Spanish classics redefined at Sugarra
Never mind the name or the Sentosa address, the Basque-influenced cuisine has an endearing appeal to it
NEW RESTAURANT
Sugarra Level 1, Hotel Michael Resorts World Sentosa 8 Sentosa Gateway Singapore 098269 Tel: 6577 6688 Open for dinner daily: 6 pm to 11 pm
[SINGAPORE] Eternal optimists or willing suckers?
That’s the question we always ask ourselves when we step foot into a restaurant bearing the name – or consultancy stamp – of a chef whose moniker has been repeated enough times to qualify themself as famous.
We know the routine. You have an F&B operator who wants instant impact. A chef with a reputation to sell. A promise to “visit regularly to maintain standards”. A protege plucked from obscurity and tasked to execute the master’s vision. And of course we believe. We come. We eat. And then we complain, “the original is better”. But we also forget, because the next big name comes along and immediately we say, “ooh, must go”.
Sugarra could have gone the same way. Its claim to fame is Aitor Jeronimo Orive, who made a decent enough name for himself at Basque Kitchen by Aitor that Resorts World Sentosa tapped him for their new concept to replace table65, its own defunct former Michelin-starred eatery.
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But rather than return to Singapore, he installed Basque compatriot Aitor Gonzalez as his professional alter ego while he returned home to Melbourne to do his own thing.
But like a movie with a plot twist, the protege surpasses the master, as Gonzalez lays out a meal with more consistency and clarity than his boss showed during his own tenure in Singapore.
There are a few things Gonzalez has to overcome, though. One is the very word “Sentosa”, which immediately induces “so far” ennui. Then there’s the name Sugarra – which means “flame” in Basque, but is about as fun to say as “card payment due”. And for all its fine-dining trappings, the space still looks like a function room hurriedly dressed for a fancy occasion at the last minute.
Humour the restaurant team as they awkwardly try to get you into the dinner mood at a small bar counter, where they serve a rather pleasant cold gazpacho made of blended haricots verts that’s creamy with a hint of garlic and basil oil. You can pick a cocktail from an iPad menu while waiting for them to set up your table.
That’s because they need time to set up a lovely garden spread of tapitas, or little tapas in a lush flower bed display. Everybody gets this regardless of whether you pick the four-course (S$148), six-course (S$198) or nine-course (S$288) dinner menu.
Unless you want to splurge on hake kokotxas, bomba rice and txuleta of aged Galician beef, the six-course is more than adequate.
The tapitas will keep you busy as it is, with pretty little bites that hold your interest as you work through wagyu tartare sandwiched between crisp bread; savoury swiss roll filled with olive cream; layered foie gras terrine; cocktail olives spiked with pickled sardine; and a tiny pot of pannacotta topped with caviar. Nothing very avant-garde, but with just the right amount of flair.
Gonzalez pays attention to little things like the fruity aberquina olive oil served with good rye bread and spongy roll. And he turns the conventional Spanish omelette into a little cup of joy. You scoop up chewy potato cubes in an egg yolk sabayon, topped with frothy potato espuma and shaved truffle for a totally grown-up snack.
You can pretend to be healthy and enjoy beetroot tartare made to look like its meat cousin, complete with fake bleeding. Chopped beetroot and apple have a nice saltiness to balance the raw earthiness, while beetroot sorbet gives this a palate-cleanser effect.
We can’t wait to get to the next course – a firm medallion of cod in biscayne or red pepper sauce that’s slightly spicy, with bits of chewy cod tripe for contrast. The highlight is a lovely, tiny Disfrutar-like airy doughnut filled with a savoury mixture of cod trimmings so nothing goes to waste.
While roasted suckling pig lacks a crisp-enough skin, the meat is baby-soft, and served with a roasted cherry apple filled with pork liver pate.
The portions are manageable enough that you reach dessert without any fatigue, so you can enjoy one of the better tropical desserts made by foreign chefs – coconut ice cream with sago pearls, coconut flesh and tangy yogurt crisps.
For one new to Singapore, Gonzalez has taken the best of Orive’s teachings – one being to watch the salt – and added his own personality to it. The result is familiar Spanish tropes but delivered with a light, inventive touch that instinctively knows when to push and pull back. His friendly and engaging nature is also a welcome bonus.
If you miss fine Spanish food, Sugarra is a worthy place to rediscover it. It may take a bit of effort to get to Sentosa, but once you do, Gonzalez will do his best to make sure you don’t regret it.
Rating: 7
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