At one-Michelin-starred Braci, Chef Matteo Ponti’s degustation menu showcases various inventive ways of using vegetables and other Italian produce.

For instance, the first course (Carciofo) features seasonal purple baby artichoke. After the vegetable has been blanched with white wine and thinly sliced, it is seasoned with Amalfi lemon zest, cold pressed olive oil and served with black radish, Japanese Momotaro tomato jelly and a touch of marigold oil.

The second course of ‘Ossobuco’ is a reinterpretation of the classic Milanese dish. It consists of an edible bone made of Parmigiano Reggiano 36 months “Vacche Rosse” that is stuffed with salt baked beetroot tartare (seasoned in the same way as the beef version). It also comes with a vegetable-based jus made with 14 different types of vegetables and seaweeds that lend depth, and completewith blobs of olive oil caviar.

For the main course, you’ll get radicchio tardivo – a type of chicory from the northeast of Italy –that’s typically charcoal grilled and glazed with aged balsamic. Here, the vegetable is grilled over charcoal and then slowly glazed with 12 years aged balsamic to give it a deep intense bitter/sweet contrast and a touch of Madagascar wild pepper that’s floral and delicate. It is then served with a morel “canederlo”, a bread dumpling of sorts, flavoured with fermented back shallot and 100% pure dark chocolate, and finished with wild garlic puree and vermouth jus.

The menu also includes salsify which is first poached in Parmigiano rind dashi and finished over embers. The root vegetable is accompanied by sea succulent, bergamot gel and monk’s beard, a seasonal spring vegetable from the delta of the Po River in Northern Italy. And finally married with mugnaia, a butter sauce made with alpine butter, white martini and beluga capers.

Braci is at 52 Boat Quay, #05-01/#06-01, Singapore 049841. Find out more here.

For Revolver’s vegetarian tasting menu, executive chef Saraubh Udinia has devised a range of innovative dishes that showcase traditional flavours inspired by different regions of India.

One of his specialities is the Maitake and Morel Nihari – Japanese Maitake mushrooms are flame-grilled until lightly crisp, and partnered with a traditional Indian stew, slow-cooked with green cardamom, mace and black pepper, and infused with morel mushrooms from Kashmir.

Another speciality is the White Asparagus with Tempered Yoghurt. The white asparagus from Alsace is carefully grilled and paired with tadke wali dahi or yoghurt tempered with hot oil, cumin seeds, dried red chillies, and turmeric.

The chef who uses seasonal ingredients as much as he can flies in fresh paneer from Delhi thrice a week. He says, “Among the season’s best vegetables we are currently using are French corn, Japanese aubergine (nasu), maitake, and white asparagus from Alsace. I am also using kachampuli, an indigenous fruit vinegar from the Coorg region of India for the plantain kebab dish.”

Revolver is at 56 Tras St, Singapore 078995. Find out more here.

This fine-dining modern Italian restaurant at National Gallery presents an incredibly innovative vegetarian menu. One of the specialties is the Hotel Supramonte, which is composed of melanzana (eggplant) and celeriac wrapped with wild garlic leaf and celeriac jus.

Chef-owner Daniele Sperindio’s special pasta course ‘La Superba’ comprises two elements: 32-egg yolk taglierini dough coated with an ultra-rare 25-year-old parmesan Reggiano as well as a multi coloured Raviolo (each layer is coloured and flavoured with an element from within the pasta), stuffed with a smokey roasted Perline eggplant, a low land herb pesto and a gelatinised broth. Enjoy it in one bite just like a ’xiao long bao’. Another highlight is white asparagus served with morel mushrooms, monk’s beard (leaves of the plant Salsola Soda), and laced with a celeriac jus.

Daniele only uses vegetable-based jus for both his vegetarian and regular dishes. “This is called Aged Jus which is made from a single product (carrot, celeriac, etc) to preserve the singular properties and identity of the vegetable. The vegetables are processed and aged for various lengths of time depending on the type of vegetable (with the average time being a month). It is then concentrated into a viscose jus (similar to beef jus) with no added seasoning but lots of complexity,” he shares.

Art di Daniele Sperindio is at 06-02 National Gallery, 1 St Andrew’s Road, Singapore 178957. Find out more here.

This newish modern Indian Restaurant at Keong Saik Road has dreamt up a range of unique dishes for its vegetarian menu. One of them is ‘Bombay vs. Delhi’ – this is Chef-owner Vikramjit Roy’s take on the Bombay ‘toastie’ which is made with homemade white bread layered with fresh thecha (spicy condiment), potato, tomatoes and cucumber, topped with citrusy Timur peppercorn flavoured yuba and garnished with sea grapes and fresh fennel flowers. Yuba is used as a replacement for salmon and sea grapes for caviar.

Ahara’s banana flower ‘cutlet’ is inspired by the popular Delhi kebab called Murgh Malai kebab. For the vegetarian menu, the chef uses marinated banana flower which forms the core of the cutlet. It is then crumbed and fried, topped with a cream marinade and finished with freshly shaved black truffles.

The white asparagus with pakhala bhata is another noteworthy item. Peruvian white asparagus is roasted with ghee and a blend of spices and herbs. This is served with a smoked bamboo shoot and fennel ‘XO’, pickled shallots, toasted pine nuts and a tempered fermented yoghurt and rice sauce.

For the ‘Tonburi Chaat’ course, guests are invited to the kitchen counter and presented with an array of accompaniments to choose from. They can customise their ‘chaat’ along with a shot of a refreshing masala soda. And finally, you’ll get to enjoy Horlicks ice cream with ‘kala gajar’ or black carrot tart.

Ahara is at 20 Teck Lim Road, Singapore 088391. Find out more here.

This elegant modern Chinese restaurant at Duxton Road is offering a Summer Vegetarian Tasting Menu – available upon request from 16 May to 9 July.

Start with the appetiser platter of chilled blueberries and blueberry-infused Chinese Yam and crisp-fried burdock. And then tuck into wholesome dishes like the pumpkin puree with bamboo pith, matsutake as well as deep-fried Lion’s Mane Mushroom paired with a naturally sweet wolfberries sauce.

You’ll also get to try classics from Yue Bai’s standard menu such as the steamed spinach tofu with morrel mushrooms, Chinese yam and trio peppers as well as stir-fried mee sua. Round off with desserts like crisp-fried black sesame mochi with osmanthus-infused sugar, and a refreshing peach gum with winter melon puree and dried longan.

Yue Bai is at 33 Duxton Road, Singapore 089497. Find out more here.

Text: Amy Van/The Peak

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