PUBLISHED February 5th, 2024 06:00 am | UPDATED July 25th, 2024 04:24 pm
In the fusion of the artistry, one Vietnamese Chef marries the essence of culinary arts with visual arts in the part-dining-room, part-art-gallery restaurant Lộ Quậy, situated along Amoy Street. Pronounced as Lo Kway, the restaurant’s name loosely translates to “Discover” in Vietnamese. This is Chef Quỳnh’s way of inviting guests to explore New Vietnamese cuisine. Where tradition and modernity meet, here is our review of Lộ Quậy.
The Making of a Chef
At a young age, Chef Quỳnh tagged on the heels of her grandfather, foraging through the rich land of Saigon. From hunting to butchering, the youngling even practised self-sustaining farming on her rooftop and learnt to maximise the use of ingredients. Although she was well on her way to becoming a doctor, she opted to chase her real passion instead, and embarked on a culinary program. After graduation, she went on to teach Asian cuisine and run a catering business while cutting her teeth at Japanese-Peruvian restaurant, Nobu, before her stint at a contemporary izakaya, Zuma. Her experiences brought her around the world, from Saigon to California, Dubai, and Hong Kong. Still, it is here in Singapore where she reimagines familiar childhood flavours with a modern infusion in Lộ Quậy.
The Space
Warm, earthy, and natural tones run through the lowly lit restaurant, with fascinating artwork on the wall. While they may look like photos of everyday life in Vietnam at a glance, these poignant artworks are AI-generated, with prompts from Chef Quỳnh’s photographs and personal anecdotes. They tell the story of Chef Quỳnh’s journey and a reimagined world, complementing the theme of her contemporary-meets-traditional cuisine. And if any art piece catches your eye, they are available for sale. The collection of 38 artworks, ranging from 32cm x 32cm up to 140cm x 100cm, will be refreshed occasionally, breathing new vibes to the space. Lộ Quậy seats up to 54 people within a mix of cosy booths and chic table seats.
The Food
Beyond our usual lashings of pho, Lộ Quậy’s Discover Menu (S$148++ per pax) sees the blend of Japanese ingredients and French techniques in delivering contemporary Vietnamese flavours. We started with seven bite-sized snacks, each showcasing Chef Quỳnh’s unique culinary finesse. Among them, a few of our favourites include the Wagyu Tartare with cured quail egg served on shrimp salt puffs offering a juxtaposition of textures, and the Jackfruit Ball mixed with rice paddy herb that imparts an amazing meaty texture. This vegan snack is reimagined as a play on Chả Cá Thăng Long, a Hanoi fish dish made only for royals. The Obsiblue Prawn deep-fried with tempura batter and sticky rice is a rich mix of textures and flavours, from the crunchy prawn head to its natural sweetness and bursts of umami and spice from the sauce. The Chef took inspiration for this moreish snack from northern Vietnam, Hanoi, where young sticky rice is seen as a precious gift.
It won’t be Vietnamese meal without the quintessential Pho and Bánh mì. Here, Chef Quỳnh elevates the humble Pho with Wagyu beef broth and offals, topped with a quail egg and crispy fried beef tendon. The warm and hearty broth takes 18 hours to create and is poured at the table-side so you can enjoy it hot. We only wish we could ask for refills. Bánh mì takes a progressive turn in Chef’s rendition, with Grilled Iberico pork jowl, pork crackling, and house-made pork liver pate stuffed in a puff pastry with Maggi demi glacé. It certainly doesn’t look like the regular short baguette we know, but we can definitely taste hints of it here.
Mains, for sharing, include a selection of Whole Sea Bass, Duck, Lamb (add-on S$10++ per pax), or Wagyu (add-on S$18++ per pax). You can choose two mains if you dine in a group of four or more. We went with the Whole Sea Bass, flash-fried to a crispy finish and garnished with mixed herb salad and a citrusy sauce. The sweet-sour-spicy combination bears a slight resemblance to the Chinese sweet and sour fish, except the yellow sauce is a tantalising mix of Peruvian yellow pepper, lime, honey, pickled eggplant and fish sauce. This simple yet complex-tasting dish is a callback to Chef Quỳnh’s home tradition, where her grandfather cooks a whole fried fish for her on birthdays.
To elevate the experience, we recommend the Discover Beverage Pairing (add-on S$98++ per pax), for a curation of sparkling sips, wines and sake, all hand selected by by their in-house sommelier, Clem Masson.
Lộ Quậy is located at 88 Amoy Street, Singapore 069907, p.+65 3129 7556 Open Mon – Fri 12pm -2.30pm & 6pm-11pm, Sat 6pm-11pm. Closed Sun.
All images courtesy of Lộ Quậy.