PUBLISHED December 10th, 2020 06:30 am | UPDATED December 14th, 2020 05:21 pm
Even now, vegetables get a raw deal in the fine-dining kitchen – they’re leafy adornments or textural additions, but hardly ever the star of the story. It takes a rare mind like Jason Tan – former head chef of one-Michelin-starred Corner House – to bring out the beauty in humble veggies like onions, carrots, and cabbage. His latest venture along Tras Street, Restaurant Euphoria, is a paean to plants in every detail, from the sauces to the silverware.
Amidst the lush foliage of the Singapore Botanic Gardens, chef Jason previously planted his signature Gastro-Botanica cuisine – a personal philosophy rooted in botanical elements like vegetables, tubers, and fruits. With Restaurant Euphoria, he digs deeper by reinventing the ‘mother sauces’ basic to French haute cuisine (think béchamel, hollandaise, and others).
In place of these, the building blocks of his cooking rest on what he’s dubbed Gastro-Botanica Essences – four versatile sauces created with pure botanical extracts and reductions. Though meatless, these sauces lend his dishes all the range of flavour and richness they need. To be sure, that doesn’t mean meat is off the menu – it’s simply clear that the veggies run the show here, and what a euphoric show it is.
The lush experience begins the moment you step through the door and down a pebbled garden path. Crafted by JTAW Design – the culinary design studio founded by chef Jason with his partner, Arissa Wang – the space is an abstract dream of an indoor garden. Natural materials take centre stage, from the stone tabletops and undulating concrete walls to the plants sprouting from the ceiling. And in homage to his favourite vegetable, the Cévennes onion, abstract onion shapes curve everywhere. Overhead, a light fixture uncoils across the ceiling in gleaming brass layers, like so much onion peel.
Both the six-course Secret Garden of Euphoria (S$208++) and eight-course Journey of Euphoria (S$258++) start off with a trio of amuse-bouche. There’s a crisp sliver of feuille de brick, artfully shaped in waves and studded with flavour bursts – chervil root puree, nutty aged caviar, and Dancing Orchids with an unexpected oyster-like tang. We polish off the melt-in-the-mouth sandwich of hand-chopped wagyu beef tartare just as quickly.
Fans of his Corner House signature, My Favourite Vegetable, will be glad to see this ode to Cévennes onions on his eight-course menu. It’s worth opting for the six-course experience, though, for its own ridiculously photogenic onion creation. Shaped into an eight-petaled flower, the Oignon Jamboree is a gorgeous medley of onions in five forms.
At its heart lies a Cévennes onion parfait laced with smoked eel, generously crowned with Kaviari Oscetria Prestige caviar – a caviar exclusive to just three restaurants in the world. Sweet pearl onion ‘petals’ bloom around it, and the whole thing is poured over with one of chef Jason’s reimagined sauces – the Légumes Essence, a heady broth of red onions and kombu. It sounds like onion overload, but its balance of sweet, tart, and umami is impeccable.
Even the bread course is a celebration of this beloved bulb, but at this point, we wouldn’t dream of balking. The Mochishire ‘Soupe à l’Oignon’ might be best described as a love affair between Brazilian cheese bread, Yorkshire pudding, and French onion soup – crisp outside, cheesy and chewy within. It’s so very comforting soaked in a caramelized onion dip.
While lobster is typically the star on any plate, the Maine Lobster sees it eclipsed by the humble carrot. This dish transforms the root into paper-thin ribbons, which are confit in beurre noisette to tender sweetness, then painstakingly coiled into a tight spiral. Alongside a torched Maine lobster tail, it sits pretty in a pool of Légumes Vin Blanc – chef Jason’s peppery concoction of carrot, shallot, and onion amped up with Iranian saffron. Who knew carrots could be so decadent?
Decadent is one way to describe our meat course as well. The Lamb Neck – binchotan-grilled and drizzled in mushroomy Demi Glace – is reasonably tender, but the most memorable part might be the cutlery. Just before the lamb arrives, we’re ceremoniously proffered a box of Damascus steel knives, hand-forged by the same swordsmith who worked on Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Take your pick from hilts crafted with Dragon Chinese Juniper, Japanese Oak, and more – our inner child was jumping up and down.
We aren’t fans of celery in our salads, let alone dessert, but the Celery was impressive. Celery granita and olive oil come together in one heavenly palate-cleanser, with a touch of earthiness from goma foam. A clever box of petits fours, including a 100 Year Grand Marnier-infused chocolate truffle, caps off a meal full of surprises.
If you’re wondering whether to splash out on the alcohol pairings (S$108++), we say go for it. Far from your usual wine pairings, sommelier Marcus Tan’s curation ranges daringly from sweet-style Emshiki Monsoon sake to Gravner amphora aged orange wine. As though we needed any more delights to take us to euphoria.
Restaurant Euphoria is located at 76 Tras St, Singapore 079015. Open Tues-Wed & Sat 6.30pm–11pm, Thurs-Fri 12pm–2.30pm and 6.30pm–11pm. Closed Sun & Mon.