This Month’s Feed

Only the best eating and drinking spots in Singapore.

Words: Andrew Leci and Justin Choo

Native

Native has made quite a reputation for itself, thanks to Vijay Mudallar’s uncompromising approach to creating cocktails with regional and local ingredients. And now, you can experience its philosophy in the form of a full-service restaurant built on the same principles. Conveniently located on the first floor, just below the cocktail bar, the unimposing, casual setting is perfect for nostalgic, comfort food with a dash of adventure and the usual experimental segues. Head chef MJ Teoh, who has previous stints at Pollen, Nouri and Appetite, has conjured up a hearty menu with homegrown vibes – and plenty of vegetarian options.

Really Cold Somen is Teoh’s take on Japanese cold noodles and naengmyeon that is equal parts spicy, savoury, sweet and tangy. We heartily recommend that you follow that by assembling your own Miang Kham. The wonderfully tart and rich pineapple shoyu is the perfect base for this bite-sized ‘rojak’, and the sprinklings of crispy borlotti tempeh will leave you craving for seconds.

If you’re up for soup, the umami-rich Petai-So Clams and crispy youtiao will scratch that itch and leave you thirsting for more. In our case, ‘more’ came in the form of Nose to Tail Chicken Pao Fan, undoubtedly a crowd-pleaser. It’s a study of contrasting textures, marrying soft and tender chicken thigh with crispy gizzards, poached rice with rice crispies in a hearty broth. To complete the ensemble, add a dash of Teoh’s homestyled Ah Moy’s Chilli Sauce to send you back to your childhood. And to scratch your gula melaka itch, the Sticky Jackfruit & Sugee Cake is what the doctor ordered, plus a little more. It’s as intense as the name suggests, so sharing is recommended.

Above: Petai So-Clams is an umami-rich soup that will leave you thirsting for more.

Left: Sticky Jackfruit Sugee Cake is a treat that satisfies any sweet tooth.

Meadesmoore

Who doesn’t love eating a pig’s head? Who wouldn’t enjoy tucking into a steak from a cow that died of natural causes? Despite the deliberate intention to make these questions somewhat mischievous and controversial, they are being asked by a new restaurant on Boon Tat Street that is very different, and boldly going where not many steakhouses in Singapore have gone before. According to Victor Loy, the chef behind Meadesmoore, tastebuds and mastication units have become (to an extent) inured to what’s constantly being trotted out by those with a stake in a steak. We all want, it seems, the soft mouthfeel of a succulent, fat-laden slab of meat that melts on the tongue and almost enables us to suck our food rather than chew it.

But what of the other, not-so-well-known cuts that may not be quite as fashionable but have an abundance of taste and a texture? Meadesmoore does just that, showcasing cuts of meat and challenging the diner with the unexpected. If tucking into a prime rib from a cow more than twice the age of regular cattle doesn’t appeal, think again and give it a whirl. Chef Loy will prepare it perfectly – he and his team know exactly where and when to turn up the heat and they’re most adept in the seasoning department.

The onglet or ‘hanger steak’ as it is known is highly recommended. There is a reason why it’s also known as a ‘butcher’s steak’ since those wielding the cleavers appreciate its goodness and reserve the cut for themselves. Despite containing very little fat, it’s as flavoursome as it comes, with a satisfying obduracy in the bite. The prime rib from a five-odd-year-old cow is also delicious with a structured grass-fed meatiness that will never fail to satisfy, while the full-blood Wagyu MS7/8 rib cap (the outer muscle of the beef ribeye) is luxuriously marbled with a delightfully beefy intensity.

There is plenty more on offer at Meadesmoore on a menu that never fails to engage – it’s a smart play to open proceedings with the breaded pig’s head and preserved lemon mayonnaise (sounds dodgy, tastes very good), and there’s a bone marrow starter with Hokkigai clams that will send your taste buds scurrying.

This is a great fun restaurant with as clear a vision and intent as you’re likely to get in Singapore these days, with some excellent culinary chops to back everything up.

Right: in Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate, you’ll get chocolate ganache, custard, crumble, tuile paired with a chocolate whisky sorbet.

Below: the HandChopped Beef Tartare Wagyu is a mix of horseradish, shallots and preserved radish.

A feast for the eyes as much as the taste buds, immaculately sliced milky raw white fluke fish is layered with yellow uni, glistening shoyu jelly, black caviar, green menegi scallions, lilac shiso flowers and gold flakes.

Imamura

A degree of reverence is required when dining at Imamura, a free-standing enclave within Sentosa’s Amara Sanctuary Resort. Firstly, because the restaurant is set in a former chapel, and secondly, because there’s some seriously good food to be had that might just make lovers of Japanese cuisine genuflect at the altar of a very creative culinary mind.

Michelin-starred chef Hirofumi ‘Hiro’ Imamura has gone out on his own with an eponymous restaurant that’s been a while in the making and embodies the Philosophy of Five. Gomi, goshiki, goho is, strangely enough, a food philosophy that dates back to the Eastern Zhou dynasty in China, around 770221 BC. There are five flavours, five colours and five cooking techniques, and Imamura uses them all in his aesthetically pleasing presentations that eschew the really big (that is, expensive) guns that seem de rigueur these days in the omakase experience, in favour of a complication of processes and a precision of taste.

On the permanent signature menu you will find an extraordinary sashimi course that features fluke, uni, caviar and a shoyu jelly (that takes days to make and is as fascinating to feel in the mouth as it is to taste). The Sakura Trout with burdock and yuzu in ichiban dashi is quite sumptuous, as is the pressed/ironed Kagoshima Wagyu with butterbur and gyoja garlic – the beef is waferthin and perfectly medium-rare.

The association of ingredients is quite without peer in terms of balance, and the cooking process is a captivating performance in itself.

Imamura’s culinary tour de force is vegetable-driven and seasonal. There are times when you feel the proteins are almost superfluous, such is chef Imamura’s ability to extract the very best that a resplendent variety of vegetables can offer. Provenance is key and the chef’s acolytes clearly know where to find the good stuff.

The menu is invariably both healthy and delicious, while the surroundings are simply gorgeous and restaurant manager Sam Teoh is a delightful presence.

Everything about Imamura is fastidiously thought-out and superbly executed, already giving this new restaurant every right to be considered highly in Singapore’s current omakase pantheon.