If it’s the spectacle of watching chefs whip up your meal, or the uncertainty of what you’re going to get, you’ll find a surprise waiting at the Chef’s Table.
You get what you’re served. All you can do is pick out those things that you don’t like or may make you keel over…like kale. Not that chefs Stephan Zoisl and Lorenz Raich mind. With a 32-seater restaurant, he wants to ensure everyone at Chef’s Table has a positively memorable experience.
His six-course dinners are largely European in content, with some Asian elements. It’s all about that sense of mystery. Something that comes together magically on the night, and is not replicated often.
Set in an environment that oozes cooking — cookbooks and wine racks in an otherwise minimalist setting — it’s almost like theatre watching and dining, perched on high chairs.
On the night we supped, we had cured mackerel and smoked eel on puffed tapioca; salty and crunchy, with oyster leaves to add to the mix.
There was more fish — crisp, Japanese sea bass — with artichoke in three ways. The fish was crisp, albeit dry, but the artichokes saved the dish, the crème version offering a rich texture in your mouth.
Yet more fish swam onto the table. Lemon sole with rocket infused risotto, jamon iberico, and lobster bisque. Chef Zoisl was quick to point out the rockets were fired up from the restaurant’s own herb garden. With its various flavour and texture profiles, this dish has clearly been put together with much thought but seemed a little too busy on the plate. The lobster bisque with the fish or the risotto with herbs and Jamon might have been preferred as a mid-point interjection to the meal. All the constituent parts had much to offer in and of their own, and really deserve to be featured in their own right.
Finally, it was time for the meat. Wagyu cheek braised in a red wine sauce and served with butter bean puree and a dash of fresh horseradish.
Dessert, to wind things up, involved a deconstructed black forest cake with chocolate sponge, ganache, and cherry sorbet frozen in liquid nitrogen boiling over and escaping from the glass vessel made for a fun visual treat.
And to lend some spirit to the proceedings, there’s wine pairing, or cocktails to sweeten your meal.
If you go in with an open mind, you will be introduced to some exceptional produce from around the world, and the opportunity to discover something new will be an attractive proposition to foodies. While some dishes don’t hit the spot, some will definitely delight — maybe that’s just the luck of the draw.
Do you feel lucky tonight?
Chef’s Table By Chef Stephan
61 Tras Street, Singapore 079000
4 courses at $98+ per person; 6 courses at $128+ per person; 8 courses at $150+ per person
www.chefstable.sg
