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n ov e m b e r 2 , 20 0 9
T h e na n ya ng c h ron ic l e
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The staff may be a little wet behind their ears, but eating at a student training restaurant is a good way of getting top-notch food at affordable prices. Kezia Toh and Hong Shuheng go back to school Charcoal gourmet & Deli bar 100 High Street #01-03 The Treasury LESSON IN PROGRESS: A cookery student picks up the tricks of the trade at the Restaurant In The Square, Temasek Polytechnic's training eatery.
Opening hours: Mon-Sat: 8am-10pm Sun/PH: 8am-3pm
Restaurant IN the square RUN by hospitality school Shatec Institutes, the bistro is sleekly contemporary with soft lighting illuminating plush dark wood fixtures, and dark stone walls peeping from behind clear glass veneers. Little gives away the fact that it is a student-run eatery, save for a mounted plaque asserting that diners’ support contributes to students’ learning. Students work as waiters and chefs here, and they are graded for their efforts. The menu they are practising on is often a simple mishmash of flavours and textures like the charred mushroom and edamame salad with soy truffle vinaigrette ($6). The velvety smooth texture of chilled tofu delivered a clean wholesome taste, complementing the silky chunks of mushroom, wh i le s pr i n k le s of c r u nc h y edamame soyabeans dashed with soya truffle oil gave a salty flourish to the appetizer. Next came the smoked duck and potato with sesame aioli ($7.60) – a slab of fragrantly smoked duck topped with a pinch of mango salsa that delivered a piquant smack. Shaped like a sushi roll, the meat rested on a base of warm mashed potato and splashed aioli (garlic and olive oil creamed together). According to the supervisor mentoring the student chefs, Soon Yoeng Shon, the restaurant serves Western cuisine with a modern Asian twist, such as the broth of double-boiled chicken tea with smoked chicken and wolfberries ($6). The Western ingredient of smoked chicken was complemented by traditional medicinal touches and served like a cup of tea, for a fusion dish. The lamb shank on red wine sauce with garlic-mashed potatoes was pricey ($26), but the portion was good for two. The tender meat drips with the warm sweet juices of mutton, steeped in lashings of sharp red wine sauce that leaves a pleasantly bittersweet aftertaste. The fluffy white garlic potato was mashed by hand, then creamed and mixed with butter and a hint of nutmeg for a sweetly aromatic
12 Artillery Avenue Sentosa Island Opening hours: Mon-Fri: 11.30am-2.30pm (Closed on weekends and school holidays)
RACK OF LAMB: A generous serving of mutton doused in sharp red wine sauce.
touch merging with crunchy garlic morsels. To round off the meal on a sweet note, the Fruit Minestrone ($4.40) comes in a bowl of syrup dotted with colourful cuts of citrus fruit and berries, circling a centrepiece of vanilla ice-cream and jauntily topped with a sprig of mint.
Bashfully shy and charmingly polite, the student waiters were competent—napkins were folded promptly left whenever the diner left the seat, and cutler y was changed with every course. Service is so quietly efficient that it melts into the background, allowing the food to take centrestage.
A JAPANESE TWIST: Mashed potato topped with a thin slab of smoked duck comes served like a sushi roll.
VISIBLY nervous young waiters were on hand to greet customers eagerly, some stumbling over their words, and some too soft to be audible, but all clearly trying to please. After all, it was just the second day of opening at Restaurant in the Square (RITS) after the school holidays. The restaurant, a training eatery drilling students of the Tourism Academy @ Sentosa in the art of food and drink, is next to a beautifully restored colonial parade square, as it is so aptly named after. It ser ves one menu daily, though the items change every few days. A two-course set goes for $12.50 nett, while a three-course meal with dessert costs $15. The meal kicked off with an appetiser of tomato and mozzarella salad, with slices of red tomatoes and creamy cheese on a bed of rocket leaves, drizzled with balsamico glaze that added a hint of tart sweetness. T he bit te r r o c ke t le a v e s contrasted with the juicy tomatoes, while the cheese slices were spongy
with a milky taste. The oven-baked chicken dish had a hunk of succulent breast meat in a pool of tarragon sauce. The chicken would have been better if it had been marinated, though, as its lack of f lavour translated into a bland dish. The gratin potato served on the side became the star instead, with layers of thin potato slices, bathed in cream, milk and herbs. Tossed with olive oil, roasted pinenuts and diced bell peppers in a grainy green sauce that added a crunchy texture, the pesto linguine had a firm bite and was slick with olive oil. Grated slices of par mesan cheese added a savoury dimension, but the slab of pink salmon, sitting attractively atop the pile of pasta, really stole the show. The fresh fish yielded easily under the fork to reveal beautifully oily meat, which melted in the mouth with a burst of seafood flavour. The meal rounded off with bread and butter pudding, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side sitting comfortably on a bed of crushed pistachios. It would have been the perfect partner to the pudding, but the dessert itself was a letdown. It was too dry, dense and hard, and chewing on the bread became a chore. Though value-for-money, the food is passable but not inspiring. The earnestness of students eager to learn on the job is tangible, so coming here for a meal is essentially an encouragement for the students more than anything else.
STUDENT CREATIONS: Fresh mozzarella salad drizzled with balsamico glaze (left), and a sweet dessert of bread and butter pudding (right). PHOTOS | IRWIN TAN & IVAN TAN