Finding the right direction at Path restaurant

NEW RESTAURANT

Path Restaurant

#01-05/06 Tower 3

Marina Bay Financial Centre

12 Marina Boulevard

Singapore 018982

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Tel: 6443-0180

Open for lunch and dinner Mon to Fri: 11.30 am to 3 pm; 6 pm to 10.30 pm. Dinner only on Sat. Closed on Sun.

ONE thing you notice about chefs is how they don't just feed you, they want to take you on a journey. It could be to explore the food of yesteryear, or to visit another country (hopefully not the

tourist-trap version); and then there's the trip to explore their soul - including pit stops at their childhood and the various epiphanies experienced in their lifelong culinary quests.

Like any journey, they can be eye-opening, fun and memorable. And then there are those which provide crummy souvenirs so you can't wait to take the next flight back.

At Path, you know that head chef Marvas Ng is taking you somewhere - just that we don't yet know exactly where.

On the one hand, you're happily chugging along on a discovery of Chinese spices; on the other, you're yanked into the French realm of beurre blanc and truffles. But before you can regain your balance, you're whisked into the Shinkansen, on a train which happens to serve furikake and kimchi.

Trying to corral multiple nationalities into one modern Asian whole is like gathering a bunch of feuding cousins into the same reunion dinner - it's either a recipe for disaster, or, if managed well, you'll hear the sweet sounds of a capella harmony.

Ng is clearly aiming for the latter but for now, he's got some fine-tuning to do. He's set a high bar for Path in terms of creating a unique genre of cooking, with intriguing ideas well worth exploring - and some that border on zany - and the true test will be to see how they evolve.

The caveat here is that we unwittingly visited on the first day Path opened to the public, so some leeway is needed for a still untested concept making its debut.

Visually, the restaurant leaves nothing to the imagination - turning the former Ola into a large creamy dreamscape bathed in bright light and neutral beige with padded, undulating walls and a cloud or two. Green creepers offer some contrast in this all-beige palette, clinging to large columns like the sole survivors of colour-cleansing by mad minimalists.

We want to try everything just from their descriptions: fish maw in douxi (black bean) caviar sauce; octopus in a heritage glaze and plum-marinated guava; rib-eye cap in dashi veal jus; crispy amadei in fermented black bean beurre blanc. You get the picture - sort-of Chinese food married to French techniques with adopted Japanese influences for good measure.

Fresh Kuhlbarra (the farmed sea bass people) fish maw (S$35) is a promising mind-teaser of gelatinous, collagen-rich maw that's thicker and softer than the Chinese delicacy, braised in broth for flavour (as it would be in double-boiled soup) and bathed in a buttery garlic and black bean sauce that leans towards French beurre blanc. Some chopped vegetable stems add needed crunch. Good idea, but the double whammy of richness from both the fish maw and butter can easily tip this into cloying territory. Fish maw lovers will slurp it up; others may need convincing.

But we have barely started to contemplate the flavours when the next few dishes are suddenly plonked down in our faces in mad succession, as if they only have a few minutes left to cook before Marie Kondo comes by to confiscate their frying pans.

There's a whirlwind of hot, cold, and dramatic dishes to make sense of in the visual and flavour onslaught that ensues.

We quickly finish off cold Irish oysters (S$28 for 3) that are overpowered by a vinegar jelly before tackling char-grilled firefly squid (S$22) that tastes wok-fried smoky but has actually been cooked over hot coals. We might prefer regular baby squid for a firmer bite over the Japanese version with their slight squishy tendency, but the dry spice rub and the added textures of green chillies and garlic add a nice finish. Meanwhile, a tartlet of beef tartare (S$22) with a smoked runny-yolk quail egg would be better if not for an overly seasoned and intrusive kimchi aioli.

In between hurried bites, we're distracted by 3 bouncy hand-dived Hokkaido scallops (S$58) cooked on a hot stone at our table side. A friendly server cheerfully spoons seaweed truffle sauce, bright red sakura ebi, furikake and we're not sure what else on them as they sizzle, before covering them with a French-style cloche. You remove them when the scallops are cooked to your liking (but more to save them from a rubbery demise) and you eat them with pickled raw pumpkin.

It's more drama than it's worth, but the theatrics would be fun if done at the right pacing. The scallops pass muster but are too small a bite to need a floret of shaved hard pumpkin that just tastes raw and vinegary.

Path's messaging becomes clearer with the signature roast chicken (S$72) which is well worth the effort of brining with Chinese herbs, blanched, smoked and roasted through a multicultural cooking process. The result is a beautifully burnished bird presented in its own box before being portioned into tender dark and white meat infused with gentle herbal nuances.

Dessert too is a must have - giant caneles (S$18 for 3) are fluffy soft yet resilient, gently perfumed with Chinese wine. An even bigger madeleine (S$32) is very pricey, but still a very well-executed tender buttery sponge sweetened with Okinawa brown sugar.

Ng has clear cooking chops and an inventive mind that still needs to find harmony amid the clunkiness and self-inflicted pressure to dazzle. Stay true and genuine, and we're confident he really will find the right path.

Rating: 6.5

jaime@sph.com.sg

@JaimeEeBT

WHAT OUR RATINGS MEAN

10: The ultimate dining experience

9-9.5: Sublime

8-8.5: Excellent

7-7.5: Good to very good

6-6.5: Promising

5-5.5: Average

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