For a long time now I have been enamored with cooking which tries to modernize traditional cuisines by bringing new twists to classic dishes while keeping the familiar flavors, and they are often among my favorite restaurants to discover. Over the last few years in Singapore, more and more chefs have emerged who are planting the flag for modern Singaporean cuisine - or "Mod Sin" - and I'm slowly getting around to try them.
Labyrinth has been on my hit list for the last couple of years, as I found the pictures being shared on social media intriguing. My interest level only went up after Chef LG Han's restaurant earned a coveted Michelin star. So I made sure to allocate a slot for dinner on this trip, and asked my friend L to join us.
We were running a little late, and didn't have much of a choice except to walk brisky from Marina Bay Sands across the Helix Bridge to the Esplanade Mall. We were the last table to seated, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the restaurant was full.
"Nasi lemak" cheong fun, chicken skin, ikan bilis and egg yolk gel - this wasn't bad. The rice flour wrapper came stuffed with egg yolk and sambal, topped with deep-fried anchovies, crispy duck (I thought the menu said chicken?) skin, and cucumber.
Braised baby abalone, homemade oyster sauce and fatt choy tart - the tender baby abalone came with a very rich and sweet homemade oyster sauce, along with a touch of citrus. The "bird's nest" was made with hair moss (髮菜), and was very crispy, ethereal, and crumbled under little pressure. 
Heartland waffle, local duck liver pate and goji berry jam - the flavors of foie gras were very much front-and-center inside the pandan-flavored waffle, accompanied by the sweetness of the jam. 
Labyrinth rojak, Edible Gardens herbs, natural stingless bee honey and campedak sorbet - underneath it all was a scoop of sorbet made with jackfruit - one of my favorites tropical fruits. There were apparently 13 different types of "fruit" (herbs, flowers, and leaves, in reality) from Edible Garden City and mixed with hei ko (蝦膏) - a local fermented prawn paste. Finally, some raw honey from stingless bees on Batam was drizzled on top. Amazingly, the honey was light, not as thick and viscous, and had noticeable acidity.
In this case, unfortunately, it didn't work for me. I no longer eat Hainanese chicken rice in Singapore, because there are no fresh chickens in this city, and the locals now prefer their chicken soft to the point of being mushy. This was the same story inside the dumpling, as the chicken was powdery and mushy. The wrapper was mushy, too. But L loved this dish.
Grandma's fish maw soup, yellow tail snapper fish cake, textures of fish maw and tofu puree - the fish cake is cut into thin slices and arranged in the shape of a flower, garnished with pea shoots and tendrils. Beneath the fish cake was a layer of tofu purée with fish maw.Then the soup was poured on top, partially destroying the "flower" in the process. This was indeed a comforting dish as Chef Han described, as the flavors were very familiar, as were the gelatinous texture of the fish maw and the viscosity of the soup. The crackling on the side was made of barramundi fish maw, with some smoked paprika sprinkled on top.
I love deconstruction, and I loved this dish. I'd have another one of these in a heartbeat.
Nippon Koi Farm silver perch, herbal pepper broth, ulam rajah and textures of black garlic - this is a twist on the traditional bak kut teh (肉骨茶), but instead of using pork ribs, we have silver perch from Nippon Koi Farm. The black chicken broth was definitely more Malaysian in style, with the ulam rajah bringing prominent herbal and medicinal notes, and the black garlic purée was pretty nice. Garnished with a youtiao (油條) puff, and a mango flower that reminded me of unripe green mangoes.
Uncle William's quail, satay espuma, muah chee and pearl onion - the first thing I noticed about this dish was the claws attached to the legs... and how they were presented. The birds come from William Ho at Lian Wah Hang Quail Farm.
"Lost grain" fried rice, white bait, dried scallop and local "dashi" - the rice used is apparently a strain of Thai Hom Mali which was "lost" and not planted for 70 years. The crispy white bait was very nice, although unfortunately I did not get any rice crispies in my bowl like Hello Kitty... Good wok hei (鑊氣) for sure.
Bean to bar, artisanal dark chocolate and 8 year aged Shaoxing wine - this was pretty interesting. The dark chocolate from Fossa Chocolate is mixed with dark soy sauce for the ice cream, which creates an interesting blend of umami, bitterness, sweetness, and acidity. Adding aged Shaoxing wine to the mix was certainly an interesting twist. A sprinkle of cocoa nibs came on the side.
Clam leaf snow, rosella meringue and textures of grapes - very refreshing right after a rich dessert. There were thin slices of grapes, pomegranate seeds, and cubes of red dragon fruit underneath.
Soy bean curd, bird's nest, yuba, burnt yogurt espuma by Hay Dairies goat milk and sago - somewhat interesting take on the traditional douhua (豆花). Lots of different textures in the bowl, from the soft yogurt to fluffy bean curd to the powder on top, to slightly firmer bird's nest, to the sago cooked in gula melaka, and finally the slightly chewy yuba (湯葉).
Cristal de Chine caviar, kaya ice cream and Sing Hon Loong toast - a much more interesting and satisfying dessert compared to the last one.
Finally the "festive petit fours"...
I gotta say... this was a pretty good dinner. Naturally not every single dish was a hit, but there were quite a few of them. And modern interpretations and deconstructions of traditional dishes is right up my alley - made better by my familiarity with many of these dishes. Even L was impressed.
After such a long and filling dinner, it only made sense that Hello Kitty and I took a casual stroll back to our room at the Marina Bay Sands, admiring the view along the way. The work part of my trip starts tomorrow morning...
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