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FOOD & WINE
Taste: Top Tables for October
by Anton D. Javier
27 Sep 2023
27 Sep 2023
Highlighting splurge-worthy restaurants for the last quarter of the year that you’re going to want to revisit over and over again.
- BRASSERIE ASTORIA
- TENSHIMA
- BORN
Brasserie Astoria is one of the most notable restaurant openings in Singapore in the last few months, thanks to a concept that brings together a refined yet casual setting, perfect for group get-togethers or solo dining by the bar. Housed in the Victoria Concert Hall, the interiors, menu, and service call to mind grand dining halls known for tableside service, flambé trolleys, as well as nostalgic brasserie fare. However, food and drink options here have been given the Frantzén Group spin – think Scandinavian flavors and luxurious ingredients used oh-so-casually – to appeal to modern palates.
It's easy to dine at Brasserie Astoria and simply feast on starters and small plates, resulting in a grazing table comprised of moreish dishes like the signature Råraka – a Swedish take on rösti, which features an incredibly crisp and buttery disk of Agria potatoes and served with vendace roe and sour cream. The herbed garlic bread, vegetable crudités with homemade ranch dressing, and perfectly fried calamari are must-tries too, in addition to the Caesar Salad that’s mixed tableside, which comes with an assortment of add-ons like chicken breast, pork belly, and fried croutons. For those who want to feast instead of graze, save space for the Steak Frites served with a mound of spiced fries, as well as a the Whisky Flambéed Beef with kampot and green pepper sauce. Thinking of a sweet finish? Amongst the dessert selection, it is the Tutti-Frutti Soft Serve ice cream with homemade sprinkles that stood out the most, thanks to its Barbie-pink hue and nostalgic bubble gum flavor.
Visit Brasserie Astoria at Victoria Concert Hall, 11 Empress Place, 01-01, Tel: 9619 1567
- BRASSERIE ASTORIA
- TENSHIMA
- BORN
TENSHIMA
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At Tenshima, tempura is given a carefully considered kaiseki approach, elevating the dish that’s often enjoyed casually by most diners. This new fine dining concept that’s discreetly hidden in Millenia Walk is helmed by Chef Takahiro Shima, who quietly flexes his kaiseki and tempura know-how behind a beautiful, custom-made wooden counter. Here, he returns tempura to its classical roots, where each seasonal ingredient is prepared by hand, one piece at a time, and fried with precision, resulting in tender morsels embraced by a light, crisp batter.
The choice of oil for deep frying is important at Tenshima, where Chef Shima opts for sunflower oil because of its light, clean taste. As for the batter, it is carefully prepared with low gluten flour, egg yolks, and filtered water, which results in a delightfully crisp texture. The meal begins with a trio of cold and hot starters, featuring seasonal ingredients like hairy crab and anago. As for the main event, Chef Shima starts the tempura course with Japanese tiger prawn head, fried to crackling perfection. What follows is the rest of the prawn, as well as other luxurious bites like shark’s fin, white and yellow Japanese corn, A5 Miyazaki tenderloin, plump scallops, and seasonal fish. Each bite is accompanied by instructions on whether to eat it with sauce, flavored salt, or lemon juice. Here, even dessert is given the tempura treatment, where Japanese sweet potato is dry aged, battered, fried, and finished with a scoop of milk ice cream.
Visit Tenshima at 9 Raffles Boulevard, Millenia Walk, #01-09, Tel: 6226 6666
(Related: Taste - Where to eat now, Aug/Sept 2023)
- BRASSERIE ASTORIA
- TENSHIMA
- BORN
BORN
Chef Zor Tan’s restaurant, Born, burst onto Singapore’s dining scene a year ago to much fanfare. To no surprise, it clinched a double win at this year’s Michelin Guide Singapore and Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, which was then followed by the launch of a highly anticipated second menu. If Chef Tan’s first chapter told the world who he was through a menu inspired by episodes in his life, this second menu tells diners about his relationship with flavors and how they helped frame his understanding of food.
The 9-course menu is a journey through Chef Tan’s food memories – from snacking on canned fruit to discovering the magic of sweet and savory pairings. It’s a fairly ambitious menu, starting with five snacks, each one technique-heavy – like the Beef Tongue on a spiced cracker topped with pickled daikon or the pig stomach-stuffed Chicken Wing paired with a pepper gel – and strong enough to stand on their own as individual courses. Knife skills and flavor balance comes into play in the first course of Kanpachi, watermelon radish, and green chili. Meanwhile, a play on texture and varying levels of savouriness is front and center in the Foie Gras custard course paired with a buttery brioche with toasted buckwheat. And what might look like a bowl of gelatin strips in the Squid course are actually paper-thin strips of raw squid, which dance and curl when a soothing broth of squid trimmings, dried cuttlefish, leeks, and chicken stock are poured over it. For a strong finish, sweet potato is puréed, steamed, fried, dehydrated, and then beautifully assembled together for a multi-layered experience with the humble tuber.
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