PUBLISHED June 4th, 2013 02:21 am | UPDATED April 14th, 2016 03:14 pm
The Les Amis Group is to Singapore what Laduré is to Paris – it’s a household name in gourmand circles. So we must have been living under a rock all these years, since we were this late to discover one of its brands, Annam, only recently. The Vietnamese restaurant along Les Amis’ restaurant row of Claymore Hill Road is a gem – a polished gem that looks as good as it sounds and tastes.
A whiff of aristocratic chic tinged with a hint of rustic allure greets you as you step into the square-ish 50-seater. That must be coming from the marble table tops, the faux window panes, and the ornate pink lampshades complementing, rather than contrasting, the backdrop of jaunty jazz from the Accordion, the colourful tile motifs and the Vietnamese kitchen paraphernalia on a creaky shelf.
The food served is like the lesson in Vietnamese cuisine you never had. Each dish had such familiar flavours, yet presented a ‘who-would-have-thought’ sophistication in both composition and presentation. Steamed Rice Rolls ($13) are Annam’s Vietnamese answer to chee cheong fan. The restaurant’s version has an irresistible mochi-like chewiness, inside which is a mix of chopped shitake and minced pork, juicy beyond words. While the oft bastardised Vietnamese spring rolls – strands of white noodles, halved shrimp and mint leaves bundled in soft rice paper – gets the classic treatment ($9), a Betel Leaf Wrap of succulent minced beef ($9) is as novel to the uninitiated as it is common to the insider. ‘This wrap is true Vietnamese cuisine,’ our server in a traditional ao dai dress deadpans, in reference to the spicy, herbaceous one-bite wonder.
Annam’s Pomelo Salad ($19) rivals a good ol’ Thai papaya salad. In fact, the former is fresher and more thrilling in flavour profile. Pomelo sacs provide bursts of tartness to rein in the sharp saltiness of dried shrimp and the lingering grassiness that is cilantro. The dish makes you dream of the day pomelo sacs become the new crouton, sidelining even the shreds of chicken and crab as the star of the salad.
Similarly, we never expected revelations to come in the form of rice cakes, which come as an accompaniment to an entree of Grilled Chicken ($28). Don’t get us wrong – the generously portioned meat is finely seasoned and delivers an enticing smoky backbeat. But it is the discs of sticky rice, encased in the thinnest of batters redolent of the essence of jackfruit, that make us munch away like a newly-converted, anti-Atkins forager.
A dramatic dish of Mud Crab Glass Noodle (Market Price) is like the imperial crowning of your Vietnamese journey. It is a dramatic claypot of piping, silky noodles topped with a bright orange crab shell. The broth is out-of-this-world, an adjective reserved for either lunatics or really outstanding food – tons of flavour is coaxed from the stock’s ingredients.
A reasonably-priced set lunch, which costs only $25 for three courses, is only one more reason to add Annam to your bucket list. Following the wild success of casual local Vietnamese eatery Nam Nam, Chef Nam Quoc Nguyen clearly knows what makes your taste buds tick. A gastro-lesson in Vietnamese cuisine is only minutes away from the heart of Orchard Road, and any more authentic, you’d need a boarding pass.
Written by Mr Nom Nom