Chefs on The Culinaire’s List, an exclusive dining programme designed for DBS Insignia card members, tell us how they are redefining gastronomy through inventive breakthroughs that transcend borders and traditions
1. The culinary creations at Iru Den is inspired by Asian flavours and many Taiwanese ingredients, while Chef Javier executes with European techniques
Deep in an area called Münstertal in Germany, the Michelin-starred Spielweg restaurant is renowned for drawing inspirations from Asian recipes. Wild boar is served in a dim sum to be dipped daintily in soy sauce—evidently, Asian influences are the driving forces for its young chef, Viktoria Fuchs. And over in Brussels, its culinary landmark La Paix, which dates back to 1892, is now a two Michelin-starred creative force that strives on blending Brussels’ heritage with Japanese minimalism.
With France and Japan harnessing the first and second most Michelin-starred restaurants in the world, respectively, chefs across the globe are often trained in or inspired by their cuisine.
Here in Singapore, the outspoken Chef Nicolas Tam of Willow restaurant was a protégé of the most Michelin-starred chef, the late French culinary master Joël Robuchon. Today, with one star of his own, Tam tells us, “It is no longer possible to classify food because Europeans are now using Asian ingredients and Japanese techniques, and vice versa.”
He determines that just as his restaurant’s namesake Willow tree can be found everywhere in the world, his style of cooking is a culmination of inspirations from everywhere.
The Willow Bouillabaisse is a mastery of seafood. During the season we visited Willow, this typically French seafood soup comprised of the small but scrumptious firefly squid from Japan’s Toyama Bay, and shinjo, which is fish ball made with red snapper and pike conger, layered with a bouillabaisse sauce made from crustaceans, bell peppers and vegetables. This is finished with foam made of dried shrimps and malabar spinach sauteed with dried shrimps, both of which wrap this dish up with Chinese elements.
2. The Willow Bouillabaisse (seasonal and subject to change) is served with Chef Nicolas Tam’s homemade sambal chilli beside Japan’s firefly squid and his uniquely flavoured fish ball
Willow’s signature Amadai is from Yamaguchi, Shimonoseki, renowned for this high quality tilefish. Chef Nicolas scalds the scales so they spike up, adding crisp and a signature look, while the flesh is finished on binchotan for fragrance. This dish is served with thickened dashi spiked with a subtle Chin Kiang black vinegar as a take on the traditional shark’s fin soup without the fin. The Chinese elements also lie in the dried scallops and pickled Chrysanthemum petals, and a finishing of fragrant oils with chilli and garlic to complement the fish and Japanese Hokkaido snow crab.
3. Willow’s Signature Amadai
Elevating the Everyday With Clever Culinary Twists
Also in Singapore, the small number of seats at Iru Den are increasingly coveted. Its Owner-Chef Javier Low is familiar with Japan’s ingredients and techniques having had a culinary stint in Kyoto, but as he is married to a Taiwanese, Emily Chen, her homeland has given him ample alternatives for his seasonal menu. He lets us in on his discovery, “In the past one to two years, we have been using fish from Taiwan, which swim across the same ocean that surrounds parts of Japan.”
4. Chef Javier salting one of his prized finds, the Amadai tilefish, from Taiwan
Around Taiwan’s Peng Hu Islands, the fishermen find fish such as the prized Queenfish, which they ike jime (a Japanese technique) onboard the boat to preserve its fresh flavour and texture just as they scoop them up. Similar to Kanpachi, the Queenfish delivers a firm flesh tinged with sweetness, so Chef Javier uses it in his iteration of the local Lo-hei dish.
5. Chef Javier puts the finishing touches on Iru Den’s snack, Oba Leaf with Namero (seasonal fish)
Chef Javier also whips up a moreish butter with the French technique he honed as an Iggy’s alum. The twist in this French butter lies in his future mother-in-law’s cured cai po from Taiwan, which Emily says is usually used to cook with chicken or pork ribs. The result: creamy browned butter with intense umami flavour from the cai po that has been salted and kept over seven years in an enclosed jar.
6 & 7: Cai po (radish) from Taiwan salted and preserved for 7 years by Chef Javier’s mother-in-law is used to created an intensely umami and creamy butter at Iru Den (Credit: Iru Den)
8. Cai Po Butter at Iru Den (Credit: Iru Den)
Neither Bound by Traditions, Nor by Borders
9. East-meets-West concepts are a result of our international cultural mix
For chefs in our little red dot, not being pigeon-holed with one cuisine also helps them be more creative and competitive. “Southeast Asia has a melting pot of cuisines, being exposed to different races and cultures here. This is a huge reason why I started experimenting with different cultural ingredients I like,” shares Ce Soir’s Chef-Owner Seth Lai.
10. Chef Seth looking for curry leaves at Tekka Market
Having earned Michelin stars for 28 Wilkie three years in a row prior to taking over Ce Soir, and prior to turning 30, the young chef is a rising star to watch out for. He shares on sourcing within the region to pay tribute to his culture and be sustainable, “Whenever I try to look for something that people don’t usually use in fine dining, I will look to local ingredients such as curry leaves from our markets.”
11. Ce Soir’s Sakura Ebi, Smoked Daikon, Shio Koji contains curry leaves from the local Tekka market a hint of the dry curry in Perak (Credit: Ce Soir)
Chef Seth’s Sakura Ebi, Smoked Daikon, Shio Koji is a bowl of nostalgia reminiscent of the dry curry found in the countryside of Teluk Intan, Perak, where he was born. In his version, curry leaves and turmeric, which are typically found in Indian cuisine, are blended with dried shrimps – this is inspired by the river he used to walk past as a child, where he would be engulfed by the smell of dried seafood.
Being Increasingly Creative in a World with Borders Fusing
No doubt, in a world with borders fusing, chefs are becoming increasingly inventive. Their focus is no longer about cooking from the perspective of one region or a country.
12. Iru Den’s signature Uni Somen that has won rave reviews
For Chef Javier, his Uni Somen (a signature since days of running his first restaurant, Il Den) combines uni sauce with fermented wasabi. He cures wasabi leaf for the uni sauce – where uni is usually heavy and creamy, his European fermentation technique renders it a much lighter version. The somen is also more al dente than it normally would be in a Japanese setting.
What’s even more exciting for us is that Iru Den, Ce Soir and Willow are all on The Culinaire’s List, curated especially for DBS Insignia cardholders. This is our platform for cardholders to discover and celebrate the creativity of rising stars in gastronomy. With these chefs creating their own signatures that are “borderless”, and their unwavering commitment to elevated service, a memorable dining experience awaits.
The Culinaire’s List is a celebration of Singapore’s vibrant culinary scene through our partnership with both Michelin-starred restaurants and hidden gems. Be updated on Singapore’s fine dining scene through our monthly editorial series, The Culinary Canvas, where we bring you the narratives of each chef, their dishes, their inspiration for a finer appreciation of their culinary creations.
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