PUBLISHED March 2nd, 2015 04:00 pm | UPDATED June 25th, 2020 11:46 pm
Away from the roller-coaster shrieks and water fountain extravaganzas in Resorts World Sentosa is Equarius Hotel. Beside the posh hotel is the award winning, albeit finance-crippling ESPA, and nestled within, past the perfumed hallways of the spa sanctuary, is the ultimate oasis of calm.
Rays of sunlight filter through its manicured gardens, off the surface of a still pond, into the understated dining room of Tangerine. The piece of natural art, framed by floor-to-ceiling glass panels, unfolds before you – instant re-invigoration the moment you set foot into the 60-seater. Then, a variety of Thai-inspired dishes, each engineered to tick multiple health-boosting checkboxes, stand at the ready for your recovery from the week’s dietary debauchery.
In all honesty, Tangerine is blessed with a wonderful location, a gracious wait staff, and the magic touch of consulting chef Ian Kittichai, the charismatic red Crocs-donning Iron Chef of Thailand. His preparations not only take on a patina of nutritional virtue, they are also guiltlessly tasty, which is probably what embodies the perfect spa cuisine.
You can admire the meticulous carpaccio-style presentation of the Thai-inspired Sous Vide Pork ($18) all day, but the aroma of its pert chilli dressing will eventually invite you to dig in. Accented unmistakably by lemongrass, the light dressing lifts what could have been a boring pork cut. Radish and micro greens provide much-needed crunch, not forgetting liberal doses of beta carotene and antioxidants.
A slice of Thailand is also evident in the Asian Style Sea Bass and Salsa ($26), which sits in a pool of tangy tom yum-style broth poured tableside. The heat, however, is turned up a few notches, as if out to flush out your toxins. The protein of choice, which loses its crisp as it soaks in the broth, is slightly disappointing, under-seasoned on its own and rather obliterated by the numbing spiciness (though that depends on your personal threshold).
A dish that manages to balance delicate and spicy better may be the Tangerine Chicken Roulade ($28). Tender without being mushy, a sous-vide wheel of chicken breast is spread with a Thai Mandarin jam that’s got a good balance of sweet, sour and spicy – quite worth bottling and retailing at ESPA if you ask me. The accompaniment of bell peppers and onions, remind me of all-too-oily tze char, is surprisingly out of sync with everything else.
The dish worth making a trip for, however, is the Guilt-Free Chocolate Mousse, where chocolate and beancurd make for a harmonious marriage. There’s just enough, well, tofu to detect that there is no tofu, if you get what I mean. Accessorized by the usual accomplices of blueberries and strawberries, the mousse feels like a sinful indulgence without you having to struggle to fend off a coma. What might be dizzying and hard to swallow, is its shocking $20 price tag.
Minimum calories, maximum flavour. Maximum nutrition, minimum fuss.
Tangerine’s transition from Chef Sam and Forest Leong’s East-meets-West cooking style to a more focused culinary identity harnessing the varied nuances of Southeast Asian cuisine is definitely a step in the right direction. Far from the hustle and bustle of the city, it’s a mini-retreat worth the occasional pampering. I left feeling amazingly refreshed.
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