Mediterranean-Japanese fusion at Noor

NEW RESTAURANT

Noor Singapore 17 Mohamed Sultan Road Singapore 238966 Tel: 8805-8075 Open for only dinner Tues to Sun: 5 pm to 12 am

[SINGAPORE] Chicken shawarma gyoza. Ramen, but in tahini broth with chilli paste. Noor isn’t a restaurant, it’s the offspring of bicultural parents who wouldn’t give in to each other at dinner time.

One is Mediterranean and a stickler for tahini and hummus. The other identifies as Japanese, treating miso more like a religion than a condiment.

Together, they spawned Noor: the dutiful child struggling to honour both, while secretly harbouring a taste for Asian spices and sambals.

The result is that dining there feels less like a meal and more like a therapy session on personal identity.

On the surface, it’s colourful and fun-loving.

The Mediterranean gene is strong in this one, with its dusky terracotta walls, velvet sofas and strategic neon lighting giving it an underground, bohemian vibe – eclectic, cocktail-driven, party-led.

Every Thursday, there is apparently belly dancing and drums. Introverts, flee. Fast.

SEE ALSO

Casa Lola brings casual Spanish to the table

Go a little deeper, and you see uncertainty settle in.

Noor could easily lean into its Mediterranean side with a strong Middle Eastern accent, but it doesn’t want to stop there. It forces in a Japanese sub-plot that, like the token ex-boyfriend who comes between the leads of your favourite K-drama, wears thin after a while.

But you understand where it’s coming from. Go through the menu, and you see the gears of creativity in motion.

Shokupan in place of pita bread. Tahini switches places with miso. Sashimi and harissa. More tahini. More miso. In fact, the emphasis is on more, but we prefer less.

Shokupan is the darling of the bread world, and Noor’s contribution is Shok Bread (S$15), which could also be our reaction to the price. But it is a big one and it’s freshly baked, letting out a satisfying billow of steam when you pull it apart and tear at its insides. 

Tear fast, because it gets cold faster, and its crust hardens like a crustacean’s shell just after the moulting process.

Or just dig out the insides and dunk them into the accompanying tahini or tomato-red pepper relish. We prefer it on its own, as soft bread doesn’t stand up to assertive condiments the way pita bread can.

Maguro harissa crispy rice (S$21) is Noor’s way of getting Sushisamba and Nobu out of its system.

Crunchy-tender wedges of deep-fried rice are weighed down by chopped tuna tossed in a spicy mayonnaise – nothing surprising, but a reliable snack.

Noor doesn’t need to invoke the name of Japanese dumplings to create tahini gyoza (S$23), which has little connection beyond its skin and fried posterior.

It could be a Korean mandu or Nepalese momo for all we care, but this spicy chicken-filled potsticker has its own charms. Tahini sauce works well in this case, especially with thin shavings of cucumber and grapes to sweeten the deal.

A Chinese-style stir-fry of lamb in pomegranate and onion sauce with hummus and pita (S$32) barely misses the overkill mark with its sweet-sour-pork likeability.

But the Mediterranean ramen (S$26) shows none of that restraint.

Milky tahini broth engages in a hostile takeover of miso soup, keeping funky bamboo shoots, soft-yolked eggs and crispy furikake prisoner in this cross-cultural mistake – or stroke of genius.

A dollop of chilli paste helps give it meaning. A skewer of charred, smoky mussels sits there like an unsuspecting bystander – but is good enough to deserve its own show.

Miso butter fish (S$42) fails the miso cod impersonation challenge. Blame it on the too-dry snapper, miso beurre blanc and the self-importance of a “robata-grilled confit leek skewer”. 

Dessert, however, makes better sense.

Sticky goma (S$19) is a chewy, nutty, black sesame financier covered in a pleasantly tangy white chocolate cream folded with yoghurt.

And we won’t say no to chocolate cigars, even with the pretentious name of Kuro Shokolate (S$19): crispy love letters filled with chocolate mousse.

Underneath all that Mediterranean-Japanese hand-wringing and box-ticking is a story that’s waiting to be told. One that’s not manufactured, but built on reason and connection.

Noor may be trying to cross cultures, but it’s better off creating its own.

Rating: 6