I wonder if I’m judging aKin harder than similar restaurants
because I’m Chinese. You won’t find me complaining about the price of the Lunar
New Year tasting menu ($275 per person) or the portion sizes because I agree
that Chinese cuisine is just as intricate to prepare as any other country. And it
should be given the same level of recognition as other tasting menus.
aKin’s menu isn’t purely Chinese. Dishes also include
Japanese, European, and other Asian influences. Yet, there’s also a host of
dishes Ihave grow n-up eating and therefore can’t help but compare. Still,
after discussing the dilemma with my fellow diner and reflecting on the
experience, I feel the mark is justified.
Starting with the auspicious vegetables, where I
found the collection of small bites a bit fussy. With five items, there were a
lot of dishes so it may be better served as a platter (like a BBQ starter), in
keeping with the Cantonese theme. We’re advised it’s a nod to Buddhist traditions,
even though they’re dishes monks hardly consume. And while I do appreciate
restaurants becoming more plant-forward, aKin’s dishes fell flat:
- Don’t bother smelling the celery martini, it smells like earth. At least it did its job: the light tomato consommé with a drizzle of watercress oil was a refreshing palette awakener.
- The heirloom carrot was too flaccid to pick up making it awkward to eat. Yes, the black garlic and tempura bits added crunch, but not enough structure to ensure it’s a handheld bite. I see this working as a garnish.
- A similar story with the lettuce cone, the delicate shell was starting to get soggy. So, I quickly popped it in my mouth to get a salty juicy blast.
- Of all the canapes, the scallion tart was my favourite. The XO sauce mushroom centre topped with Emmental foam was flavourful and a nice combination of textures.
The leek crystal bread, aKin’s take on a fried dough
stick, was an intriguing canape. It’s certainly the most difficult to make, a
clear paper-thin crunchy exterior with a hollow centre. But this is not the
same as a yau tew, which has a webbed interior so there are layers. If
aKin could add a few layers inside, or better yet something chewy at the centre,
it may help give it more textual interest as it’s currently like a cylindrical
cracker. Of course, topping the creation with Perigord black truffles adds a decadent
touch.
Yet, anything would be 100x better than the oyster. Every
bite of it was wrong. From the harshly alcoholic Prosecco foam, the lack of natural
brininess, to the extremely fishy finish… from the oyster, caviar, or fat
choy, who knows? Regardless, it had us chugging water to get rid of the
awful after taste. I understand an oyster is a key ingredient to any Lunar New
Year menu, but if an oyster isn’t fresh, it’s better cooked and masked with
stronger garnishes.
To signify togetherness, aKin served scallop in sashimi
and ceviche form. Other than the two dishes arriving on top of each other, it
missed its mark. If I were to create a dish that was going to represent
togetherness, they should have made something that is tasted separately and
then combined to really wow the palette.
As is stands, the red chili flakes overpowered the sashimi, completely
masking the natural sweetness of the shellfish. An ingredient like a surf clam
may hold up better against that much heat. The spiciness continued into the
ceviche, but at least this was balanced by coconut milk and other Thai flavours,
which complimented the ingredient.
After the first three dismal dishes, I was getting worried. And
that’s when Chef Eric Chong appeared to present a dish of nostalgia, explaining
it reminds him of the slowly steamed chicken soup of his youth. Of
course, his version gets a molecular touch encapsulated into a sphere that
we’re told should be eaten quickly while at the optimal temperature. And boy
was it heavenly. Once my mouth fully closed around the bite and the spoon was
removed, the burst of hot but not scalding consommé flooded my mouth with a
rich umami essence. The little bites of bean curd noodles gave it some texture.
The meal was finally making a comeback.
The chawanmushi continued to impress. The steamed
egg studded with diced butter poached abalone, charbroiled kombu, and topped
with a red vinegar foam to lighten the rich dish. There’s a silkiness to it
that reminded me of a rich fish maw soup and was a wonderful combination of
Asian and European elements.
I thoroughly enjoyed the well toasted steamed bao in
the bread course. We’re instructed to rip the bun and spread the lap
cheung hollandaise sauce onto the bread. The scalding oil made ripping difficult,
I somehow managed and was treated to a lovely creamy savoury sauce, which could
be balanced by the refreshing kimchi style daikon ribbons.
While the ginger scallion fumet (a concentrated fish
stock) was very salty – bordering on bitter when tasted solo – combined with
the amadai it was perfect. Flakey with a crispy skin, the thick
piece of fish was kept neutral as the fumet was all it required.
I’m glad they picked a stronger ingredient like lobster
to go with the powerful laksa. aKin’s interpretation of laksa had
the heat but was more restrained and still very creamy. I savoured it by the
spoonful.
While I enjoyed the dish, I feel the silver needle noodles
were a bad pairing. They probably chose the hand rolled noodles because it’s different
and requires effort to prepare, sort of like gnocchi. However, the point of a
noodle dish is to signify longevity. Are small stunted, sharp-edged
noodles really the greatest representation? A flat hand-pulled noodle would
work better, kept as a long strand (i.e., a long life) and would also help the
laksa stick.
A piece of deboned and stuffed fowl gets me excited. So,
upon seeing the 8-treasure pigeon, the dish had me ready to dig in.
Rather than mixing the ingredients, aKin created a paste with chestnut, lotus
seed, barley, and salted duck egg to stuff into the leg. It was nicely
flavoured, but the softness also meant a lack of texture.
Overall, the pigeon’s skin needed to be crispier, as a textural
contrast for the leg and especially with the breast, which is served plain. And
while I enjoyed the side of sticky rice, it wasn’t overly exciting. It was a missed
opportunity to wrap the grain in lotus leaf or an edible collard green, which
would provide the dish colour and extra boost of something aromatic. At least
the Jinhua ham au jus was delicious, I swiped up every drop of
the sauce.
Being a blind tasting, I couldn’t tell where we were in the
dinner. Since the meal is described as 10-courses, I thought the following mango
pudding was the last item and our dessert. The rich pudding augmented with
coconut cream, pomelo and sago was good but would have been disappointing as a
lone dessert. Luckily, this course acted as a palette cleanser as there were
plenty of sweets to come.
It wouldn’t be Lunar New Year without a tang yuan or
glutinous rice balls. Chef Chong morphed theirs into a stunning fortune bag
that’s an inside out version of the dessert. The chewy glutinous rice was found
in the handle and the centre... all surrounded by a fluffy black sesame mousse wrapped
in fondant. A much more impressive ending.
At this point, we were satisfied but not full. This quickly
changed with the platter of lunar treasures. While the egg tart was
mediocre, the other items were tasty. The macaron had a crispy exterior and a hawthorn
taste reminding me of the pay pa muy candies of my childhood. The
chocolate and milk tea canelé screamed of flavours in the airy pastry. And the
mandarin jelly a wonderful refreshing finish.
We’re even given a to-go bag containing a Singapore crunch
that we’re instructed to add to noodles, rice, vegetables, or even buttered
toast. I’ll admit, this had me rethinking my meals for the upcoming week and
ended up trying the sweet and crunchy topping on crispy noodles. It’s fine, but
I still rather use sambal any day.
After all this, let’s circle back to my mark on the dinner. I
really wanted to see if aKin could be an 8. But with the weak opening dishes
and the satisfactory but not wonderful final savoury course, I really can’t say
it’s an experience I’d recommend. And while my first instinct was to grade it
as a 7, I ultimately settled on a 7.5, let’s say it’s a little something to
combat my potential bias of being Chinese.
Address: 51 Colborne Street
____________________________
Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
Other Gastro World posts similar to this:
