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Straits Times
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Mod-Sin 2.0 – restaurants for the modern Singaporean
SINGAPORE – Waves of flavours and food brands from abroad wash on Singapore shores every day. People now talk about hotpot rather than steamboat. Speciality coffee goes head to head with kopi. Mala has infiltrated every corner of the food scene. Some chefs have been working to remind diners of the flavours of Singapore, going beyond takes on this or that local dish for occasions like National Day. A new crop of restaurants is putting Singapore flavours front and centre. Seeking to take Mod-Sin cuisine to a new level are Belimbing by chef Marcus Leow; Choon Hoy Parlor by chef Dylan Ong, with a new menu after relocating from Beach Road; and Gilmore & Damian D'Silva by chef Damian D'Silva, slated to open at the National Gallery Singapore in mid-October. It was Singaporean chef Willin Low who coined the term Mod-Sin 20 years ago when he opened his restaurant, Wild Rocket, at Mount Emily. He used it to describe his food, rooted in familiar flavours but done in ways to pique the interest of modern Singaporean diners. So, the flavours of laksa feature in a pesto tossed with spaghetti; thinly sliced cuttlefish takes the place of kway teow in his char kway teow; and thin strips of pork belly are marinated with prawn paste before being deep-fried for his take on har cheong kai. The 53-year-old chef, who now runs pasta restaurant Pastaro at Chancery Court and Roketto in Niseko, Hokkaido, says: 'People were describing our food as modern European, which it wasn't; and fusion, which is a term I abhor. That's because from the 1990s, some chefs in the West were labelling their cuisine as fusion when they threw in random Asian ingredients that didn't work. 'I remember Mod Oz was used for culturally diverse modern Australian cuisine and I thought that was a great idea for what we were doing for Singapore cuisine. I thought it was appropriate because I think of myself as a modern Singaporean, and the food is a reflection of my identity.' He says Mod-Sin is a celebration of traditional Singaporean flavours, adding that the idea is not to replace the original dish, but to 'enjoy its spirit innovatively'. 'It's about retaining the spirit of the dish while redefining its process, form or even ingredients,' he says. 'A Singaporean couple, who lived in Hong Kong for many years, came to Wild Rocket for dinner. After the meal, the husband said that none of the dishes looked like Singaporean food, but when they ate it, they knew they were home. That, to me, is what good Mod-Sin should be.' He cites the food at Mustard Seed in Serangoon Garden as a good example of what Mod-Sin cuisine is. The restaurant, run by chefs Gan Ming Kiat, Wu Shin Yin and Desmond Shen, serves multi-course meals built around Singapore flavours, executed with Japanese and other techniques. 'At times, someone will try to coin a different term to describe the same thing,' chef Low says. 'As long as we are all trying to celebrate Singapore flavours in a good way, that – to me – is the evolution of Mod-Sin. It's here to stay.' Here are three restaurants that understand the assignment. Reimagining familiar flavours: Belimbing Where: 269A Beach Road Open: Noon to 3.30pm (Thursdays to Sundays), 6 to 10.30pm (Wednesdays to Sundays), closed on Mondays and Tuesdays Info: Call 8869-7243 or go to Belimbing's Braised Angus Oxtail, one of its hot starters. PHOTO: BELIMBING Can rojak be rojak if it has seared kailan stems, frizzled kailan leaves, Japanese firefly squid and pickled strawberries? Yes, in the hands of chef Marcus Leow. The 33-year-old, who worked at The Naked Finn, Magic Square, Whitegrass and Iggy's, is taking creative licence with familiar flavours. He says: 'Mod-Sin is about retaining a lot of the flavours and ingredients that make us Singapore, but finding new ways to take the flavour in a different direction. The food evokes something Singaporean, but tastes different as well.' Belimbing serves four-course set meals at dinner time featuring dishes such as Wok-fried Nasi Ulam and Seared Red Grouper. PHOTO: BELIMBING Inspired by rojak, the sweet, sour, salty and spicy salad, he created Grilled Firefly Squid. The dish looks nothing like rojak, usually a melange of vegetables and fruit tossed with shrimp paste. But take a forkful, and the haegor caramel, made with slow-cooked prawn shells and belacan; the shaved frozen ginger flower; and the sprinkling of powdered dried cuttlefish on top registers in the brain as rojak, but much more inten se. Similarly, the Clam Custard, featuring tuatua clams from New Zealand, is meant to evoke the steamed egg the chef, and many Singaporeans, grew up eating. He peps it up with assam pedas flavours and white pepper. His 45-seat restaurant, part of The Lo & Behold Group , opened on April 15 and has been packed since. It serves a four-course menu priced at $88 for dinner, and a two-course lunch priced at $58. There is a small a la carte selection available for lunch too. Chef Marcus Leow takes creative licence with familiar flavours at Belimbing. PHOTO: BELIMBING Ingredients he uses for the current menu include pink guava, housemade cincalok or fermented krill, and herbs such as sawtooth coriander, ulam raja and laksa leaves. The chef, whose parents are Peranakan, is eyeing buah keluak, that bitter Indonesian nut; century eggs; and the humble bayam or sharp spinach as ingredients for new dishes. He wants to use them in unexpected ways. 'I think it's important to be innovative,' he says. 'All the restaurants I've worked in were big on innovation. I try to do that as well. Hopefully, guests can see that we are doing something different, but rooted in something very Singaporean.' The 90-10 rule: Choon Hoy Parlor Where: 01-84A, Arcade @ Capitol Singapore, 15 Stamford Road Open: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30 to 9.30pm daily Info: Call 6266-0061 or go to Choon Hoy Parlor's Oriental Charcuterie Board. PHOTO: CHOON HOY PARLOR Fans of Choon Hoy Parlor, chef Dylan Ong's Singapore soul food restaurant, will know that he has moved it from Beach Road to Capitol Singapore. Along with the move comes a menu revamp – about half the offerings are new. He is digging his heels in when it comes to offering the flavour of Singapore. The new location, right smack in the middle of the culture and civic district and thick with tourists, offers him a chance to showcase the city's soul food. Among the new offerings are Mocha Prime Pork Rib ($25.90), Chye Ber ($16.90) and Oriental Charcuterie Board ($25.90) – takes on familiar dishes, but with a twist. The pork rib is his version of the popular zi char dish of coffee pork ribs. He cooks prime rib sous vide for 16 hours in a sauce made with coffee from local supplier Coffee Hock, infused with dark Valrhona chocolate, then grills it. The pork rib is served with a sabayon made with white coffee, inspired by Vietnam's egg coffee, with crushed pistachios and cacao nibs sprinkled on top. 'We wanted to make the coffee stand out even more,' he says. The pork rib is Chef Dylan's version of the popular zi char dish of coffee pork ribs. PHOTO: CHOON HOY PARLOR His Chye Ber is an almost forgotten dish in Singapore, although it is popular in Malaysia – cuts of meat cooked with mustard greens, tamarind and tomato. The charcuterie board pays homage to the rich tradition of cured meats in Asia, with strips of waxed duck, duck liver sausage and pork lup cheong. These are served with decidedly local accompaniments – housemade achar, housemade labneh with furu or preserved beancurd worked into it, braised peanuts and strips of crisp tempeh and slices of youtiao. The 38-year-old says: 'We make sure that 90 per cent of the flavours are true, and then the remaining 10 per cent is the X factor, touches you won't find elsewhere. 'I ask myself how I can connect with my diners. It's to preserve the character of the dish. The last 10 per cent should not destroy the dish. In our first year in Beach Road, we tried to tinker with the recipes. But I realised, why try to bring in a foreign flavour? Why not add layers of complexity without doing that?' Choon Hoy Parlor has moved from Beach Road to Capitol Singapore. PHOTOS: CHOON HOY PARLOR He has more plans. In about three months, he wants to start a Kway Png Club, or chicken rice club, on weekends. The chicken is likely to be from France, and diners can order the set meal on weekends with regular chicken rice or chicken rice balls, and either poached chicken or chicken steamboat with a platter of raw chicken they poach themselves at the table. In the new year, it will be his take on Teochew porridge, a weekend set with traditional pickles and dishes that have all but disappeared – fish steamed in seawater, tiny clams marinated and served raw, and whitebait omelette. What drives him is the thought of Singapore losing its identity. Choon Hoy Parlor chef-owner Dylan Ong wants to start a Kway Png Club, or chicken rice club, on weekends in about three months. PHOTO: CHOON HOY PARLOR The father of three children aged four to eight says: 'We have so many things coming through, we mix this and that to the point where we forget who we are. I don't want my kids to think that mala is a Singapore flavour. 'Singaporeans take for granted a lot of our culture. We think hawkers will always be there. But one day, the auntie and uncle will be gone. No Singaporean wants to work in restaurants, what more hawker centres. Then whoever cooks the food, we have to accept that flavour.' What's old is new again: Gilmore & Damian D'Silva Where: 01-02/03 National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew's Road Open: In mid-October For decades, chef Damian D'Silva has been a champion of heritage food, turning out in his restaurants Eurasian, Peranakan, Chinese, Indian and Malay dishes. The 68-year-old was born to a Eurasian father and Eurasian-Peranakan mother, and learnt cooking techniques from both sides of the family, and especially from his paternal grandfather, Mr Gilmore D'Silva. Born to a Eurasian father and Eurasian-Peranakan mother, chef Damian D'Silva learnt cooking techniques from both sides of the family, and especially from his paternal grandfather, Mr Gilmore D'Silva. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH The name of his new restaurant, a 70-to-80-seater, pays homage to his grandfather. The National Gallery Singapore location is especially meaningful because from 1939 to 1969, the late Mr D'Silva was caretaker of the Supreme Court, which is what the building used to house. The home cooking, and roaming around Singapore eating with his grandfather, gave chef D'Silva a firm grounding in Singapore flavours. For the restaurant, he is digging deep into the past, resurrecting 200-year-old recipes. He knows that Singapore – and taste buds – have changed since that time. 'If the flavours are too overwhelming and strong, 20 per cent of diners will accept it, but 80 per cent won't,' he says. 'Balance is important.' The restaurant's menu will be made up of 70 per cent Eurasian dishes and 30 per cent Chinese ones, he says. Some dishes include sayur beremi or purslane and prawns cooked with rempah titek, a spice paste of chilli, shallots, candlenuts and belacan; prawn stock and coconut milk. He is getting the sayur beremi from his long-time Geylang Serai supplier. He says: 'If you don't know how to cook it, it will be bitter.' Another is threadfin fish head and pig brain braised with vegetables. It was served at weddings because of the symbolism – the brain to beget smart children and the fish head to spawn many kids. 'You won't see the brain,' he promises. 'When diners have a spoonful of the sauce, they'll be blown away.' So far, so vintage. The Mod-Sin part of it comes with the plating and accompaniments to the se and other dishes. He is developing several kerabu or salads that can be eaten on their own or paired seamlessly with the dishes. One of these is tomato stuffed with a housemade, ricotta-like cheese, and topped with sesame oil and lemon basil. He says that progress is good, especially when chefs are able to help diners understand the original taste of the dish. 'I've been doing the same thing for so long,' he says of the new direction. 'I want to surprise diners. They'll be able to taste the difference between the old Damian and the new Damian.' Tan Hsueh Yun is senior food correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers all aspects of the food and beverage scene in Singapore. Check out ST's Food Guide for the latest foodie recommendations in Singapore.
Business Times
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business Times
Food review: Belimbing by The Coconut Club - where hawker food gets a mod-Sin interpretation by chef Marcus Leow
NEW RESTAURANT Belimbing 269A Beach Road Singapore 199546 Tel: 8869-7243 Open for lunch and dinner Tue to Sun: 12 to 3.30 pm; 6 to 10.30 pm. [SINGAPORE] Nasi lemak on the ground floor. Artfully poised, street food-inspired fine dining on the upper level. Want to see how far Singapore cuisine has come? Head to Belimbing, where an evolution by staircase takes place in real time at The Coconut Club's two-storey flagship outlet in Beach Road. The transition starts at the latter, which successfully gentrified humble local fare with pricey nasi lemak served in trendy premises. Except that now, it shows signs of slipping back into its hawker centre roots. The street-level dining area looks worn and unkempt – like your neighbourhood zi char, but with better dressed customers. Noisy, cramped and messy, it extends to the restroom, which may not have had its toilet paper replenished since Covid. Its overflowing (yet large) trash bin is a sign that the person most qualified to empty it must have quit that morning, if not the week before. We pity the bottle of Aesop handwash, releasing soap bubbles like morse code for: 'Help me – take me to a nicer bathroom, pleeease…' We can't wait to get back to our comfortable, cleaner perch upstairs where chef Marcus Leow takes the essence of The Coconut Club's Singapore comfort food – the sambals, rojak, satay and curries – and reinvents them completely. For those who remember Leow from his fledgling days at Magic Square, followed by Naked Finn and the short-lived Focal, the young man with a penchant for juggling local ingredients and recipes with a genre-bending mindset is back – with a new place to (almost) call his own. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Friday, 2 pm Lifestyle Our picks of the latest dining, travel and leisure options to treat yourself. Sign Up Sign Up As The Coconut Club's offspring, Belimbing inherits the second floor of the conservation shophouse, serving a very reasonable, S$88 four course menu. If you pay S$21 for nasi lemak downstairs and top up with starters and other sharing plates, it could easily come close to that amount. Most of the dishes are new to us, but some are familiar from Leow's time in Focal, where the food was promising but raw, with good ideas that needed a few more rounds of research and development to perfect. No problem with that now, because Belimbing's dishes are mostly sharper, with a clearer storyline. It's not so easy to spot the local connection, though, given their distinctive, modern European appearance. But unlike an immigration official who will detain you if your post-surgery face doesn't match that in your passport, we know it when we taste it. The fleeting pungence of rojak's hei-ko prawn paste; fermented pineapple in a peanut sauce; the tartness of belimbing, the fruit that the restaurant is named after; and the fragrance of nasi ulam. Leow shows restraint by not making his food all about his heritage, but using heritage as the link to his thought process. A pre-meal bite has chopped raw shrimp and 'gong gong' sea snails stuffed into a crunchy charcoal-hued kueh pie tee shell, topped with belimbing kosho (instead of yuzu) and fried leeks. It's a bit spicy, a touch sour, and a very good start. Aged kanpachi in a cold coconut cream sauce. PHOTO: BELIMBING Fleshy slices of aged kanpachi swim in a pleasing cold coconut cream sauce tinged with the fruity tanginess of pickled pink guava. Slightly funky mussels distract a little. But what seals the deal is the 'firefly' squid 'rojak' – grilled local baby squid in an unlikely toss-up involving fried kailan, jambu, torch ginger and homemade hei-ko. Fruity, sweet and strong in the best way, it gets an extra push of umami from the squishy squid innards. Grilled 'firefly' squid 'rojak'. PHOTO: BELIMBING A combo platter of mee suah kueh, otak paste, fermented tau cheo dip and salad appears, with instructions to eat them in any combination we like. That's like sticking four anti-social people together at a dinner party and expecting them to have a heartfelt conversation. Mee suah kueh, otak paste and salad in peanut dressing. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT They're good in their separate ways. The salad tossed in a peanut dressing with fermented pineapple sauce on the side has lovely satay implications. The mee suah – pressed into carrot cake rectangles – is a plausible match with the Thai-Teochew dip, but is too independent to submit to the assertive otak spread. Toasted French loaf would be welcome here. Clam chawanmushi laced with assam pedas and white pepper sauce. PHOTO: BELIMBING There's also clam broth chawanmushi with extra kick from assam pedas and white pepper sauce, which we prefer to Leow's take on Taiwanese beef noodle soup – braised beef in broth arranged on potato espuma with chunks of green tomato. Fried chicken in yellow curry with coconut rice. PHOTO: BELIMBING The refreshing novelty does fizzle out a bit with the rice-based mains. A deep-fried chicken chop is weighed down by a heavy and one-note yellow curry, and the same for the green curry paired with otherwise tender grilled short rib and satay on the side. Nasi ulam is a refined update of Focal's donabe, where the wok-fried herbal rice is sealed in banana leaf and served with pomfret fillet on the side. The banchan-like condiments are a nice touch. Wok-fried nasi ulam served in banana leaf. PHOTO: BELIMBING Desserts (priced separately) are unchanged from Focal: a buckwheat min jiang kueh (S$12) that's drier than we remembered, filled with cempedak cream and peanuts; and the perennial favourite corn salat (S$14), this time served with corn husk tea. Perennial favourite corn salat served with corn husk tea. PHOTO: BELIMBING Belimbing's unrenovated, botanical-themed dining room feels at odds with Leow's modernist aesthetic. Maybe it's a low-risk test bed to see how his concept flies in this market. But they needn't worry. Leow is on the right track with food that is clever but not conceited. Even so, there's still that tendency to overthink, plus a need to fine-tune sauces, textures and combinations. But when it comes to playing it safe downstairs or stretching our horizons, we vote up. Rating: 7
Business Times
07-05-2025
- Business Times
Seafood and sake in Hachinohe
ARE we tired of Japan yet? It doesn't seem like it, going by the whopping, almost 37 million international visitors to the Land of the Rising Sun in 2024, and a forecast of 60 million by 2030. But if you're feeling crowded out of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and the like, the time is now to head out to lesser-explored prefectures and cities. If all you know about Aomori is its apples and cloudy apple juice, look further to discover the smaller coastal cities within the prefecture that you've probably never heard of. Such as Hachinohe, which may not get much of a shout-out in terms of scenic wonders (its Tanesashi coastal trail is not to be sniffed at, though) or famous attractions, but its sea-facing location makes it a treasure trove of the freshest – and reasonably priced – seafood that you can enjoy to your heart's content. Not to mention washing it down with local sake brewed from Aomori-grown rice. In this week's BT Lifestyle, we take you on a tour of the edible treasures that make this unassuming city worth a stop. It's also Mother's Day weekend; so what's on the agenda for the mum in your life? Check out our guide to the best books for her to browse through, and a shopping list of thoughtful gifts – cherry-picked to suit the myriad tastes of that very special lady. And in Dining, we get to sample the mod-Singapore cuisine of young chef Marcus Leow, who juggles local flavours in surprising ways at his new restaurant Belimbing. For all this and more, don't miss this week's BT Lifestyle. Make this Mother's Day a memorable one too.
Time Out
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Five exciting new restaurants in Singapore to check out this May 2025
May is looking to be a thrilling month, peppered with public holidays, GE2025, tons of things to do, and of course, plenty to eat. That's right, Singapore's dining scene is heating up, with a surge of openings bringing fresh energy to our F&B scene. Whether you're making plans to dine out during the anticipated long weekends or thinking of where to take Mum to this Mother's Day, there's certainly no shortage of options. We've narrowed down the most promising restaurant openings to keep an eye on this May, from new expressions of Singaporean cuisine to the city's currently most talked-about brunch spot. Here are five places worth booking a table at this month. Find out which are our favourite restaurants of 2025 so far. 1. Belimbing Cult-favourite nasi lemak joint The Coconut Club now has a sister restaurant called Belimbing, located right above its Beach Road premises. If the name sounds familiar, it's because it's a throwback to Belimbing Superstar, an economic rice concept – also by The Coconut Club – which shuttered in 2020. The refreshed Belimbing, however, brings something entirely different to the table – 'new-gen' Singaporean cuisine. Head Chef Marcus Leow (formerly from Naked Finn and Magic Square) tells diners to expect dishes that are 'comforting and unmistakably Singaporean', albeit not necessarily 'how our grandparents would remember it'. The restaurant offers a two-course menu ($58) and an à la carte selection for lunch, as well as a four-course menu ($88) for dinner – not too steep compared to the exorbitant prices at some fine-dining establishments. Look forward to ingenious recreations of rojak, rice-based main courses like nasi ulam, kueh for dessert, and hyperlocal cocktails crafted by Side Door 's Bannie Kang. 2. La Terrace Shrouded by Dempsey 's lush greenery and parked right behind the old chapel that houses Claudine, La Terrace is the latest French dining concept by chef Julien Royer. While the two restaurants share a kitchen, the latter is an unfussy, laidback alternative to the dressier Claudine, and more suitable for everyday meals. Its semi-open design lets in plenty of breeze and natural light, while tasteful earth-toned decor like bamboo shades and paper lamps add to its cosy-chic vibe. The restaurant whips up home-style sharing plates that complement its environment – think half-roasted chicken ($58) that feeds up to three; hearty potato galettes ($18) with pepper, garlic cheese, and wild mushrooms; and tempura zucchini flowers ($24). Oh, and have we mentioned? Claudine's famed sourdough with Iberico ham butter ($8) is on the menu as well. G&T fans are also in for a treat with La Terrace's curated line-up of 25 gins – floral, citrusy, spiced, and even non-alcoholic. 3. Bonjour Ma Cuisine You might have seen this new brunch spot plastered all over social media. From the proprietors of Michelin-starred French wine bistro Ma Cuisine comes Bonjour Ma Cuisine, a breakfast concept with a completely different menu, but sharing the same shophouse space as the restaurant. Here's where to indulge in a bougie – and boozy – weekday brunch, the true Parisian way. From 8am to 2.30pm, find yourself lounging outside at the pet-friendly terrace, or snapping pictures of the charming interiors furnished with red leather banquettes. Must-orders on the menu are the croque monsieur truffle ($25.50), or the croque madame truffle ($28.80), where a perfect sunny-side-up egg crowns the sandwich. Other savouries include the fish quenelle drenched in a rich crustacean sauce ($20.80); the parmesan linguine ($14.80); and the Jambon Persille ($13.50). Meanwhile, sweet tooths can go for a remake of the classic French toast with kaya ($14.50). And those who don't mind a little bubbly can check out the wine list, where glasses start at $20. 4. Firebird by Suetomi Mondrian Singapore Duxton welcomes another woodfire-focused restaurant to its F&B line-up, after bidding goodbye to mod-Asian grill Tribal which had a much-celebrated one-year run. The new Firebird by Suetomi is a partnership between Ebb & Flow Group and Tokyo-based chef-restaurateur Makoto Suetomi, whose yakitori joint Makitori Shinkobe in Japan sees a one-year waiting list. As suggested by its name, Firebird zooms in on two things: open-flame cooking, and chicken or 'tori'. Its debut menu is a 13-course omakase experience (from $188), where guests will get to savour different parts of the chicken, from momo (thigh) and furisode (shoulder), to rarer cuts like seseri (neck) and harami (abdomnal wall muscle). Each dish is fired up at a custom-made grill modelled after the one at Makitori Shinkobe, and techniques range from grilling and roasting, to sautéing and smoking – all done over Japanese cedarwood. An unmissable highlight on the menu is the Soboro donabe, where sautéed minced chicken sits atop Japanese rice in a claypot. And to go down with your food, choose from a handpicked selection of sake, shochu, beer, and highballs on the drinks menu. 5. Vincenzo Capuano Opening on May 17 at Robertson Quay, Vincenzo Capuano is the namesake restaurant of Italian chef Vincenzo, who currently boasts 30 outlets worldwide. His pizzas are known for using 'Nuvola Super' flour – a proprietary flour developed with a manufacturer. The dough is then long-leavened and highly hydrated to achieve a fluffy, light texture. To test the quality of the crust and base, guests are invited to cut apart the pizza dough with a pair of golden scissors placed on each table – a highlight of the dining experience. In Singapore, you can look forward to signatures like the Abbraccio e Mamma, which comes with a ricotta-stuffed crust and handmade meatballs; Tetti Illuminati, with a fior di latte base and toppings of mortadella, pistachio, and Pecorino Romano; and the Napolitudine, where crushed tomatoes, meatballs, and basil take the centre stage. There's also Come Una Capricciosa, which sees cooked ham, champignon mushrooms, and artichokes as main ingredients.
