#andre chiang

I was reminded of this when I was planning my trip. Someone had recommended I try 28 Hong Kong Street, a particularly cool bar. Doing a quick Google search suggested that reservations were a must, so I messaged my friend in Singapore, asking if she would mind booking us a table. She messaged the bar, booking a table for Saturday night at 8.30pm (due to an early dinner we wanted to have at Mellben, more on that later). Many messages then followed: first, the bar only had a table at 9.30pm. Another message 8 minutes later: how long we planned to stay at the bar for, as they needed to plan the reservations after ours. The next day, a cutesy-faux-matronly reminder that we can’t be more than 20 minutes later as “tardy parties get sent to the naughty corner and forfeit their tables to boot”. A final message appears a day before we go: “We have a private party, would you mind showing up at 10pm instead?” When did bars stop being somewhere you pop in for a drink when you feel like it, and leaving when you’re done (or carried out)? Anyway, the bar itself was underwhelming. We tried the Whore’s Bath (manuka honey vodka, umeshu, poire william and Hawaiian lava salt pickled ginger), which sounded delicious on paper, but tasted like a shot of potpourri , while the Sidecar and whisky sour I tried were  average. All in all,  definitely hype over substance.

Another place that was overrated was Tian Tian Hainan chicken rice stall, in Maxwell. The queue there was the longest at the food centre, but when we finally got our chicken rice (above), it was very disappointing. The chicken was tasteless, while the rice itself was hard and just as bland. To make sure, we got a couple of other chicken rices from other stalls and did a quick taste test. Yep, Tian Tian was the worst.

A friend also recommended we try Mellben, a local chili crab place. The queue there was about an hour and a half long, and when we finally sat down, they told us that we could expect to wait another 45 minutes for our food. Sweaty, thirsty and disgruntled, we were somewhat mollified when the crabs came ( we got the chili crab and a curry crab in a pot). They were really delicious, and I vacuumed up at least ten of the deep-fried mantou, soaking up the sauce. But I will definitely never return on a weekend again.

Although friends had told me not to bother with high-end dining in Singapore, as the street food was so delicious, I’m glad I didn’t listen, because two of our best meals were at Andre and Pollen.

Andre is opened by chef Andre Chiang, a Taiwanese chef who in addition to working at the usual Gagnaire and Robuchon kitchens, also has more traditional training at temples of gastronomy such as Restaurant Bras, Troisgros and L’Astrance. The eight-course menu appears pretentious, based on his “Octaphilosophy” with names of courses such as “unique”, “pure” or “salt”. Having trained in the south of France for most of his career, Chiang loves his seafood, which takes up about 70 percent of the menu. I also loved his seafood courses a lot: a starter of mussels in a dark green broth with creme fraiche was simple but surprising (below), and I also loved a shrimp tartare with Gillardeau oyster foam and seaweed.

Where I was disappointed was when Chiang over-thought the dishes, and didn’t let the ingredients speak for themselves. There was a dish with three pieces of fish over a sea urchin risotto. I always find uni to be the best when it’s plain and shines in its own right, not mixed into a lukewarm rice dish. Likewise, everyone always raves about his foie gras custard dish, which has the texture of a Japanese chawamushi, and is then topped with a thick truffle broth. But I found the broth completely overpowers the foie gras, which also has a slightly grainy rather than silky smooth texture (below).

But that is really just splitting hairs, as out of the 12 courses (eight plus some amuse bouches, petit fours, pre-dessert), I loved seven; liked three, and didn’t mind the other two, so not a bad hit rate. Also, I admire the fact that unlike many other chefs of his calibre, Chiang can always be found in the kitchen. Not only does he close the restaurant when he is not in town, but he will not even come out to say hello to guests until all the main courses are served.

On our last day, we went to Jason Atherton’s Pollen. I have mixed feelings about Jason Atherton: I found Table No. 1 in Shanghai charming, and when I interviewed the chef prior to his opening 22 Ships in Hong Kong, I liked the man himself. But 22 Ships consistently fails to blow me away, so it was with lowered expectations that I went to Pollen. The venue is gorgeous: it’s located in the giant greenhouse called Flower Dome, which is in the Gardens by the Bay.

We ordered a set lunch (55 Singapore dollars) and some a la carte items. Atherton has always had a deft hand with food presentation, using vibrant colours to perk up the plate and Pollen was no different. The dish of the day there was no doubt an appetiser of chilled Scottish lobster with sea urchin on top, floating in a cold fennel cream. On the side was served an adorable mini lobster roll, plus a hot lobster consomme in a wine glass. While the starter was not cheap, it was almost like a meal in itself, and definitely something I’ll be dreaming about for some time to come.