FLNT at 1-Atico on the 55th floor of ION Orchard is the only Nikkei Gastrobar in Singapore now. Two of us, we had a great time enjoying specialty cocktails by mixologist Wan and tasty sharing plates by head chef Lamley Chua from his binchotan fired (Japanese oak charcoal) grill.
FLNT Gastrobar is one of the three concepts under 1-Atico on the 55th and 56th floor of ION Orchard - there's FLNT, FIRE Argentine Grill and 1-Atico Ultra-Lounge.
Beautifully designed interior, luxurious furnishings with walls of windows overlooking the sprawling cityscape and a splendid view all the way to the ships in Straits of Singapore on the horizon.
View of Orchard Road from 1-Atico on a rainy night.
We chose to sit at the bar. We enjoyed chatting with mixologist Wan and head chef Lamley 😄
I love front row seats to view food and drinks preparation, and feel the buzz at the bar.
FLNT's Nikkei cuisine menu, everything on one page. Simple.
Nikkei cuisine is Peruvian-Japanese fusion dishes using Peruvian ingredients including quinoa, chili pepper, local fish etc prepared with Japanese techniques. Nikkei cuisine is created by Japanese immigrants in Peru (South America). Japanese migration to Peru began during the Meiji era (1860s - 1910s) and today Japanese-Peruvians make up 1% of Peru's population but the footprint of Nikkei cuisine is global.
Momotaro tomato. Japanese tomatoes set on nut pesto and corn nut dressed with ume honey and shiso. Every bite into the skinned spongy tomato bursts sweet savoury juices with a slight zingy zest. An appetising appetiser that
Teba Gyoza. Deep fried chicken wing stuffed with pork and white corn seasoned with yuzu and kaffir lime. This will surely warm the hearts of chicken wing lovers. The outside was well browned and crisp while inside, the minced pork stuffing was tender and juicy. The natural flavours of chicken and pork are always complementary - like a pair made in heaven.
Ceviche Nikkei. Fish with leche de tigre, lime, yuzu, roasted hazelnut, shallot, tomato, avocado and corn. Eaten with taco.
Ceviche is the icon of Nikkei cuisine but truth be told, it is one dish that I am ambivalent about (mostly because of my own low tolerance for sour / tangy flavours - my fault lah 🤷 ). Other than that, I quite enjoyed the savoury sweet flavours from the ingredients.
Nohara Yaki. Grilled wagyu sirloin served sukiyaki style with raw egg yolk and mountain pepper.
Love this blend of savoury sweet beefy eggy flavours in the almost melt in the mouth tender soft wagyu beef. Chewing the wagyu, it felt like a rich creamy ball in the mouth.
Pluma Iberico. Grilled Spanish acorn fed pork eaten with achiote sauce. From the tender juicy slices flowed pure natural porcine sweetness with a subtle smokey overlay.
Kohitsuji Yaki. Grilled rack of lamb seasoned with red pepper garlic sauce and eaten with kimizu dip.
Love this tender juicy lamb well infused with tasty mildly hot spice flavours and very little gamey taste.
Foie Gras Taco. Grilled foie gras set on a mini taco topped with rocoto yogurt, flying fish roe and kaffir lime.
Shishito Yaki. Grilled Japanese sweet peppers. Crunchy juicy in the mouth with a bit of heat, a bit of smokiness from a bit of char outside.
Daiquiri made of rum, lime juice and a sweetener. Daiquiri is one of the oldest cocktails, going back to the 1900's. It was first concocted by an American mining engineer at the Daiquiri iron mine in Cuba, hence the name. It was brought back to New York City in the 1900s, turned up in US Army and Navy clubs and from there became a global classic.
Negroni is an Italian apéritif cocktail of one part gin, one part vermouth rosso (red, sweet), and one part Campari, garnished with a flamed orange peel.
I love to watch FLNT mixologist Wan perform his cocktail dance with gusto and infectious enthusiasm. He really spreads his jovial vibes across the gastrobar putting all guests in the right mood. Wan also shared a lot of fascinating cocktail insights with us 😄
FLNT head chef Lamley Chua was brimming with passion when he shared with us his twenty year culinary journey from apprentice to head chef. He was full of fondness and gratitude when speaking about his Japanese chef mentors (sifu).
I feel Nikkei cuisine is very "gam" (compatible) for Singapore palates. Nikkei dishes emphasise fresh natural ingredients. They have many seafood, fowl and pork dishes. The flavours are mainly savoury, umami, natural sweetness and a bit of exotic citrus zest.
Nikkei cuisine born of two worlds an ocean apart has innovation and creativity in its DNA and that is also head chef Lamley's forte.
My first experience with Nikkei cuisine was at Above Eleven Sukhumvit in Bangkok. Co-incidentally, it was also a roof top restaurant. That too left a deep impression and I had been looking forward to taste Nikkei cuisine ever since.
Written by Tony Boey on 23 Jan 2021
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments submitted with genuine identities are published