than a handful of times to get a coveted reservation slot, I was so glad that I finally got it at the end of last year!
And so a little throwback; the January/February menu ($190) was a fun mix of local and Asian (Japanese and Korean) flavours. A truly enjoyable meal.
Scallop + Guava - A refreshing starter to kick off the whole experience, mine was a special replacement as I don’t take oysters. The light guava granita was so lovely with the sweet scallops, juicy pulps and I love that you get that zesty lime flavour lingering in the cooling mix.
Squid Rojak - The tender mollusc was done exceedingly well. Together with the tangy rojak sauce, spices, crushed nuts and sweet sliced pineapples, it really whet one’s appetite. Got to love the deceptively simple combination.
Superior Stock Chawanmushi - Like a fish maw soup on steroids, the egg custard made with chicken and dried scallop stock was delightfully silky. Using ingredients found in a typical banquet-style soup, it was so comforting and savoury. Giving the LNY vibes, the sauce also had black moss and a few drops of vinegar.
Turmeric Frog Legs - Dusted with herb salt made from dehydrated curry and laksa leaves, the finger-licking-good legs were uber succulent. Wonderfully plump and moist - way better than chicken. The batter was perfect too, not soggy at all and not too thick.
Hakka Radish Meatball - My favourite at the table and at this point, I don’t want the meal to end. Swimming in that tasty pool of pork trotter and coriander seed gravy that was seasoned with aged tamari soy sauce, the radish meatball was placed with braised cabbage, shiitake and their house-made abacus seed. Kinda like a mini pen cai. Made from stir-fried Kurobuta pork collar and belly bound together with tapioca starch, house-made fish paste and shredded daikon, the meatball flavoured with dried cuttlefish and shrimp was the best - amazingly supple.
Penang Hae Mee x JJamppong - Turning up the heat, this marriage of Penang prawn noodles and Korean seafood noodles sees bouncy ramen noodles with wok-fried vegetables, sweet prawns in an aromatic concoction of lip-smacking prawn broth enriched with rempah.
Duck & Burdock Rice - Right before dessert, a surprisingly light rice dish seasoned with a bit of sansho pepper and on the side a marinated stir-fried lotus root.
Kuri Kinton, Rum Jelly - Very nicely balanced, the slightly boozy rum jelly went so well with the earthy roasted sweet potato ice cream and candied chestnut.
Strawberry Kuih Lapis - Following the instruction to have it layer by layer, the steamed dessert was exceptionally good. Love the natural fragrance of the fresh coconut milk and the fruity red layers infused with strawberry juice.
With each visit to Mustard Seed, it’s difficult to fathom how they can top your previous meal. However, they still manage to excel and also keep things interesting.
September’s menu was arguably one of the best menus I’ve had at the cosy and intimate restaurant, each item was almost faultless.
From the appetite-whetting chilled tomato soup with lobster and sambal matah, to the addictive and tangy Laksa Johor with grouper, each dish is an explosion of flavour, yet delicate enough to not de-sensitise the palate.
My favourite of the evening was the oxtail nasi ulam accompanied with a teapot of beef broth. So good and hearty that I forced myself to muster the courage to ask for a second helping (which they generously obliged)!
Mustard Seed is an incredibly difficult reservation to make so go score some good karma points. December bookings are available from 1 Oct, 10am. Good luck!
To cap the meal, Mustard Seed presented their take on two local desserts -- pandan purin with coconut and putugal with bingka.
For the former, a Japanese-style pandan custard with freshly squeezed coconut milk is topped with shaved ice made from young coconut milk. I am no fan of coconut milk but this was super creamy, rich and full of flavours. I love the pandan custard in particular. We did find it a little gelat towards the end.
I thought the putugal and bingka were a nice decent way to finish the meal though I wish there was something sour to cleanse the palate after the pandan purin.
Gukbap (국밥) or hot soup rice, is the Korean equivalent of the Chinese 泡饭 or 汤饭. The broth used is usually ox or pork bone soup.
Mustard Seed's rendition of gukbap is a spin on our local favourite, bak kut teh. Niigata rice is topped with sliced pork cooked shabu shabu style. A pork bone broth with garlic is poured into the bowl and the dish is served with a side of picked burdock and fried lard.
We loved the hearty and peppery broth with a subtly sweet dangui after taste that warms the cockles of our heart. Gimme a side of kimchi please next time to go with this!
For the 4th course, we were served frog legs "inche kabin". This deep fried frog legs dish was inspired by a fried chicken dish served by Hainanese cooks serving aboard British ships. The term "inche kabin" means Mr Cabin in Malay, a homage to the roots of this dish. The frog legs are marinated with spices and coconut milk, deep fried and served with an ass-kicking fiery dip made of chilli, pickled garlic, soy dauce and calamansi juice. The frog skin was shattering crisp with a nice hint of the coconut and spices. I wish my fried chicken tasted like this!
This was followed by grouper moolie & herb salad. A pan-fried wild grouper is served with a mild curry sauce and homemade coin prata. She loved the curry and prata. The curry was light and reminded me of pumpkin soup. And that homemade coin prata --- woah, give me more please!
For our belated 3rd anniversary and Fourth of July party, we checked out this intimate and small chef's table restaurant which serves a tasting menu inspired by local flavours.
Chef Gan is an alumni of Candlenut and Goto Kaiseki and this showed in the Peranakan flavours and Japanese-style cooking.
He started off with a luffa & scallop chawanmushi. Inspired by a local dish, stir fried luffa, eggsi with Hokkaido scallops is steamed in a dried scallop stock, and topped with charred luffa. We love the intense and flavourful chawanmushi and the plump juicy scallops.
Chef Gan followed up with my favourite dish of the night, summer salad with sambal matah. Seared squid and prawns, and seasonal vegetables is topped with raw Balinese sambal and finished with calamansi juice. I like that Chef Gan made slits on the squid so that it will retain its soft tender texture during the cooking process. The sambal was piquant, flavourful and appetising. I love the melodious blend of sweet, sour and caramelised flavours.
For the crab dumplings in broth, the consomme-like soup was prepared using chicken and live flower crab stock. The crab dumping is essentially a giant meatball made of fresh crab meat and pork belly. The soup was warm and soothing. I loved the use of lime zest to give it a slight acidic note. The dumpling was full of sweetness and umami. They definitely did not stinge on this!
This was definitely a great start to their 8-course tasting menu!
I’m not a big fan of pork but this bkt rendition here doesn’t have a strong meat taste. Surprisingly good!
“Exploring Rempahs Part II - Eurasian Cuisine
In a recent interview, I was asked, “How can we preserve the lesser known facets of our food culture, like Eurasian cuisine?” This question got me thinking and sparked a journey to learn more about Eurasian food culture.
Researching on Eurasian cuisine revealed it to be an interesting potpourri of different cultures, incorporating rempah making from the Malays, Indian spice blends and western braising techniques, to name a few. For this menu, we will be focusing on some Eurasian curries characterised by their unique rempahs.
The R&D and learning process to make these recipes have been one of the most enriching culinary experiences I’ve had in recent memory. I believe that the impetus to preserving Eurasian cuisine first starts by having a taste of it. Now, by sharing this meal with you, we all become stakeholders of this culinary heritage, to treasure and pass on.”
One of the best and most memorable CB meals I’ve had . Flavourful but mild curries that just go well together .
It’s no secret I adore what @mustardseed_sg has been and is doing. Regardless of the form they have taken - be it private dining in their home, an intimate counter-seating-only restaurant or the current delivery / takeaway mode, the food that Chef @mkthehansum conceptualises and creates, with his fiancée Chef @xshinyinx, always manages to surprise, charm and immensely satiate.
Their most recent takeaway set menu ($138, feeds 2) was based on the theme of “Exploring Rempah” and it’s the strongest to date (in my opinion anyway). Most likely because there’s been enough time for the team to find their groove as they adjusted to the government’s guidelines for this Circuit Breaker.
As expected, I had my favourites from this menu. The first of these would be the “Penang Hae Mee Tng with Sea Prawns” which I’d kill to have again. The fresh crustaceans were indecently sweet but I was more enamoured with the stock-rich broth and its slow-rising heat from the dissolved sambal. I hope Chef Ming Kiat will deign to repeat it because it’s much too cruel to serve this once.
Also maddeningly delicious to me were the “Meatball Masak Merah” (which I felt, bore a close similarity to the “Masak Merah Duckballs” Chef Ming Kiat had served at one of his earlier private dining sessions), and the knock-your-socks-off-fragrant “Potato and White Curry Gratin” which tasted more complex than its appearance suggested.
The “Sambal Timun with Jambu Air” knew how to ensnare my heart as well. Unlike my maternal grandma’s heavier, drier version, Chef Ming Kiat prepared his with a lightness, reframing the traditional for me, in an appealing new way.
Fragrant, tangy and medium in spiciness, the “Grouper Perut Ikan” fish dish was flooded with small pieces of vegetables and pineapple. I found plain white rice to cushion the piquancy of this dish best.
The “Ayam Panggang”, marinated in turmeric rempah, toasted “soto” spices and shio koji, was smoky and tender.
Dessert was a mini but decadent “Kueh Jongkong”. I cleaned my cup completely of the pandan-flavoured custard with gula melaka and fresh coconut milk. I was happy that it was not too sweet either.
Chef-owner Ming Kiat shared in a note attached to my bagged meal that he had not been an adventurous eater as a kid but during his teenage years, developed a habit of going with friends for suppers at “mamak” (Indian Muslim) stalls. More recently, his fiancée and colleague, Chef Shin Yin, has had significant influence on his journey of discovery of Indian food. Thus, this week’s menu is his take on a few dishes he has encountered but with a touch of the Mustard Seed‘s whimsy and creativity.
It’s a universal truth that Murtabak is one of the most satisfying items for supper, so I was thrilled to see it included. Chef Ming Kiat’s refined take had finely-ground beef in the neatest package of wrapped dough. Curry or dhal would have been too obvious, so what did Chef serve with it? A housemade Big Mac sauce! I thought the combination worked really well taste-wise, and with MacDonald’s closed till goodness knows when, I felt a keener appreciation for the iconic creamy sauce in that moment.
Having grown very fond of salmon in recent months, the Salmon Kedgeree was the dish that resonated most with me. Topped with a hard-boiled egg, the abundant moist salmon flakes and the aromatic-in-spices basmati grains stormed my tastebuds in an epic dance (“Jai Ho!”). It was even better with the refreshing raita (yogurt dip) and a splash of the Red Snapper Curry. Full of body, that curry gravy wasn’t fiery. I also liked that the fillets of fish had the company of cooked-just-right brinjal, lady’s finger and tomatoes.
The side dish of Aloo Gobi was unique too as I could taste both vegetable’s intrinsic flavours under the coating of spices, and the Pappadums were absolutely perfect.
What a wonderful idea to include Lassi as well. And trust the team to avoid the usual fruits, concocting one instead with melons. I am not a lassi fan but I enjoyed theirs.
This is significant and meaningful. Think of it as being invited to take a walk through Chef Ming Kiat’s childhood memories in gastronomic form because it is a tribute to his late maternal grandmother who was an industrious lady and a phenomenal cook. Heartwarming and soul-satisfying, this is food you’ll not exclaim over but instead, feel compelled to enjoy with a quiet, comfortable reverence. Compared to the previous menus I’ve had here, it does come across as homely but in the loveliest way possible.
The $88 set for 2 pax included:
1. Hard-to-find Hokkien “Kee Ya Kueh” that’s soft and mochi-like. Its neutral taste is intentional so it could be eaten with the...
2. Aromatic and rich sauce of the “Lor Ark” or Braised Duck. The boneless slices of the duck breast were really soft and tender too.
3. Chinese grandmothers are geniuses at making soups and Chef Ming honoured his with a superb rendition using Lotus Root, Peanuts and Pork Rib.
4. Seasoned on point, the fat and juicy Ngoh Hiang with accompanying chilli dip was my hands-down favourite item from this set menu.
5. Striking a chord with me as my late grandmother use to cook this dish too, was the soft-textured Luffa Gourd with Eggs.
6. The serving of Dried Oyster “Kiam Png” was generous, and due to the plentiful mushrooms and chicken, full of flavour. I added some of the Ngoh Hiang’s chilli dip as I preferred it with a bit of spiciness and touch of acidity.
7. The dessert of Kueh Bingka was so good, I wanted both pieces to myself. Enough said.
This set menu unfortunately has sold out but the great news is at 10am tomorrow (20th April 2020), Chef Ming will be dropping a BRAND NEW Indian food-inspired menu. So warm up your fingers and stand them by to order at the clickable link on @mustardseed_sg’s bio on Instagram.
I’ve never met a bowl of Buah Keluak noodles I didn’t like.
One of the earliest, if not the earliest, was the “Buah Keluak Mee Pok” by @chefshentan at the now-defunct Revolution Coffee cafe. I remember trying to chew while gaping in wonderment at its deliciousness, on top of being a bit flustered at finally meeting Chef herself properly (#fangurling).
Shown above is the most recent, which took place here where it appears as the seventh of nine courses in Chef Ming Kiat’s September menu. Naturally, each person has their own take and his featured an oxtail buah keluak ragu and egg noodles made fresh from scratch in-house. I loved how the meat and Indonesian black nut were cooked till they basically became one, a black melt-in-mouth beauty that after some tossing, clung tenaciously to the fine strands of springy noodles. So sublime a Peranakan-Chinese match they made. Chef Ming Kiat urged us to squeeze the lime and mix in the housemade sambal belachan to give the earthiness from the buah keluak a note of brightness and savoury heat. Doing that really did transform the dish in ways I didn’t expect, to heightened tastiness of course.
Chef Ming Kiat is gifted in unshackling the DNA of traditional flavours and harnessing it, along with the “feeling”, to create shockingly sublime dishes that leave you staring at them in awe as you eat. The current menu (it changes monthly) has some of the most imaginative and delicious tasting Mod Sin (Modern Singaporean) creations that have ever landed on my palate. With each (details listed below), I was astounded, dazzled and ultimately, satisfied to no end. Here is the complete list:
1. Insanely good opener of seared local squid, in a laksa leaf pesto, enlivened with pickled green apple and a kerabu (Asian salad) of wing bean, mint and red onions.
2. Chockfull of Hokkaido scallop and fish maw, the chawanmushi was steamed in a stock of dried seafood and Jinghua ham, and topped with a very umami housemade X.O sauce. Extremely flavourful and a favourite of many.
3. Highly imaginative course of Ebi Katsu (crunchy prawn and fish patty) in a pool of Chef Ming’s tartare sauce which was concocted from fish chowder, turmeric leaf, laksa leaves, coriander and belimbing.
4. The herbal duck and Japanese mushrooms hot pot is a great example of minimal waste done to really tasty results. While the bones were brewed with Chinese medicinal herbs, the thighs were made into meatballs and the body meat, sliced and poached.
5. One of my favourites was the dish derived from Indonesian Soto soup featuring local grouper. Roast chicken stock was reduced to a “bumbu” (spice paste) and enriched with butter to become a velvety-smooth and terrifically aromatic gravy. Served with it, a smoked fish bergedil that was good on its own but better soaked in the gravy.
6. Chef Ming’s version of his mum’s Popiah Porridge is pure comfort food. The taste was sweet and savoury due to the simmering of turnip, carrots, cabbage, “hae bee” (dried shrimp) and Japanese rice in a potent prawn stock.
7. Peranakan meets Italian in the form of fresh egg noodles with buah keluak oxtail ragout. Adding sambal belachan and fresh lime juice brought the rich earthy flavours of the ragout to another level.
8. Nothing is straightforward with this team. For a palate cleanser, Chef Shin Yin made us a sorbet of cold-pressed star fruit juice and served it on Japanese muscat grapes and pomelo from Ipoh.
9. Baked a la minute, the piping hot orange sugee cake came with a scoop of spiced ice-cream that’s made in-house with cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. I doubt there could be a more perfect ending to this amazing meal.
As our next booking at @mustardseed_sg approaches in the first week of September, my excitement to have Chef-owner Ming Kiat’s new menu is already building. At the same time though, I can’t help but think of this dessert I had on my last visit with wistfulness.
A tribute to the humble soya bean, the bowl holds its different incarnations in an ice-cream, as a silky yuba (Japanese beancurd skin), crunchy chips of #tempeh (fermented soya beans) and even a housemade kinako sauce, all orchestrated to harmonise beautifully when enjoyed together.
I feel it takes a great deal of sensitivity and creativity in a chef to fathom the potential of the humble bean in order to be able to execute to such sublime results. Obviously, Chef Ming Kiat has both qualities in spades.
Transitions are tricky. Much more so when your Point A happened to be one of the most coveted private dining experiences in Singapore (snagging a seat required lightning fingers). Naturally, your Point B was bound to attract intense scrutiny.
Chef Ming Kiat (Instagram: @mkthehansum) of The Mustard Seed Pop-up, with the support of his girlfriend Chef Shin Yin (@xshinyinx) and a mutual friend from their Candlenut days, Chef Julian (@juliegohan), has pulled it off successfully, making his move from private dining to a full-fledged restaurant look like a walk in the park. I am sure it is an illusion because a tonne of work must have gone into getting the new space to echo the look and feel of what he had created at the venue of his previous dinners - his parents’ timelessly stylish home.
Located along a charming row of shophouses in the north-east of Singapore, the @mustardseed_sg can now seat more diners. And very comfortably too, around a U-shaped counter (fun fact: it’s built from the wood of a single tree).
I am very pleased to report the food produced by this tight team of three chefs in the new, bigger kitchen is instantly recognisable as Mustard Seed’s. Every course is as uniquely nuanced and eloquent in deliciousness as ever. Even if I was not told, I would have been able to guess straightaway whose food I was having. The presentation and flavours are exactly what we have come to know and love - an amalgamation of Chef Ming Kiat’s memories, taste, training, research, passion and innate talent.
The menu here is suppose to change monthly but I am sure whenever you visit, the meal you partake in will have you dreaming of, for a long while after.
Shown above is the sublime second course from my recent dinner here. It is Chef-owner Ming Kiat’s take on a classic dish - the Vichyssoise, which also happens to be the first recipe of Anthony Bourdain’s he ever attempted. The reason for that is he wanted to cook for his mum on Mother’s Day more then a decade ago.
Naturally, the Vichyssoise he served last week to our group of thirteen diners, was of a much more evolved form. The elegant white-on-white creation featured fresh Hokkaido scallops, sweet lily bulbs and pickled local turnip. For me, it was one of the most outstanding courses of the night as I really enjoyed how the cool and warm, as well as the crunch and smooth, coexisted so deliciously in a bowl.
I'm still waiting for Chef Ming @mkthehansum to start his permanent restaurant, after being his loyal fan for his Mustard Seed Popup. I've dined there three times, and still can't get enough of the food there.
If I can only pick one place, then this is the one.
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Chef Ming is a Singaporean chef, Kaiseki-trained, and has worked at a Peranakan restaurant Candlenut. And the combination of these Singaporean-Japanese-Peranakan culture results in meticulously prepared, exquisitely served meals that's heavily local- influenced.
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I summed this up in a previous post - "You wouldn't expect such a young chef at the age of 29 to have the talent and tenacity to design and execute these dishes to exacting standards. His cuisine is one of a kind - kaiseki techniques on primarily local flavours and ingredients, and taking no shortcuts just like how his years at a peranakan restaurant had trained him."
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I hope he finds his permanent restaurant this year, so that I can drop by more often!
Helmed by Chef Ming Kiat, Mustard Seed is a cosy private kitchen that prides itself by pairing familiar local flavors and ingredients with Kaiseki techniques.
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The evening's menu was carefully planned and well executed, starting off with Superior Stock Chawanmushi to soothe our hungry stomachs. You can expect a delicate yet complex flavor from this good cup of Chawanmushi, with a soft silky texture, flavored with the rich fragrant superior stock that attribute a umami taste. You can find scallops and fish maw within, lending contrasting mouthfeel to the dish. And topped with homemade XO sauce to give it a bit of lift, which makes each bite utterly satisfying and surprising.
The highlight is the soft and fluffy milk bun. It is so good that we asked for more. Unfortunately there was no extra. I was hoping for more bread to wipe up the delicious white curry.
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https://www.sgfoodonfoot.com/2018/08/mustard-seed-pop-up-potong-pasir.html
