Where To Eat & Drink: Ikea's D24 Durian Desserts, Jumbo Signatures At Marina Bay Sands & More
Our round-up of great dining spots to check out, fab drinks and the latest in food news this week
By Michelle Lee SM -
Always on the hunt for new dining spots? We bring you sound bites on where to eat, including new restaurant and eatery openings, the best places for your after-work tipple, and what’s new in the food scene.
What to know this week: Ikea has launched a series of durian desserts, Jumbo Signatures is now at Marina Bay Sands and one Michelin-starred restaurant Nouri has reopened with a new menu.
Durian season has also found its way to Ikea, which has dropped a line-up of luscious D24 durian desserts. Available at all Ikea restaurants, sink your teeth into a D24 Durian Cheese Tart ($3.50), D24 Durian Cream Cake ($4.90 per slice), or the D24 Durian Puff ($3) available from Mon to Thurs (excluding public holidays), from now till Aug 31.
Or you can get the D24 Durian Cream Cake ($29.90) comes in a full-sized version of 500g, from the Ikea Swedish Food Market.
Ikea is at multiple locations. Visit Ikea's website for more information.
Cantonese restaurant Joyden Canton Kitchen has opened a new space housed within Great World, with warm inviting interiors that make for an elegant, cosy get-together. Along with its new opening, it's showcasing a seasonal "Summer Eel Fiesta" menu that shines the spotlight on live freshwater eels - these are generally richer in taste and fattier than their saltwater counterparts.
A standout is the Grilled Eel with Honey Glaze ($39.80++) which sees the fish glazed with an addictive honey and maltose sauce. It's then grilled to yield delightfully crisp skin that gives way to tender flesh and gelatinous bits. Another inventive dish on the menu we liked: Steamed eel that came with soy sauce, and topped with umami fried soybean crisps ($40.80++). The other eel dishes are worth sampling too, like the Braised Eel with BBQ Sauce in Claypot and Wok-tossed Eel with Chives Flower.
While you're there, try the restaurant’s signature ‘Moonlight’ Rice Vermicelli with Egg White, which is comforting with silky vermicelli and egg white in a savoury sauce. The Joyden's Chargrilled Mandarin Peel Pork Ribs ($20++) is a treat as well as a distinct mandarin peel flavour.
Joyden Canton Kitchen is at #01-141/142 Great World, Kim Seng Promenade, Singapore 237994.
Following a month-long revamp, one Michelin-starred restaurant Nouri has reopened with a refreshed space and a new menu that further pushes the boundaries of what Brazilian chef-owner describes as "crossroads cooking", or an intercultural approach to cooking. The new menu will be presented in two ways: Dishes based on what we are all hardwired to find pleasurable and those that trace historical moments of connection.
The nine-course menu kickstarts with an array of bite-sized snacks that nod to the similarities of Italian antipasti, Chinese xiao cai and Middle Eastern mezze, including bread with a shot of broth and silken cheese. Then move on to raw Carabinero crudo, with spiced prawn floss and finger lime, and Narezushi, which sees cultured rice cake, prahok (a salted and fermented Cambodian fish paste), pickled iwashi (sardine), fresh wasabi and pickled ginger flower.
The origins of dumplings are explored through the Barbarians’ Head, small manti dumplings filled with confit chicken skin in a rich, spiced beef consomme. And to end off the meal, you'll be sinking your teeth into Chocolate Fish Ball that sees chocolate sorbet with ikan bilis and wild pepper leaf.
Nouri is at 72 Amoy Street, Singapre 069891. Visit its website for reservations or more information.
Jumbo Signatures has opened its doors at Marina Bay Sands with a menu that will take you across signature flavours from Jumbo Group's multiple dining concepts. There's bak kut teh from Ng Ah Sio Bak Kut Teh, Braised Whole Abalone with Premium Sauce by Zui Teochew Cuisine, and of course, Jumbo Seafood's award-winning chilli crab.
Savour an eight-course meal with the Signatures Tasting Menu that starts with an amuse bouche, and introduces a repertoire of iconic Singaporean flavours. Otherwise, take your pick of small plates from the Signatures Ala Carte Menu, with classic and well-loved options. Highlights include the Chilli Mud Crab Pincer, Sliced Luffa Melon in Collagen Soup that's boiled for hours, and a luxurious handmade Truffle Prawn Ball — this has pan-fried foie gras wrapped in prawn paste, white truffle oil and chopped black truffle.
The dining experience is further elevated with the sophisticated interiors, designed to recall Singapore's past colonial heritage. Plus, there's an open kitchen where you can catch the chefs in action, too.
Jumbo Signatures is at #B1-01B The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Singapore, 2 Bayfront Avenue, Singapore 018972. Visit its website for more information.