chEAT SHEET Singapore: Hinoki

Chef Gary Ng is a genius.  Chef Gary Ng is unpretentious.  Chef Gary Ng will blow your mind and your senses in the few hours you allow him to at his restaurant.  Chef Gary Ng owns and runs the best kept secret Japanese restaurant Singapore has to offer.  Yet, Chef Gary Ng remains to be humble about his craft.

The seafood here is flown from Japan twice or thrice a week.  The flavor combinations will take you to another place you've never been.  I try not to speak with profanities, but this is absolutely f*$%-ing good.  Think chawan mushi with foie gras and more of that same foie gras with shrimp.  How can plates and plates of pretty little things that look so insanely simple have such complex and deep flavors?  Ah... there lies his genius.  Bite after bite, one wonders, how does he do it?!  

My secret posse of 3 chefs ate here for a good 3 hours and wish that we had the luxury of time to eat more.  Believe it or not, I ate everything you saw in this post.  

Get on a cab and head to Hinoki.  You will thank me for this as I continue to thank the chef that took me here.  Don't think twice about it and just do it.  Once you try his dishes, you would want to eat here every single day of your life.  As Chef Gary told me, GARY stands for "girls always remember you..."  

I'll never forget you Chef Gary!

Hinoki

22 Cross Street

China Square Central (South Bridge Court)

Singapore 048421

Reservations: 6536 7746

chEAT SHEET Singapore: Antoinette

Saying that I love sweets would be an understatement.  There are days when I wonder why I did not delve into the wonderful world of pastries.  I've been toying with the idea of taking pastry arts for a few years now, and maybe, just maybe, when I have the time, I probably will.  


Antoinette was recommended by a very dear friend, who happens to be an accomplished and gifted artist; one of the heavy weights in the pastry world in the Philippines.  Where do I even begin?  The atmosphere in this cafe dictated what was to come.  And as the famous saying by Marie Antoinette goes..."let them eat cake."  And so we did.  I was completely floored by the chefs renditions of classical pastries and couldn't help but revel in his flawless execution.

Antoinette's Baba aux Fraises is by far, the best I've had in Southeast Asia.  It's consistency of being in between bread and cake, refreshing strawberry coulis, and the airiest whipped cream, is worth noting.  The Antoinette and Bread & Butter Pudding are also worth having.  The desserts my friends and I shared after a week-long exercise in all things savoury in a professional kitchen was just what we needed to usher in the weekend. 

I need a time machine.  I don't think I'll ever tire of their sweets.

More about Antoinette here.

chEAT SHEET Singapore: DB Bistro Moderne

Well-executed dishes with flavors so authentic, the kind where you know they don't have instant or powdered stock behind the kitchen, this restaurant should always be on your list when in Singapore.  It's as if you were eating in one of Chef Daniel Boulud's restaurants in the US.

Chef Stephane Istel cleverly carries out dishes in a manner that is simple yet elegant.  Classical French dishes are sent out of his kitchen one after the other, in visually arresting plates.  

The front-of-house staff are also worth noting.  Highly-efficient, warm, and more importantly, their attention to detail leaves no room for an unhappy meal.  

DB Bistro Moderne

2 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018972

Reservations:  +65 6688 8525

http://www.marinabaysands.com/Singapore-Restaurants/Celebrity-Chefs/DB-Bistro-Moderne/

chEAT Sheet Singapore: Breads, Pastries, and Coffee

(iPhone Photography for this post)

I spent an entire day in my friend's professional kitchen for a day.  We got experimental with several savoury flavor combinations for a few concepts we were working on and naturally, after a day full of umami, we craved for bread and pastries.  It's always like that with chefs... those that work with pastries tend to want to eat savoury and vice versa when they're done with their shift.  Chef Dennis brought me to Takashimaya so we could cover a lot of places in a few hours to fill our needs after a wonderful late lunch at Din Tai Fung in Paragon Mall.  

We headed straight into the basement where the newly-opened Boulangerie Donq Francaise of Japanese-fame can be found.  If not mistaken, it's where the old Heistand Boulangerie was located (I used to buy bread there when I was working for The British High Commission in 2003).  You can actually smell the goodness of their breads wafting through the basement floor; I couldn't help but hand carry a few with me all the way Bangkok just so I could share all the goodness with my daughter.

About ten steps away is Kaffe & Te, where you can buy Kahl's Swedish coffee.  I couldn't resist and bought a few bags.  The lady was too generous, she even gave me free peppermint tea.  How I missed this when I spent 6 weeks in Sweden in my early 20s baffles me.  I wish I knew of this brand then!

A few more steps and we found our way towards our favorite Hokkaido Ice Cream.  I always go for the Salt Caramel which transports me back in time, when I brought Dennis there for the first time, in 2008.  Little did we expect then that he would move to Singapore a year later and that he would be the one taking me to places I've not dined in.  I consider myself lucky since Dennis is one of the most famous pastry chefs in the Philippines to say the least.

Salt Caramel is a good transition from savoury to sweet.  And so, we found ourselves walking towards Pique Nique, known for their cupcakes and macarons.  

A few floors above, was Paul.  One of my all-time favorite places for bread.  I first came across this wonderful shop in Paris in 1999.  Since then, when I get the chance to come across it in other countries, I make it an effort to visit... Dubai, London, and now Singapore!

Last but not the least, was Antoinette.  It's actually in a hotel beside Takashimaya, called the Mandarin.  It's quaint yet opulent vibe screams indulgence from the get-go!

I really wish I had more time to eat my way through but I only had a day in Singapore.  Someday, I'd like to bring The Young Tongue in one of my favorite dining destinations in Asia.