Spinach Chef (Asia Square)

The Food Garden food court at Asia Square had seen a bit of a shift around for some of its stalls — whilst some stalls had made their exit out of the food court, there are also some that had moved out of the units which they were being situated at for an alternate unit that is bigger / smaller than the previous one. One of the new additions to the Food Garden food court however is the stall that is being marked as “Spinach Chef”, which is located right beside the outlet of Chuan Tai Zi Mala Tang there. A stall that seemingly rides on the wave of serving up spinach soup that has become rather popular both within and out of the Central Business District of the late, one thing we noticed about the staff at Spinach Chef was how they were wearing polo tees that suggest that the establishment is opened by the folks behind Hao Jia Ban Mian 豪家板面; a brand that is operated by a chain that has several outlets located islandwide within coffee shops, food courts and hawker centres alike. One thing notable about the menu at Spinach Chef which sort of reaffirms the affiliation is how the menu is being segmented out into various categories — this includes Spinach Soup (Dry / Soup) and Ban Mian (Dry / Soup). Those looking for something to share around the table may opt for items off the dumpling / sides section of the menu, while patrons may also opt for a set add-on which sees the addition of various sides / dumplings along with bottled herbal thing coming along at the side at an additional price on top of the soup / noodle offerings opted.

Whilst most of the offerings on the menu at Spinach Chef do seem rather pedestrian, there is one which seemingly stood out from the rest — one of the items which we had been eyeing on to try for a while before eventually making our visit there was the Dry Spinach Noodle.
; something which most certainly detracted from the norm of such establishments where the offerings are largely based on soupy dishes. While Spinach Chef does not describe the elements that come with the Dry Spinach Noodle, the illustration of the menu suggests that the Dry Spinach Noodle comes with elements such as spinach, shallots, anchovies, minced pork and fried dumplings that is shaped like gold ingots. Whilst Spinach Chef does offer patrons with a variety of noodle types to choose from, we were not asked to specify the noodle type which we would like to have with our order — it does seem like the default choice of noodle based on what we were being served with was the U Mian.

We honestly were not expecting much out of this but it seems that the folks at Spinach Chef really innovated with the Dry Spinach Noodle — a lot of effort has been placed in the design of the dish that made it really unique; the U Mian is being tossed in a Goma dressing this one would find familiar from Japanese salads. Giving everything a toss, the dressing pretty much gave the Dry Spinach Noodle a salad-like vibe; creamy, yet tangy with a slight note of roastiness from the sesame — quite a different vibe especially considering how the dish was served hot. There was certainly a pasta-like feel going somewhere with the choice of sauce as a base, but all else feels familiar just like a hearty bowl of Dry Ban Mian (less the dark sauce and chili, of course) — the minced pork providing a meaty bite, whilst the anchovies and shallots giving a savoury yet somewhat crisp addition of textures — the anchovies did seemingly felt a little limp with textures lost from being aired out for a while, though the saltishness that it adds to the dish compliments the creaminess well. The blanched spinach provided that all familiar “green” note that is pretty much the hallmark of the vegetable itself, while the fried wantons were pretty much the showstopper here apart from the use of Goma dressing as the sauce base for the noodles to be tossed in — the fried wantons cone with a beautiful golden brown exterior; crisp and not greasy nor carrying any undesirable stench of overused oil, these came with a good meaty bite from a generous amount of meat that comes wrapped within. Overall, the Dry Spinach Noodle impressed us more than we had expected — a dish that sees an unexpected fusion twist that is nothing short of a creative attempt to bring something different to the table. Whilst the Dry Spinach Noodle is priced at little higher than usual at $8.30, we do find it reasonably-priced considering its novelty factor and the area that they are situated at. Something which we would most certainly crave for!