A flirtation with flavor

A pair of clever culinary CreatureS from Singapore are proving to be tasty Tease in the Chinese capital, Li Yingxue reports.

Since its opening in 2015, CreatureS has become a popular destination for food lovers visiting and residing in Singapore, thanks to its innovative and mouthwatering modern take on the country's cuisine.

Its was named the Best New Restaurant in 2016 by food and restaurant review website HungryGoWhere Singapore, which commented that it's a place that breaks with tradition and actually pulls it off without messing it up.

The masterminds behind CreatureS have decided to bring their epicurean endeavors to the Chinese capital, having opened a sister venue in Beijing after Spring Festival. Named Tease, this modern Asian eatery aims to tease the diners' senses and palette with culinary creature comforts.

Located on the first floor of Stey-Wangfujing, a design-driven apartment in Baishu Hutong at Dengshikou, Tease inherits the Asian-fusion roots of CreatureS and pays homage to Beijing.

More importantly, Tease is about to introduce the concept of "soul food" - food that not only delights the taste buds but also comforts the soul, food that people want to share with friends and family, and food that feels like "home".

The restaurant's two founders - Dennis Chong and Kok Koeng Chong - were actually complete strangers to the dining industry when they began. Nevertheless, their passion for food has brought them this far.

To tease the diners in Beijing, they have sent their original culinary team to the capital - executive chef Jardine D'Cruz and his partner, pastry chef Jacob Justus, arrived in Beijing half a year ago to prepare for the new restaurant's opening.

The first challenge the duo met was flavor, as Singaporeans like heavy seasoning using a lot of spices, salt and sugar.

"I notice people in Beijing do not prefer a salty flavor, but like freshness, so I try to use less salt and spices while highlighting the freshness of the ingredients," says D'Cruz.

Justus has also reduced the sweetness of his desserts to match the preference of his Chinese diners.

Just like CreatureS, the duo excels at turning heirloom recipes into creative delicacies. For instance, Kampung beef rendang at Tease has undergone a makeover as the chef applies a more modern slow cooking method and a more artistic presentation into its production.

Some dishes are also familiar in disguise. One example is "the tofu blooms". A bite will bring the taste buds home right away, for it is, in fact, an everyday Chinese dish called pidan tofu (tofu with preserved egg).

"It's actually an innovation based on tradition, thanks to the creative use of preserved egg yolk as the salad sauce," D'Cruz explains.

The Vietnamese Hainanese chicken rolls are another example of traditional tastes presented and served in a modern way. The collaboration is a concentrate of the best of the two worlds - all the flavors of Hainanese chicken rice, served in the form of Vietnamese spring rolls - it's easy to eat and great to share with loved ones.

D'Cruz likes to eat in the neighborhood when he visits a new place. "I like to eat snacks from the food stands at the roadside. That's how I get inspiration."

He has designed an appetizer named Sichuan pepper crispy fried chicken, which is an inspiration from the traditional Sichuan snack, spicy crispy peanuts that he accidentally ate in Beijing.

"I want to keep the traditional flavor of the food while being creative with the presentation or cooking," D'Cruz says.

He has noticed Chinese diners' preference for eating meat with staple food together, so when he brings his Peranakan-style pork belly, braised in tao jio (soy bean paste), he serves it with fried mantou (steamed bun).

Both D'Cruz and Justus insist on using local ingredients to make their food, and the variety of fresh ingredients that they can have access to in Beijing gives them more possibilities to create new dishes.

"As Singapore is a tropical country, we don't have the so-called 'seasonal ingredients'. Most of the ingredients are imported with the same quality all year around," says Justus.

"In Beijing, however, we can find different ingredients in different seasons, such as in the autumn, the peaches are so juicy and tender that I can create a new peach dessert," he says, adding, "but by winter they are getting dry and crisp, so we will remove the dessert from the menu".

Before winter ends, he designed a dessert concept that uses an entire ear of corn - a base of popcorn mousse topped with caramelized popcorn bits and homemade sea-salt caramel sauce, with a corn husk and peanut cookie suspended on top.

The desserts at Tease are also a reflection of the restaurant's innovative gene. Before joining CreatureS, Justus traveled the world and gained experience at New York's prestigious three Michelin-starred Eleven Madison Park. He is well-known for creating desserts that pay tribute to the classics while incorporating the uniqueness of local flavors and culture.

One new dessert Justus has created for Beijing is called "Peking Opera", which introduces passion fruit, raspberry puree and dark chocolate decorations to a classic "Italian opera cake", resulting in a sweet delight that resembles the color combination of a Peking Opera mask.

Actually, finishing dessert at Tease rarely means the end of the night. Also located in Stey, La-Bar-Atory feels more like a mad scientist's laboratory rather than a cocktail bar.

Bartenders here apply scientific techniques like distillation, fermentation, clarification and aging to extract flavors from all sorts of food, then use these rarefied flavors in each cocktail to shake and muddle.

The martinis here are not mixed using common fruits and botanicals, but use bacon, sweet pepper, black garlic, salty milk tea, among other off-the-wall flavors in the mix.

Named "Cookie Jar", "Corn Me Baby" or "The Smoking Butcher", the cocktails not only play with words, but also pair with the food at Tease.

D'Cruz and Justus plan to regularly update Tease's menu every few months as they continue to explore new seasonal ingredients in China, turning them into creative dishes that deliver traditional flavor, but in brand-new ways.

Contact the writer at liyingxue@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 03/01/2019 page16)