Restaurant Review: CATFISH, Andrew Walsh’s New Asian Fusion Fish Grill & Raw Bar on Gemmill Lane, Singapore
PUBLISHED November 6th, 2020 08:24 pm | UPDATED November 13th, 2020 07:24 pm
5 Gemill Lane underwent a serious transformation to become Catfish, the fifth restaurant of Cure Concepts’ by Chef Andrew Walsh. Seeing the brick walls, dark furniture, and bistro bar vibes of the now-defunct Club Street Social transformed to a tropical yet urban lounge-like space with high ceilings dressed up in olive hues and lush natural greens, it’s hard not to appreciate the metamorphosis of the space.
Then of course, there’s the simple yet exciting dining concept, which is all about making seafood exciting.
Walsh picked Swedish chef Erik Gustafsson, who’s earned his stripes at the likes of the Michelin-starred F12 in Stockholm, to helm Catfish. Melding his Swedish background and French techniques with a passion for Asian food, the latter presents different styles of seafood-centric fare across a sharing style menu, prepared with a focus on matching flavour profiles.
There’s plenty of fresh and raw seafood to go around on the dinner menu to kick things off, just how we like it. There’s no going wrong with the champagne & oyster, fruits de mer ($38), where caviar, bafun uni, sweet prawns, and tuna are arranged atop a pair of freshly shucked Canadian Sunseeker oysters and served with two flutes of Mansard Brut champagne. Eat it all at once or take your time savouring the different “fruits of the sea”, it certainly makes for a classy, one-of-a-kind start to the meal.
The catfish taco, umeboshi, hazelnut (S$16) balances the natural sweetness of Japanese catfish with the tangy plum jam and umeboshi mayo in a crisp wonton skin taco well enough, though potato lovers (like myself) shouldn’t hesitate ordering up the hassleback potato, blue fin tuna, wasabi (S$16) for a more impactful snack. And props to Gustafsson for managing to weave a traditional Swedish way of cooking potatoes into the menu.
The tater’s creamy savoury centre and crispy exterior, alongside a topping of fresh lime-marinated bluefin tuna and ikura with light wasabi creme, results in quite an explosion of flavour and textures. Crispy wonton skin make another appearance in Catfish’s snack menu, this time as cones holding delectable tartare in the Catfish mini cone selections (S$48 for six). Served in three flavours, it covers all the bases – smoked salmon with ikura and furikake cream, scallop with avocado puree and uni, beef and caviar with wasabi creme. Fun, easy to eat, and filled all the way to the bottom of the cone.
Next, from the small plates menu, one of the most luxurious toasts I’ve ever seen. Atop the pan-fried white bread of the sesame prawn & scallop toast, uni and caviar ($58), you’ll find an Argentinean red prawn, lightly grilled, topped with uni and caviar. Between the bread, a delicious scallop mousseline made with a general helping of fresh herbs balances out the natural sweetness of the seafood. The real stroke of genius here, though, is using spring roll skin to complete the dish with a perfect, even crisp.
A bit of togarashi with the squid noodle & chicken wing ramen, egg yolk, chicken & truffle broth ($25) would probably elevate it to the next level, but that heart warming broth is ace, so is the texture of the squid confit that replaces ramen noodles. We also appreciate the savoury chunks of deboned chicken wing.
It’s possible to fill up on the snacks and small plates, but we urge you to save space for the deboned Whole Sichuan BBQ market fish (S$42). Leave your idea of a numbing Chongqing grilled fish at the door; this fish (we had snapper) shows off a bit of heat and floral note of Sichuan peppercorns, which pairs surprisingly well with the fragrant lobster-based sauce that enhances the sharp laksa aroma with its sweet briny undertone.
Our meal throughout was also peppered with Asian-influenced cocktails (S$24++ each) from the bar. A twist on the French 75, the vodka-based Sake 75 bears hints of almonds and cherries from the maraschino liqueur and a dry finish from the sparkling sake. Albeit a little sweet, their take on the espresso martini Pot O’ Gold, had lovely coffee and vanilla notes accentuated by Irish whiskey.
Dessert at Catfish is kept deliberately simple. Both the strawberry pavlova, fromage blanc, basil (S$16) and the chocolate mousse, orange curd, honeycomb (S$16) feature classic flavour profiles and are equally well executed – truly boiling it down to personal preference.
Catfish is located at 5 Gemmill Lane, #01-01, Singapore 069261, p. +65 6226 1395. Open Tue-Sat 12pm-3pm, 5-10.30pm. Closed Mon.
Top image: Sesame prawn & scallop toast, uni and caviar
