Labyrinth is the brainchild of Chef-Owner LG Han and it encapsulates his roots and memories growing up in Singapore. It can be classified as an example of Mod-Sin cuisine, the Modern Singapore way to re-create traditional recipes. It has one Michelin star in the current edition of the Michelin Guide at the time of my visit (July 2019).
The visit
I booked with no issues through Chope for a lunch. The restaurant is located inside the Esplanade, Singapore’s main performing arts center. It is no accident that Labyrinth specifically offers a pre-theater menu.
The dining room is quite dark, I could not get a decent pictures. I opted for one of their lunch tasting menus that was perfect to get an introduction to the restaurant without losing my locomotive abilities for the rest of the afternoon.
I was immediately shown a tray with all the main ingredients and I was explained that they all come from farms in Singapore.
On the table there was a map of Singapore with details about the suppliers. I will be honest and naive, I did not expect so many farmers on such a small and heavily urbanized island.
The first dish consisted in three snacks: 1) an oolong tea quail clearly mimicking traditional century eggs; 2) a oyster “takoyaki” (battered), with sambal, egg floss, and containing a oyster from a farm in Pulau Ubin, 3) a mini waffle with local chicken liver pate & goji berry jam. All the snacks were very good, especially the takoyaki. They were supposed to be eaten in a certain order, but a made a mistake and the waiter seemed to be very upset about as I had broken a precious piece of porcelain.
Meantime I was offered an Indian-style bread with a chili dipping.
Next was a delicious local wild caught shrimp.
Next was a piece of barramundi from Kuhlbarra farm, ulam rajah, fermented local tomato dressing, “yu sheng” dressing.
The next dish was silver perch fillet (from Nippon Koi farm) grilled with spices wrapped in banana leaves in Otah style (a type Singapore preparation usually reserved for mackerel). The fish was meant to be transferred in the aromatic soup. The two married very well together. But the soup as a stand alone was too sour for my palate.
Finally, there was space for some chicken from another local farm. It was accompanied by charred mee sua and chinese red lees sauce.
Time for a palate cleanser in the form of a “Clam leaf snow”, a shaved ice dessert inspired by the Singaporean favorite Ice Kachang with local herbs, peach gum & textures of grapes. More than your average palate cleanser.
The dessert was a reimagined Kaya Butter Toast with Kaya ice cream ]and topped by Cristal de Chine Caviar.
The very list bite was two petit four, one chocolate and one durian flavor (Durian was the big absent up to this point for a Singapore inspired menu).
111.80 SGP (81 USD) was the final check. More than ok for such a nice and interesting tasting menu.
I really liked the philosophy of the restaurant, its link to local farmers and its passion for reinventing traditional recipes. It was also easy to book, so I highly recommend it, especially for lunch. After lunch, you can catch one of the exhibits that are usually ongoing in the Esplanade spaces.
Where in Singapore:
8 Raffles Ave (Esplanade).
Website: https://labyrinth.com.sg.