Thoughtful dishing at Kausmo

A meal at Kausmo is like attending a ceremony on concientious living. The restaurant itself seats only 16 and it is the epitome of Japanese zen minimalism. Adorning the space are jars of produce that are fermenting, preserving or brining away, adding to the overall celebration of slow food.

The two ladies - Chef Lisa Tang and Kuah Chew Shian - behind this beautiful concept aim to promote thoughtful eating by challenging societal ideals on how our produce should look like and the glorification of perfect produce. Kausmo does not have a fixed menu but instead offers a 6-course Carte Blanche menu, based on the produce they source. Really interesting stuff they are creating, I'm rooting for them!

Home Sourdough | Mushroom Butter

Wild Pepper | Pork Rillette | Red Onion

Stew Beef Sesame Ball | Curry Leaf

Baby Carrot & Cauliflower | Kausmo BBQ

Local XL Mussels | Soubise | Salted Clamansi & XO

Duck Cherry | Mandarin Kosho

Fish Congee

Lapsang Souchong Limau Jelly

Spiced Zeppole | Apple Sherbet | Thyme Compote

Petit Four

Progressive sophistication at Cloudstreet

I love weekday lunch treats. They feel like small pockets of indulgence in the middle of the day. A break from the hustle of the morning and the later half of the day goes by a lot quicker too. One Friday, we decided to have a mini celebration at Cloudstreet for my other half. With two boys in tow, such lunches are a rare treat for us too.

Helmed by Chef Rishi Naleendra and Gareth Burnett, Cloudstreet is "an amalgamation of thoughtful, expressive food, artisanal, progressive wines and warm, immaculate service." Now that's quite a mouthful that I literally ripped from their website, but there is a lot of truth in that too. The dishes were interesting and unexpected, while service was ranged from personable to cheeky.

Beetroot, Smoked Goat’s Cheese, Puffed Quinoa

Pickled Mussels

I really enjoyed our "snacks" - goat's cheese and pickled mussels. One bite wonders that reeled you in for more. 

Singapore Stout and Licorice Bread

Dense, sweet and absolutely glorious slathered with butter - This was one loaf I wanted to pack up, take it home and savour over the week. 

Smoked Japanese Tomatoes, Burrata, Olive Oil 

The perfect balance of creaminess and tang.

New Zealand Venison, Pickled Cashew, Zucchini 

The tartare was gamey yet refreshing. Quite a feat, I must say.

Pork Loin in Nori, Pumpkin Curry, Baby Leek 

Barbecued Turbot, Brindle Berry, Saffron honey

KW chose the pork loin while I went for the turbot. Funny enough, we both preferred the other's main. The succulence of the pork was dreamy while KW liked the flavours of my turbot.

Yogurt, Parsnip, Pear

To be honest, desserts took a while to get used too. They reminded me of sour plums - not my favourite flavour profile. That said, I didn't mind the puckery nuttiness of the dish by the time I was done with the dish.

Petit Four - Vegemite Toast

Fun and mildly absurd - a suitable finish to our meal at Cloudstreet.

Phoenix from Wheat BaumKuchen

I got out of my salmon-comfort zone and tried the Phoenix, fried chicken drizzled with light thousand island sauce. You got to hand it to them. Their soba tastes good with anything.

Whitegrass, CHIJMES

KW and I decided to visit Whitegrass before the Singapore Michelin guide comes out. Little in known about the chef who had no prior experience in Singapore, whose name wasn't in the grapevine till he launched his restaurant, Whitegrass. 

According to this Business Times article, Chef Sam Aisbett "spent three years as head chef at Quay in Sydney... he's bankrolled by a Malaysian couple rich enough to kit out a large restaurant in Chijmes with three individually-decorated dining rooms..." 

Cue the "Ah figures!" 

 

We rolled with the 5-course lunch set (there are 2 and 3 course sets available too) because we felt like ballers on a weekday afternoon. A bottle of Pinot Noir from Yara Valley in Australia pushed the morning's work emails to a faraway dark corner. 

Chef Sam Aisbett's dishes reminded me of plated art installations, but there was a quiet confidence unlike some chefs that rely on bold gutsy flavours to draw affection.

Homemade rye bread accompanied by a creamier-than-thou butter and fancy smancy sea salt served in the cutest pottery from Studio Asobi. The rye was dense but spongey, a perfect canvas for the butter that yielded effortlessly when applied. Against better judgement, I had seconds and they replaced our original butter with freshly cornelled butter for my second slice. It's all about the details, people.

Deconstructed bibimbap

I frankly don't remember half the things in this amuse bouche but there were at least 6 different components - julienned, balls and purees - in this little dish that was no bigger than my Firstborn's palm. Sure, it's a long shot to the original Korean comfort carb, but the deconstructed bibimbap was interesting and a sign of the heavy Asian influence to come. 

Our first course - sashimi of yellowtail Amberjack, horseradish, toasted nori oil, salted radish, nasturtium, white soy dressing - was deeply layered yet gentle and restrained. A thing of fleeting beauty, considering it was gone in 10 bites.

Chef Aisbett might look intimidating, especially with his sleeve all rolled up, but I (and probably everyone else) was won over when he served us the fanciest beetroot salad I will ever eat in my life. Slow-roasted beetroot layered on a bed of cream mixed with smoked eel imported, rosella jam and Tasmanian mountain pepper. I thought the crackling of Tasmanian mountain pepper made the dish pop.

Slow cooked Mangalica pork, tiger abalone, fermented cabbage, white turnip, fiddlehead fern, gourd flowers and pork broth. This was undoubtedly our favourite dish of the day and probably Whitegrass' signature dish. The pork was so tender, I wondered and asked our server why a knife was even served; Lucas' kiddy spoon could have easily pierced through it. Move over, Berkshire. Mangalica is here to stay.

After the Mangalica pork, this grass-fed beef tenderloin fell short of expectations. I know I shouldn't expect much from a piece of tenderloin. The 2- year aged Japanese soy was an unique touch; I told KW we should serve our steaks with kecap manis but he didn't hear a word, probably just saw my mouth contort in a weird senseless movement.

In addition to our desserts, we had an extra cheese course. with Stilton Blue, Comte and third-wheel. Looking back at our visit to Jaan, KW did the exact same thing by ordering an extra cheese course. At least, he is consistent...

Delightfully truly Asia without being condescending, a ginger and almond cake resides beneath an ethereal young coconut mousse, jackfruit ice cream and longan. Again, you can tell Chef Aisbett has a thing for shards and chips. 

We requested for a  different dessert for one of our 5-courses and the kitchen happily obliged with a decadent chocolate-y treat. Valrhona chocolate cake and mousse, topped with sugar coated almonds, with Japanese kumquats. I normally don't like fruits and chocolate but I liked how these kumquats offered a citrusy (not biting or sourish) dimension. 

Our petit fours came just as my stomach groaned but I couldn't resist lapping them up - the chocolate raspberry snowballs were lovely but my heart went out to the manger blanco alfajor (sables with dulce de leche).

I didn't read any reviews beforehand, which saved me any anti-climaxal moments. However, I saw pictures of the restaurant's interior and I was blown away. The musty colours, intricate upholstery details and succulents... My dream dining room! Hey, good news... You can get your hands on these pieces for a pretty penny; you can get more information from their website. 

Last but definitely not least, like the furnishings, the service staff are immaculately polished - friendly without being overly cheeky, smooth without feeling too well, greasy.

Tanuki Raw, Orchard Central

Tanuki Raw recently re-opened at Orchard Central with a brand new menu that serves up "modern, playful Japanese-meets-food-truck style cuisine." Admittedly, I liked what I saw on paper - a Fat Samurai disguised as a deep-dish pizza (not going to be that stealth after ingesting this I'm afraid) and Salted Duck Egg Char Siew Don (am always such a sucker for salted egg stuff), but in reality, my favourite dishes were the uncomplicated lets-not-beat-around-the-bush dishes.

The Good

Case in point: the Foie Gras Truffle Yakiniku Bowl was satisfaction seared and served in a bowl.  And that was quite a generous piece of foie gras too. It was so good we ordered another bowl.

Truffle Sweet Potato Fries fresh from their Mothership (the deep fryer) served alongside truffle aioli. You say "aioli," I say "mayo..." When I see the Firstborn pick on them, it makes me feel a wee bit better that these are made of sweet potato. #LiesItellmyself

The Not-so-Good

I am afraid the Salted Egg Char Siew Don was a zero-sum game. The sauce was weak and the char siew while tender was forgettable. Salted egg sauce needs a DFF (deep-fried friend) to cling onto, so texturally, this was a mismatch.

Golden Kani Maki - soft shell crab rolled with fresh snow crab, mozzarella stick and cucumber, topped with golden salted duck egg hollandaise. The soft shelf crab was like the teacher who picked on you back in school - cold, tough and stodgy. The entire dish consisted of one too many flavours and everything melded into an indiscernable mess.

And the "What Were You Thinking?!"

 

Instagram This Maki - When I saw the name, I thought of the frat Fung brothers from Broke Bites. This roll would make sushi chefs cringe and it isn't for the purist of heart. Fried yakiniku steak, bacon and tamago, smothered with malted cheese, mayo and onions. There was a lot going on and all I remember is, this tastes like something you would order and polish off with no recollection if you were drunk.

I wouldn't rule out Tanuki Raw but I would stick to the safer dishes in the future. Ok, maybe I will order the fat Samuri that wasn't available this visit too. #OldFartOut

Gourmet 2 Go, Platypus Kitchen

The number of salad bars in Raffles Place is truly mind-boggling. The set-up is pretty much formulistic too, 3 different sizes, consisting of a protein, plus greens and a carb. Here at Platypus Gourmet2Go , a small box starts from $6.90 for one premium protein, one regular protein, salad and pasta. There isn't a grand selection but their protein looks well-made i.e. dry and sad-looking like many salad bars. My tidy pile of little barbecue pork and creamy mushrooms made quite the delicious meal.

Platypus Kitchen, Bugis Junction

Stuck in a mall, they are not clear on their positioning. The location and menu hopes to attract families, yet the price point and dishes might be intimidating to some. The menu is large, offering the best of Platypus Group, from handmade pastas to bowls, lobster rolls, cast-iron grilled chicken and more.. Oh, they offer craft cocktails too. Confused? Quite pity given that some of their dishes are pretty good - notches above pedestrian style over substance cafe brunch grub.

The Beef & Chili Poutine is technically not a poutine since it doesn't consist of cheese curds or gravy. That said, the chili was tasty, and the cruise and crunchy fries were addictive.

Harvest Chicken Salad 

The Harvest Chicken Salad was sadly quite lacklustre, despite the potential to be great. The poached chicken slices were laid out oddly on a bed of greens, and scraps of blue cheese dotted the toast - it was clear the person who prepared the dish neither eats nor cares about salads.

I don't know if it's me, but I wish cooks would chop up their salad into helpful bite-sized shreds. I'm having a salad, not a steak, can I please just use a fork and keep the knife for the steak? Chopping it up also ensures the greens are evenly coated with dressing. Ehh, I'm beginning to sound like a Salad Nazi. Moving on...

That aside, the mains were pretty well done. We had a couple of handmade pastas, a strong heady Forest Mushroom Tagliolini, and lightly seasoned Squid Ink Pasta with Boston Lobster. No complaints on my end; but if pasta were your thing, you might have more to say about these.

As a "rice bucket," I very much enjoyed the two Signature gourmet bowls that we had - Ribeye & Truffle and Crustacean Bowl.

Take a knob of Japanese rice, gently lay a delicate onsen egg on top of it, adorn with cubes of chargrilled wagyu and finish it off with a few drops of truffle oil and micro greens. Satisfaction. Truffle onsen egg rice bowls are almost done to death but before the trend cannibalizes itself, I'll enjoy every morsel of it.

Their signature Crustacean Bowl was a failed lesson in self-restraint. Uni creme, butter-poached Boston lobster, topped with honey ponzu, black caviar, and chargrilled cheddar. It's no secret that aburi anything is a pleaser in my books, and this Crustacean Bowl is a delicious makeup of torched flavours.