1 Week Old: FOC Restaurant by 1 Michelin Star Chef Nandu Jubany

Hello!

Another new restaurant opened officially in Singapore recently! What's more interesting is that we've got another Michelin-star chef opened restaurant on our shores! Nandu Jubany's the 1-Michelin star chef from Spain and Chef Jordi Noguera is the executive chef who was previously helmed the kitchen at FoodbarDada. The mixologist here is Dario Knox.

This restaurant was on my radar for weeks ever since I first read about when it was still in its pre-opening phase. And finally when information was uploaded on the WWW, I immediately told N we were going for dinner that very week. 

So we went last Thursday and it totally felt like Friday to me! Because the bar was bustling, the restaurant was bustling, the atmosphere was so lively! Then I realised after I was home that it was actually a Thursday. Barely few days old and its already so crowded! 

We made reservations and were shown to our seats and given the menu by another staff. Here's photos of the menu which I couldn't find online and thought would be helpful to y'all :)

However I realised only much later when we asked for the menu again after our 1st round of food that the boy's menu had an extra page of dishes while mine did not have that page (its the page with the more Asian flavours, I think it was titled "BCN -> ASIA" or sth along those lines) anyway so we asked the staff about one of the dishes on that menu and she told us that wasn't updated so brought us a piece of paper with "Today's Specials" on it which was essentially the same stuff in that "asia" menu but I think the prices were different. Also this "today's special" menu (its a separate one that looks like a brochure, seen below) was given to the table next to us when they arrived but it wasn't given to us till we enquired. Hmm.

Anyway what I liked about the menu is that they have items traditional to Spain, and they have fusion items that are super creative as well! And there are so many dishes that we were spoilt for choice! Kudos for dishes like the ramen, pomfret fritter, sweet sour pork etc 

There's also an extensive drinks menu with at least 15 types of cocktails and I love their cocktail menu! Didn't manage to take shots of the menu but I love how the information was presented.

1) You get the ingredients of the cocktail

2) You get a drawing - 4 quadrants (bitter, sweet, sour, refreshing) and they'll mark on the quadrant what this drink is more of

3) You get a list of descriptors e.g. spicy, refreshing etc and they'll mark out what characterises the drink 

4) They'll mark out which of the spirits/soda etc were made on their own with "H.M." aka homemade 

If you have troubles ordering, you can always tell the head mixologist Dario, who's very nice and willing to help, what flavours you're looking for, what kind of base you want and he'll create something for you

Update: found the cocktail menu on chope.co have a look here but there are no markings on this one as the markings are done by hand

*

Here are some photos of the layout (its so empty because this was at 645pm):

Whimsical decor!

And here's the food we ordered!

Watermelon Gazpacho with charcoal smoked olive oil ice cream

$12

Now this is very very very similar to a dish we had at FoodbarDada previously and some of the food on the menu were from FoodbarDada as well (click here to visit my FoodbarDada post) 

The difference here is that there're no fried onion bits, but replaced by croutons instead. Also the plating is very different! 

I prefer the FoodbarDada's version because of the fried onion bits which added a sweetness and savoury tinge to this meal. However the gazpacho is still amazing and the ice cream goes extremely well with the gazpacho :) great refreshing start! 4/5

Octopus Galician style, prepared with paprika, olive oil and potatoes

$22

This dish was a little bit of a letdown for me. The texture of the octopus was great don't get me wrong, soft but with a little chewiness. However I felt it wasn't well seasoned enough. The potatoes were good though! There were chunky bits amidst creamy potato and the flavour of the mash was great. 3.5/5

Smoking Geisha

I can't really remember how much this was so sorry! But it served 7 cups no actually more than that about 8-9 cups! N and I shared this pot of "tea". Which was basically made out of sake, green tea powder and about 4 more ingredients I can't remember haha. It was refreshing which was what I was looking for.

Extremely smooth and easy to drink. Dangerous because you can literally just keep drinking and it doesn't feel like you're drinking alcohol. Wonderful creation 4.2/5

Scallops "Ceviche" with guacamole 

$20

Scallops were plump and well marinated, guacamole made us think of wasabi haha. Surprisingly the avocado goes quite well with the scallops! Scallops were rather sweet. This ceviche was alright for me in terms of flavours. I'm not sure whether the chef wanted the scallops' natural sweetness to shine through so the seasoning wasn't that strong but taste wise, this was pretty normal for me. 3.6/5

Black Mediterranean "Paella" with seafood and garlic mayonnaise 

$22

This was DEFINITELY the highlight of the night!!!!!!!

Our paella came piping hot with 2 spoons and instructions for us to mix the paella up so that the garlic mayo is well mixed. The boy did it for us and as he was mixing, the aroma made our mouths water~~~ it was the fragrance of the squid ink, and the seafood, thick and rich, no words can describe. You gotta smell it yourself to know it. 

I eagerly awaited for him to finish and then ate my very first spoonful of heaven. I know this sounds exaggerated but honestly I've been searching in vain for far too long for yummy squid ink paella/risotto/pasta and here I've finally found THE ONE. The sides were slightly charred and N knows I love those parts so he scrapped it and mixed it in as well so there was the crispy bits inside and they added a new dimension to this already amazing dish.

The squid ink sauce perfumed every rice bit, coating it with some sauce leftover = not too dry and neither was it too wet. Perfect in every sense. There was chopped squid in the rice as well and they were v generous with the squid! The prawns they served were also plump, crunchy and fresh. However the clams were a letdown because most of them were smelly. BUT this did not deter me at all from enjoying my amazing paella. Both of us happy finished everything and whaddaya know, we order a SECOND one! :) 

I couldn't resist ordering another because I finally found my squid ink dish. However the 2nd one was a little bit wetter (just a little) than the first one but the flavour was stronger than the 1st paella. So which did we prefer? I preferred the 2nd for its stronger flavours, but the boy preferred 1st as it was a tad drier and had more crispy charred parts. We could tell that it was slightly wetter because it felt different when he was mixing it he said, and this was easily mixed and scooped up while the 1st one was more difficult. I could also tell that this was wetter by looking at it!

All in all, this is a MUST-TRY if you're a squid ink fanatic! 5/5

Confited pork belly and cauliflower puree (4 pieces)

$14

The boy said this was his least fav dish of the night. I didn't try this so I have no comments but the boy tried all the dishes listed here and he said this paled in comparison.

1) The skin was too thick, and q hard unlike what he was expecting. i.e. the kind of pork skin you get in spanish/chinese suckling pig 

2) The "meat' below was more of 1/2 fat and 1/2 meat or maybe 3/4 fat and 1/4 meat so it got a bit too much after the first piece

3) The cauliflower puree didn't do much in terms of flavour if you eat the skin + puree + meat as a whole

Grilled foie gras with marinated shitake and green apple (2 pieces) 

$22

I didn't know this was served with buns cos it wasn't stated on the menu so I initially thought burgers were being served to me and that they brought it to the wrong table haha

Foie gras was average, the buns tasted like mantou and the shitake is like the kind we have in barchormee! vinegar-marinated kind! The green apples were a nice welcome to the dish providing the sourness along with the mushrooms. I felt one slice of the bread was enough for each serving.

The bread was also very fragrant and buttery!! Really like the deep fried mantous we eat in chinese restaurants 3.9/5

Coca with anchovies, charcoal grilled peppers, eggplant, spherical Idiazabal cheese

$16

Coca is the bread they serve these on and when it arrived it was toasted but slightly soggy in the way that you'll be afraid the ingredients + the bread will "fall off"

We loved the cheese sphere and honestly you've gotta follow what the waitress tells you to do - eat it in one bite! The cheese kinda overpowered the anchovies and everything else but you could tell the texture of the veggies. 3.8/5

Grilled oyster in Josper oven (1 piece) 

$10

This was okay average! Plump oysters definitely and you can't really tell its grilled? More like just heated up. The sauce accompanying it was q nice but the oyster itself was a little smelly hence 3/5

FOC Chocolate Burger 

$12

We were q stuffed so we only got 1 dessert! Lemme break down the layers for you

Bread: white choc with sesame seeds

Meat patty: choc ganache

Tomato: strawberries

Cheese: Mango

Leaves: mint

This is how it looks like "inside"! Sorry its messy and all that haha

Felt like I was eating magnum when I was eating the bread haha same textures if you know what I mean. I LOVED the addition of sesame seeds!! Neutralizes (to a certain extent) the sweetness of white choc and adds savoury touch to this sweet dessert + makes it more like a real burger! Creative and novel dessert but taste wise it was quite normal although the flavours did go together! 3.6/5

Ambience: really nice atmosphere going on here and I loved being in the restaurant! Super laid back, chill, open space, music was quite good too, the bustle in the background. All's good!

Service: everyone was super friendly and professional. Good service with a smile always makes me happy! Dario is super upbeat and cheerful 

Food: definitely coming back for the paella + try out the other dishes! AND definitely coming back for drinks. Wanted to try SO many of their cocktails! That alone will draw me back

I can foresee FOC becoming one of those difficult-to-book restaurants 

FOC by Nandu Jubany

61004040

Facebook

40 Hong Kong Street
You can also reserve on chope.co here

Mon-Weds 6pm-11.45pm

Thurs-Sat: 12-2.30pm, 6-11.45pm

There's valet parking available but you gotta pay

New Restaurant: Tess Bar & Kitchen

Following the explosion of cafes in Singapore, the new trend seems to be cocktail + tapas-style food joints! One such place opened recently and with an experienced bartender (ex Bitters & Love), and chef (ex L'Atelier Robuchon), I told the boy "Okay we're eating here this Friday!" and he was like "but there's no menu online and the instagram posts of the food looks q limited!" but I insisted knowing it'll likely be good. Am v happy I did! He was v happy too that dinner turned out to be good :)

We arrived at about 6.30pm and managed to snag a lot along the street outside the restaurant! Its quite difficult to park along that road so I suggest leaving some time for finding parking space. 

They were having happy hour till 7pm and I must say, their happy hour deal is quite attractive! 30% off all house pours, 10% off all alcohol. 

I really love the atmosphere of the place and we were greeted with really awesome hospitality. Very sincere and friendly! Initially I did not want to sit at the low tables (foreground of the picture below) as I do not like having to bend down to eat, and compressing my stomach (damn uncomfortable!?), so we moved to the bar seats. However the bf wanted to sit at the table (cos we usually order a lot and well, its more spacious) so we kept looking over. Then the same staff came over and asked if we changed our minds, then convinced me that its not so bad and gladly told me that she'll give me the corner seat (initially ours was in the middle) with the cute doggie armrest haha. So we moved there and it really wasn't that bad! 

The space at night

*

So the staff will explain the drinks + food menu to you upon sitting down and I think this is sorta an added value to the experience! I wouldn't go as far to say that all restaurants should do this cos I know manpower issues and all, but its a good plus point. 

Do note that the tiger prawns for small plates is actually 6 pieces (photo later) -> they're still in the process of tweaking their menu!

Their very interesting cocktail menu!! I remember we were recommended Dawa for sth sour, and scandalous pear for sth sweet! I really like their mix of ingredients for the cocktails and makes me feel like trying 'em all! Cocktail review coming up after the food review below!

Bohemian Vegetables Love
Grilled zucchini, bell peppers wrap in aubergine with pepper coulis 
$9

Basically its grilled veggies served in a wrap form accompanied by a slightly tangy but slightly sweet coulis that was served cold. The grilled veggies were hot of course. So this was quite a good contrast and well its hard to fault these sweet veggies 3.8/5

Triple truffle fries
Yukon, idaho, sweet potatoes, deep fried and seasoned with truffle oil + salt
$10

The boy said this was a little dry and honestly the way they cut it? More of wedges haha except maybe the sweet potato ones. The truffle oil taste wasn't strong. 3/5

Crispy pork belly
Served with spiced Asian dip
$10

Sea bass, Momotaro & Arugula
Seared sea bass slices, momotaro tomatoes sliced and topped with arugula salad
$12

Please do not order this. Its such a waste of money! The fish was dry and unflavourful. Saving grace was the very crispy skin. The tomato, honestly maybe momotaro tomatoes or not in season or sth but this tastes like our regular tomatoes and nothing like the ones I've had at Tatsuya or other Jap restaurants. And if putting a few strands of arugula is considered salad… I have nothing to say. I won't even give a grade for this

Tiger prawns in Herb Garlic Butter
King prawns seared to perfection
$18

This was very very juicy, bursting with flavours. Can really taste the butter in the sauce but the herbs didn't really shine through. 3.6/5

Seared Smoked Duck Breast + Foie Gras
Served with braised lentils & blueberry compote
$18

Really really love how they used lentils as a side dish cos not many places in Singapore use lentils and I love lentils! The Foie gras is on the left and its average at best. Blueberry compote was good, but hard to go wrong. The smoked duck was beautiful. Just a tinge of saltiness, with a rather firm but still a little soft kind of texture, with a mild duck taste. This was quite a good rendition of duck I must say! Not too fatty either :) 3.9/5

Tess Wagyu Cubes & Bone Marrow
Seared wagyu beef cubes on bone marrow glaze with veal jus
$26

This was very good according to the boy! The sauce was very flavourful, the marrow melted in his mouth and went beautifully with the amazing wagyu cubes! You've gotta scoop up the marrow from the bone which adds an element of "fun" to this dish. The wagyu cubes were very soft and bursting with flavours from the sauce. 4.5/5

**

We didn't order any desserts because they did not interest us.

Bespoke cocktail - refreshing + no bitter taste

I can't really remember what was in my cocktail but it was refreshing! :) These bespoke cocktails are charged based on the alcoholic base they use and the prices of these "bases" can be found in their menu. You can tell them whatever you want, or don't want and something will be created for you :)

Godfather
Monkey Shoulder scotch whisky, Disaronno amaretto with cigar smoke
$21

We were curious about the cigar smoke! You gotta breathe in deeply + quickly when you open it as the smell dissipates really quickly!

Figticious
Wild Turkey 81 whiskey, home made fives puree, fresh lemon with tonic
$21

Was very intrigued by figs in cocktails as I've never had such a drink before. However there was barely any fig taste in the drink! :/ it was quite refreshing though

Their cocktails are really easy to drink and thats dangerous haha cos you can just keep going on and on like you're not drinking alcohol cos you don't feel any burning in your throat or difficult to swallow or whatever.

Overall

Service: friendly, good, rather prompt

Ambience: bar + tables w seats, industrial kind of decor, quite pretty at night!

Food: above average food

Cocktails: creative! Would like to try more

Tess Bar & Kitchen

38 Seah Street S188394

63377355

Mon- Thurs 1130am-1am

Fri 1130am - 2am

Sat 430pm to 2am

closed Sundays

Facebook

New Restaurant: Symmetry

This new restaurant is run by chef & founder, Ms Abby Lim, according to The Business Times! The restaurant itself is um quite small (restaurants nowadays are v small compared to the past!!!) and only sits about 20-25 ppl? So its best to call ahead to make reservations! 

The restaurant is located at Jalan Kubor and the boy and I got lost cos we ventured to the Jalan Kubor opposite Santa Grand Hotel and we were walking next to rows of tombstones and then along this really deserted road haha. But we managed to find it in the end 'cos we called the restaurant! Do note that its "next" to Santa Grand Hotel!

Entrance flanked by Nightmare Before Christmas dolls 'cos its Halloween period!

If you call ahead to reserve, your name will be up on the board there :) Also on your table will be this small rock with your name written on it!

****

Here are pictures of the menu! I really love their menu, especially the drawings! Their drinks menu is equally nice!

The bar area and about 3/4 of the restaurant

Amuse Bouche - Grapes!

Haha totally something new but the grapes were a balance of sour and sweet, good start especially since I love grapes :)

 

I quite like the decor here :) vintage but modern at the same time! Nice feel to it :) Also I love the fact that they have a wide range of magazines that you can read!!!

Symmetry

$22

Vanilla vodka, summer fruits (passionfruit, strawberries), lime sorbet, mint leaves

This cocktail was great! Loved how the vodka taste isnt overpowering the rest of the taste but blends well together! Its sour and appetising plus hints of bitterness from the vodka, great great mix! Dangerous though cos methinks there isn't much alcohol in there so you can really keep drinking and ordering and well $$$$ haha. Great drink when you want sth appetising but alcoholic! Also there were quite a lot of chunks of strawberries + passionfruit!! Loved that :) 4.6/5

Other interesting items on their drinks menu that I can rmb include:

Green tea martini (vodka based I think? W green tea and red bean!!)

Breakfast cereal smoothie (yes they have smoothies too! And fruit juices. Not sure abt mocktails)

 Cant rmb the rest but the menu sounded v interesting to me I rmb.

Cod

$32

Pearl Onions, Feva Beans, Saffron

A thin layer of cod pan seared to near perfection I'd say. Subtle sweetness from the fish, soft on the inside and a layer of crispiness on the outside, I really like the texture! Would really like a bigger piece! The yellow stuff could be polenta we think, not much of a taste though, nicer if you eat it with the bacon bits! 4/5

Hamburger

$29

Beef patty, foie gras, chorizo, beetroot relish, mornay sauce, bun

Don't be mistaken and think that the patty is like those that you'd find in McDonald's, all minced up and fried! This is in fact a whole chunk of beef that was really soft and tender (doesnt get stuck in your teeth!!) The foie gras upped the sinfulness and decadence of the burger with its buttery oily texture :) The boy feels that this bun isnt as nice as &Made's cos it wasnt crusty, kinda like a normal bun? The chorizo couldnt really be tasted! He said the sauce, which was kinda cheesy, went well w the burger as a whole! And its a sauce he's never tried before :)

Fries were really good, super crispy even right till the end! Can tell that its made from real yummy soft potatoes with a layer of crisp outside!

For this price, I'd say its super worth it!!!!! 4.4/5

Another shot of the yummeh burger

Scallops

$30

cauliflower, chives, kelp dust, chlorophyll, almond, bacon, tomatoes

I thought chlorophyll would be something interesting but I think its just the green leaves? The scallops were quite plump, though sadly, werent served hot, merely lukewarm. Atop the scallops sat bacon and garlic, as a whole they went rather well together. The orange stuff to the left were q sweet in the veggie sense and the red slices tastes like capsicum. 3.5/5

Peanut Butter Jelly

peanut parfait, cherry sorbet & jelly, cherries, puffed rice

The peanut parfait is tastes like the chinese peanut snack that we eat, the flakey one? Just that the texture of this is like a frozen mousse but still a little soft? Not sure if I'm making sense haha. The cherry sorbet was slightly sour and went well with the parfait. You get a diff taste when you combine the parfait and the cherry jelly (circular disc below the puffed rice). Puffed rice seem more like an afterthought, kinda like honey crisped rice krispies. You'll only like this if you really love peanut 3.4/5

 Beets Sorbet

$16

raspberries, milk pudding, lavender, pistachio, meringue, shiso

The dark red quenelle is the beet sorbet and it really does taste like beet! Really like this creative idea and the fact that it turned out well :) The sorbet in front, I'm not sure what its flavour is but tastes like berry yoghurt sorbet? The meringue wasnt overly sweet. Idk which is the milk pudding but the "blobs" of white stuff didnt have any taste. Wasn't any lavender taste either! V light ending to the meal. Would love it if they gave more sorbet instead!! 3.6/5

Service there was really good, friendly and smiley! When we first arrived and the boy kept fanning himself cos it was a lil stuffy where we sat, the waitress quickly asked if we wanted to change to the table where the aircon was blasting! One thing I didnt really fancy was that our scallops actually arrived later than our mains and the waitress said that they'll serve all the food tgt when I asked them to check on our scallops. 

Their menu's v interesting though!! Mozzarella marshmallow, welsh rarebit, squid w black pepper aioli, prawn popcorn! If yall do give it a try, please tell me what you think about these dishes! :) 

Its easy to spend a lot there cos everything seems interesting! Our bill was $170! This is a place where we wouldn't mind going back again! They serve brunch on weekends and from their fb, it seems pretty popular + crowded so do make reservations!

Symmetry

9 Jalan Kubor

Tues-Thurs: 11am-11pm

Fri-Sat: 11am-12am

Sun: 11am-7pm

Facebook