PUBLISHED June 16th, 2018 06:00 am | UPDATED March 6th, 2020 04:19 pm
If you’ve have dined at Osia or the now-defunct Equinox (both very fine establishments in Singapore), you might have tasted the cooking of Lee Boon Seng, who’s been slogging away in professional kitchens since he was a boy of 17. The ‘Rising Chef of the Year’ winner at the World Gourmet Summit’s 2013 edition now helms the kitchen at The Spot, the multi-concept F&B establishment that opened over at Marina One last month.
The 32-year-old’s cooking isn’t rooted in any single one of his previous stints, nor is it something predictable. It’s highly individualistic – an inevitable result of all his years behind the fire. If I had to chuck it into a category, it’d be a cross between contemporary European and Southeast Asian. The restaurant’s website calls it ‘Southeast Asian sauce-centric’, and funnily, it sounds about right.
Lee’s luscious sauces are a revelation to the possibilities of familiar ingredients, but boy, are they tedious. His Scallop Carpaccio ($30) starter is drizzled with tart buah long long (a crunchy regional fruit with a pineapple-mango flavour), green apple, and salted plum vinaigrette, while another Glazed Local Duck Breast ($28) showcases a plum ginger vinegar jus made with young ginger, chrysanthemum, salted plum, and housemade demiglace (another feat in itself). Before serving, sago pearls, diced apples, and chrysanthemum oil are added to the boil. Now, let that sink in before you complain about restaurant prices next time.
Practically all of The Spot’s creations display huge amounts of work. Lee’s Roasted Carrot Soup ($18) sounds simple enough: add roasted carrots in a pot with orange juice, young ginger, coconut cream, kaffir lime leaves, then boil and blend. But wait, Lee tops it with fresh lemongrass chorizo prawn salsa and pan-fried rye crumbs. Who has time to fry bread?
Try his Local Skate ($25), or as we in Singapore call it, stingray. Pan-fried and placed on a bed of pearl rice risotto with ikura, it goes one step further with a complicated fish broth that includes dried sole powder and dried shiitake mushrooms. As you can imagine, it’s great. There’s also a Pan-fried Red Snapper ($28) with marvellously crispy skin, presented in a flavourful green curry emulsion with two eggplant variations: puréed with spinach, and torched.
When it’s time for dessert, something great came along. I’m beguiled by the Licorice Root Ice Cream ($15) – and with caramelised candied parsnips, malt molasses, and coffee crumble made with raw hazelnuts, only a weary salty tooth wouldn’t. The ice cream itself is made in-house (of course) with licorice root powder and malt extract, and tastes clean and herbal.
You could close off the meal with a specialty coffee from Toby’s Estate, but I say go for a cocktail at the bar instead. Drazen, the lead bartender with past tenures at Mercure hotel and Hard Rock Cafe shakes up some decent signature concoctions, from a spicy Curry Oh ($20) with single malt whisky and curry bitters to the earthy fruit-forward Betty’s Choice ($20) with gin, elderflower liqueur, beetroot, lychee, and citrus. Oh yes, there’s a private cigar lounge too.
1855 The Bottle Shop
Alongside the restaurant, you’ll find its partner 1855 The Bottle Shop, an award-winning wine retailer in Singapore that brings vinous refinement with more than 800 labels of fine wines and spirits. This includes the world’s most awarded single malt Scotch whisky at the moment: Glenfiddich 15 Year Old. Don’t miss The Macallan Boutique @ 1855 either, the first of its kind (a downtown boutique) in the world to display The Macallan’s exquisite range of whiskies, such as the prestigious 1824 Masters Series collection and The Macallan 50 Years Old.
The Spot is located at 5 Straits View, #01-26/27 Marina One, Singapore 018935, +65 6284 2637. Open Mon-Fri 11.30am – 11pm. Closed Sat-Sun.