Honest Food and Great Service at Luxe Singapore: Review
PUBLISHED July 7th, 2015 03:00 am | UPDATED May 31st, 2016 05:22 pm
Joining the eclectic offerings in the Keong Saik neighbourhood is Luxe Singapore, an airy space that’s refined yet warmly welcoming. Think Italian marble and brass accents blending into an Scandinavian-minimalistic interior, making a perfect place for languid weekend brunches and after-work drinks.
The Luxe group is well-established in Sydney; their five outlets in the Australian city includes an espresso bar, organic wholesale bakery, and a restaurant and wine bar. Its new home here marks their first venture overseas.
Luxe’s cosy, minimalist interior
Helming the restaurant is Chef Chui Lee Luk, who has gained acclaim for her work in fine dining restaurant Claude’s and Chow Bar & Eating Hills. Chef Luk has a knack of allowing the integrity of ingredients to speak for itself whilst keeping things interesting by playing with textures and pairings. Case in point would be the Burrata ($16), which is fresh thickness works perfectly with the pickled cabbage relish and grilled broccoli. The Cauliflower with Sunflower Seeds and Dijon Dressing ($16) also impresses with its combination of crunch and savouriness without banishing the milder flavour of cauliflower.
Cauliflower with Sunflower Seeds and Dijon Dressing ($16)
And of course, freshly shucked Oysters ($36 for 6) is a dish that speaks plainly for their own quality, and we have no complains about these briny ones imported from Galway, Ireland.
Chef Luk also taps into her Malaysian roots by fusing Peranakan and Chinese ingredients with fresh seafood and meats, such as the Grilled Barramundi with Rojak Flower Butter Sauce ($36), which pairs the wonderfully tender fish with a surprisingly robust sauce that leaves a lingering umami in the mouth. The Luxe Burger ($28) also benefits from the spicy kick of its sauce, though the dry beef patty of the deconstructed burger disappoints.
Freshly Shucked Oysters
Instead, meat lovers might do better with the Sausage Roll ($22), where the buttery pastry crust hugs a hearty portion of light-spiced pork sausage. The roasted tomato sauce was particularly good, tempering the savoury richness of the pie. Those looking for something lighter can try the Wild Weed Pie ($24), which sees a well-proportioned combination of greens and ricotta cheese encased within flaky filo pastry, accompanied with a side of lemony fennel slaw. There’s enough bite in the filling that keep it from being overly rich or creamy, and the tangy crunch of the slaw rounds off the overall flavour and textures perfectly.
Handmade Pork Fennel Sausage Roll ($22)
For desserts, Chocolate Indulgence ($14) is a different take on the classic chocolate cake. Using chestnut for a texture that’s light yet satisfactorily substantial, we felt that much more could be done to play up the flavours and textures – the accompanying mascarpone, chocolate ice-cream and white chocolate shavings meld into the cake too easily. Perhaps a darker, bittersweet chocolate ice cream and something wafer-crispy to top the dessert would do better. The Pandan Madeleines ($8) paired with coconut jam was a little too sweet personally, but I appreciated the deep pandan fragrance, which can only come from the arduous extraction from fresh pandan leaves.
Luxe Singapore has a few kinks to work out―the burger seems to still be undergoing tweaks―but it’s well-executed, honest fare that leaves you feeling contented, much like how simple luxuries leave one to be.
