During my second and final week in Singapore, I ate at 2 different Michelin starred restaurants, the first being Whitegrass. A 1 star establishment, located in Chijmes (pronounced Chimes). If you have seen Crazy Rich Asians, Chijmes is the setting for the wedding of Colin and Araminta.

Upon being seated at the restaurant, a little dish with a white pebble appeared. Water was poured over the pebble and it suddenly grew to the size of a Marshmallow. Was I supposed to eat this? Was I not? Was it some kind of Heston Blumenthal-esque canape? I looked around the room and saw fellow patrons had left theirs in the dish. There mine stayed too until I was sure what to do with it. 2 leather bound menus, the smaller contained the dinner menu, a choice of either the 5 or 8 course tasting menu. The larger menu containing the drinks list, a mixture of soft drinks, spirits, wines and cocktails. I opted for a purple punch mocktail and the 8 course tasting menu.

Soon the canapes arrived and we were off. 4 canapes, the first- Caviar and Turnip. I expected this to be rather salty but it wasn’t. It was actually rather enjoyable, coupled with the small piece of crunchy Turnip and chopped Chives. Second was Lobster, bright red started at you atop a creamy sauce. Basil canape was next, the beautiful aroma from the Basil and the taste… *chef’s kiss*. My favourite canapé of them all was a cracker with various ingredients, topped with grated Truffle. Bonus points for me not getting Truffle stuck to my lips (sometimes you have to celebrate the small wins). Bread swiftly followed and I was advised to go easy on the Bread as there would be a second Bread course. I immediately dived into the Bread, which was extremely hot, almost too hot to handle. I had to wait a few moments for it to cool down before I could begin to devour it.

First up we had baby Squid with Yuzu. I’ve never seen Squid that small before, they were no bigger than my little finger. I think they needed to be a little bigger in order to get the full flavour of the Squid, but then that would defeat the object of ‘Baby Squid’. Next I had Octopus which had been slightly fried in order for the suckers to be a little crispy. There was almost a meaty flavour to the Octopus which I didn’t expect. Following the Octopus was the King Crab with a Chicken broth jelly. I didn’t really like the jelly. There was too much of it and it reminded me of the bits of jelly around Corned Beef once you take it out of the tin. The dish however, looked beautiful with the vibrant red Beetroot against the green Peas.

White Asparagus adorned the next plate, crunchy with Pepper and Hana Tamago which is a Japanese Egg roll. I loved the white Asparagus. The final Entrée was Angel Prawn Dumpling, which was lovely, but it was another fish course. Then we got to the actual Fish course. The crispiness from the deep fried scales was sublime but I don’t recall any sauce for the Fish. But the dish was excellent all the same.

The second Bread course soon appeared, this, if my memory serves me well, was a Sesame loaf, sans Butter as the Chef recommends this without due to the oils within the Bread itself. There were 4 slices of bread. I ate 1 before giving up. I was told that the Bread was enough for 4 people. No wonder I gave up after 1 slice.

The final savoury course was a choice of either Pigeon or Wagyu which held an additional cost of $30SD. I opted for the Wagyu with the supplement. 2 Pieces of beautifully pink Wagyu with a dollop of Mango gel, pickled Celery and a slight drizzle of Jus. Perfection.

I chose to have a little break before the palette cleanser- a spiced Cola Sorbet. An unusual choice for a palette cleanser but the spices really came through. Finally, we came to the Desserts. A small loaf cake and on first glances a Gyoza with Matcha and Raspberry. The Gyoza was a Mochi Gyoza and after my time in Tokyo, I can say I’m not a fan of Mochi. Therefore, this dessert was not to my liking. The Loaf Cake was beautifully soft. I was offered a Coffee which was included in the Tasting Menu.

Once the Coffee had been drunk, I asked for the bill and was presented with a little gift to take home in the form of a little Loaf Cake. There was a slight confusion with the bill as I had to sign something after paying. This included something about a tip, however as a service charge had been added to the bill, no tip was given. Still unsure why I had to sign but I was on my way back to the Hostel a few moments later.

The Head Chef came by the table a couple of times to see how I was finding everything. You could see in his face that he loved hearing people telling him they loved it. He just radiated Golden Retriever energy.

So final thoughts; go for the experience. Although the food is amazing, beautifully presented and flavourful, there was too much fish for me. Yes, I know what you might say, it’s a French Japanese restaurant. However, there is more to Japanese Cuisine than Fish/Sushi. What about Yakitori? What about Ramen? You could take the Ramen and give it a Fine Dining twist, cure the Egg, crisp the Noodles, turn the Chicken into a Mousse and then you have the broth. I do like Whitegrass. It is an amazing place, maybe just less Fish and more variety I think.

Date of Visit:

22nd April 2024

Time of Visit:

6pm

Cost:

$419.65 SGD

Rating: (Out of 5 stars)