SO much to post about my last trip to Singapore but I thought I'd start with this recap of my dinner at Wild Rocket. The Husband and I celebrated our ninth anniversary while in Singapore and I wanted to do something special. I've wanted to dine at Wild Rocket for a while now, more so since I started following owner and chef Low Willin online and learning more about him through mutual friends. I knew I was in for a treat but I had no idea how much I would love this meal. It was one of the best dinners I've had and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
Willin's cuisine is mostly plays on Singaporean and Asian cuisine. I started typing what I thought were the standout dishes but turns out, I loved them all. Though I did want to mention this:
One of the courses we had was what Willin has dubbed as "Singapore Noodles." You've probably heard me bitch make comments about how Chinese restaurants in America have a "Singapore noodles" dish on their menu that doesn't actually exist and it was a relief to know that Willin shares the same gripe. So he's come up with what he feels should actually be Singapore noodles and I think someone needs to make it official because his dish was delicious. It's inspired by a popular local dish called Hokkien Mee, and it was so good I could have eaten another giant bowl of it. Actually, there was a guy sitting at the bar nearby and I'm pretty sure he requested an extra bowl of the noodles before his dessert courses came.
Anyway, here's what we had for dinner that night:
Hokkaido scallops, shoyu kombu, chai poh, truffle oil
Cai poh = dried asian radish.
Thai inspired duck salad with red curry ice cream
Who knew curry could taste so good in ice cream form??
Har cheong gai
Instead of chicken wings like this dish traditionally is, it was pig ears in the shrimp paste batter.
Char kuay teow with no kuay teow
He used thin slivers of cuttlefish as the noodles!
Willin's Singapore noodles
That King prawn. *Drool*
Clay pot rice
Foie gras of the barramundi!! Just as rich as regular foie gras only a little fishy. Duck liver lap cheong (chinese sausage).
Wagyu short rib with buah kuluak mash
Buah kuluak is a tree nut that, honestly, up to that night I refused to eat because it just seemed weird. It's not and it's pretty damned good.
The first dessert course was a sugarcane sorbet with a piece of sugarcane that had been soaked in rum. Final dessert course was a play on burbur hitam, a dessert of sweet, glutinous black rice that's usually served warm but this came as an ice cream with some sea coconut, jackfruit and coconut mousse on the side. Pictures below, click to view, hover to see captions, tap the white dot if you're using your phone.
Hokkaido scallops, shoyu kombu, chai poh, truffle oil
Thai inspired duck salad. Red curry ice cream
Har cheong gai - pig ears in shrimp paste batter house tartar sauce.
Char kuay teow with no kuay teow
Willin's Singapore Noodles - Hokkien mee. King prawn.
Clay pot rice, foie gras of the barramundi. Duck liver lap cheong.
Wagyu short rib. Buak kuluah mash
Sugarcane sorbet, kalamansi sugarcane soaked in rum
Bubur Hitam
Tasting menus are always a treat because the impression I get is that the chef is just having fun in the kitchen and it's so fascinating to see what they come up with. I really enjoyed listening to Willin talk about each dish and what inspired him. A chef's love for what he/she does is infectious and somehow it makes the meal that much more enjoyable. Overall, what we loved most about that evening was the experience as a whole from the wonderful food to the service to the ambience. We were treated SO well! And the food, oh the food... every smell, every bite!! My mouth is watering just thinking about it and I can't wait to go back.
I've also been enjoying following Willin on Instagram. By my observations, he's someone who is constantly learning and keeping his mind open to exploring cuisines of all sorts and I think that open-mindedness is what makes him such a great (and extremely humble) chef. It'll be interesting to see what he's inspired by next and to see what he has on the menu by the next time I go home!
You can find out more about Wild Rocket by clicking here. If you're in Singapore, or if you're planning a trip there, I highly recommend making a reservation - I think you'll love it. Big thanks to Willin for the wonderful dinner and for our little treat at the end, that was so nice of you!