The Singapore Edition replaces Fysh with Asian-inspired Tanica
The hotel’s new restaurant is less high-concept and more relatable in its cooking
NEW RESTAURANT
Tanica The Singapore Edition 38 Cuscaden Road Singapore 249731 Tel: 6329-5000 Open daily. Lunch from 12 pm to 2.30 pm. Dinner from 6 pm to 10 pm (10.30 pm Fri to Sun)
[SINGAPORE] The last time we had dinner at The Edition, we had a run-in with a fish.
Nothing major. Just a difference of opinion about how seafood shouldn’t behave like meat, and how a tuna that tries to preen itself like a hunk of dry-aged prime rib just seems a bit misguided to us. Not to mention that we never want to eat vanilla ice cream blended with fish eyes again, scale-to-tail ideology be damned.
But like relationships, just because one didn’t work out the first time doesn’t mean the next one doesn’t stand a chance.
And so the high-concept, celebrity chef-led Fysh has since been replaced with Tanica – which has less performance anxiety and tries hard to be relatable without being predictable.
It sits in the same bucolic space just off the lobby, looking like an indoor conservatory with hanging shrubbery and potted palms in your face, potentially poking your ear. It’s looking more lived-in too, with the wicker-sofa cushions sagging in places and signs that they may have the same short-sighted housekeeper as we do – the kind who doesn’t notice crumbs and other people’s hair.
Dusting prowess aside, you can sense Tanica still feels a bit of pressure to fill the gap left by the high-profile Fysh, which closed down after the departure of its Australian chef Josh Niland. Its new storyline is tied to the name Tanica – an awkward portmanteau of “botanical” and “tannins”, and how they come together to connect nature, food and Asia.
Like Singaporeans who start speaking with an American accent only to slip back into Singlish when they can’t sustain it, Tanica starts out with a modern Asian twang but occasionally lapses into char kway teow, laksa and chicken rice dialects.
Not that we mind, since we all want a familiar fallback if something like chargrilled Indonesian squid with pickled watermelon rind, or dry-aged Murray cod fillet with Nonya sweet potato leaf curry, threatens to trigger an eye roll.
That’s probably why our eyes skip past sea urchin kueh pie tee and Little Joe grass-fed beef tartare and settle on chicken rendang puff (S$14 for two). At S$7 a puff, Old Chang Kee couldn’t command such a price without inviting execution by social media, but at Tanica it seems to be par for the course.
If the crust were just a little flakier or crisper, it would be our puff of the year. Instead, it gets a strong consolation prize for its meaty, spicy rendang filling and garlicky yogurt dip.
Crisp garlic wok-fried prawns (S$36) is a less messy version of the zi char stalwart cereal prawns. Potent garlic crumbs cling to plump shelled prawns instead of Nestum, while deep-fried basil hidden in a bed of crumbs and slivered almonds add to the deja vu.
In fact, Tanica shows zi char tendencies with the likes of Thai wok-fried chicken (S$38) and black sambal Murray cod (S$58) – the latter a gentrified sambal stingray without the banana leaf.
The chicken – tossed with baby asparagus and dried chillies in a glossy fish sauce – is too salty to eat on its own. Some plain rice would be good, but the only version offered is cooked in chicken fat and costs a pricey S$12.
The chicken itself is dry because the kitchen is team breast, and we are thigh people. The Murray cod is also overcooked in parts but moist in others, while its super-crisp skin and XO sauce-like dried shrimp sambal indicate a kitchen that knows its Asian food.
Even though the aforementioned squid – slightly stringy strips served like a warm salad with stir-fried vegetables and sour pickles – doesn’t quite hit the spot, it’s still on the right track.
When it comes to the sweet stuff, logic can sometimes be optional. A flaky filo pastry bag filled with cempedak cream has some appeal, but the pulut hitam ice cream and pomelo it’s paired with is stretching the point. An entremet of gooey pisang emas folded into sticky-chewy Kuantan chocolate ganache makes more sense.
Tanica’s chefs have a strong handle on Asian flavours but can’t seem to decide which direction to go. If they go easy on their “tannin” aspirations and build on their own strengths first, we see the start of a relationship with more staying power than the first.
Rating: 6.5
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