2 days ago
Nordic surprises at Dill
NEW RESTAURANT
Dill 33 Duxton Road Singapore 089497 Tel: 8180-4414 Open Wed to Sat: 4 pm to 11 pm; 12 pm to 2 pm (Fri & Sat only)
[SINGAPORE] So a funny thing happened on our way to a Chinese restaurant. We're thinking double-boiled soups, yam rings and cold crab – but we get a dubious Norwegian trying to feed us pickled herring, fermented turnips and brown cheese like they're the best things to eat since, uh, Swedish meatballs?
Looks like we have the right restaurant, but the wrong time frame. Our eyes say we are at Yue Bai, with its familiar minimalist interiors and distinctive wooden moon gate. But the restaurant is long gone and Dill has taken its place, run by a laid-back couple whose easy-going hospitality makes you think you wandered into a Scandinavian open house by mistake.
The cooking is done by chef-owner Daniel Hasvold Jung-Eldoy – henceforth known as just Daniel because to retype his last name will give us finger cramps.
Don't equate his slouchy demeanour with a lackadaisical, fool-the-Asian approach to Nordic cuisine. Daniel has serious chef chops, with a resume that includes stints in Michelin-starred restaurants in London and Oslo (which he also co-owned). He's happy to tell you that he moved to Singapore so his bubbly wife, Anna, can be close to her father who lives here, while Dill gives them an opportunity to work as well.
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Oslo's loss is our gain because Dill is a refreshing palate cleanser for those who've grown inured to predictable, garden-variety restaurants. Even though the Nordic penchant for fermentation and vegetal flavours isn't our thing, Dill's authenticity and emphasis on freshness and quality ingredients win us over.
There are two menus to choose from – a la carte with all the classics, or an ever-changing tasting menu at S$140 that allows Daniel to flex his creative muscles a bit. We sense that he's not breaking a sweat while he's at it, but even at Scandinavian 101 level, it's pretty good.
You're not obliged to order the set menu for the entire table, so you get to sample both. Toast skagen (S$26) is a hefty slice of toasted dense sourdough topped with baby shrimp in a creamy herb-flecked dressing and fermented turnips for extra tang. The shrimp are meaty and firm for their size, and almost chewy. It's basically shrimp on toast, but it satisfies the smorrebrod craving you didn't know you had.
Waffles topped with creamy fish roe. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Waffles with loyrom (S$29) are not the light and airy variety but made with potatoes for a satisfying chewiness, topped with fish roe mixed in cream.
It's pretty textbook, but for something more ambitious, the set menu starts off with a tiny baked cheese tart topped with a large dollop of the same roe as before. But it's the very crumbly, crisp tart pastry that seals the deal.
Pickled herring puffs. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Daniel tells us that he wants to break the pickled herring curse – the one that says no Singaporean will eat it – so he offers us gougere-like puffs filled with a mixture of dill cream mixed with the fermented fish bits and onions. It's from the bar menu and with his compliments. It has a pleasant mild fishiness and is perfectly enjoyable. Curse lifted.
Japanese scallops in herb sauce. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Continuing with the set, we get Japanese scallops in a herbal sauce that's initially bitter, but it grows on you, especially when matched with crunchy peas and more sourdough bread on the side.
Atlantic cod in fennel sauce. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Atlantic cod is served with pickled fennel slices on an emulsion of butter and pickle juice and some fennel puree – again following the trope of acidity and vegetal, but in a nice way.
Beef in wild garlic sauce. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Daniel does meat well, with a good piece of seared beef on a sauce of wild garlic, paired with cooked lettuce. But the wagyu onglet (S$48) from the main menu is better – the tender offcut fatty but beefy, offset by a bitter tarragon sauce and kailan.
Wagyu onglet in tarragon sauce. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
For dessert, svele (S$19) is your friend. It's a pancake with a soft and resilient texture that comes from using reindeer horn powder instead of baking powder. Never mind how weird that sounds, the texture is unlike any pancake we've had. It comes with brown cheese ice cream – made from caramelised whey, it adds a slight funkiness to the vanilla ice cream. You either love it or don't.
Pancakes and brown cheese ice cream. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
To end the tasting menu, you get a more predictable but lovely homemade strawberry ice cream layered with rhubarb, cream and pie crumble.
Strawberry ice cream and rhubarb. PHOTO: JAIME EE, BT
Dill is an unexpected pleasure, where an introduction to an unfamiliar cuisine is made all the better by one of the nicest culinary couples we've met. We don't know if it's the best food, but we're sold on the good intentions behind it.
Rating: 7
