Lady’s Singapore Takeout in London Review

In January I went to Madrid for a Singaporean foodie extravaganza. The Singapore Tourism Board put on an event called A Night in Singapore, which was the opening event for the Madrid Fusion food festival and gastronomy summit. While I was there, there was talk of an upcoming event called Singapore Takeout.

Singapore Takeout

Singapore Takeout is a pop-up restaurant designed to bring celebrity chefs from the city-state to nine different metropolises around the world for three days apiece.

Each one partners with a local chef to bring Singaporean food and flavors to the world.

The first city on the list was London. I was invited to a press event for the opening of Singapore Takeout in London on Friday, and headed to the South Bank for it.

Upon arrival, I entered a large white tent next to the Thames. Inside was a custom-made shipping container decorated with the Singapore Takeout logo and fitted out with a working kitchen.

After enjoying a glass of lemonade and a pre-lunch treat of chilli chocolate coral with hints of peanut butter, I listened to the welcome speeches.

Then I stood in awe as the front of the container magically lowered to reveal a team that featured Singapore chef Janice Wong of 2am:dessertbar and London chef Peter Gordon.

I sat down in one of the chairs that were quickly arranged on the lowered platform, and settled in to listen to Janice and Peter talk about their food.

Janice emphasized her focus on blending and balancing flavor and texture, while Peter discussed his experience with Singaporean cuisine.

After a quick demonstration in which Janice showed us how to make her famous lemongrass-infused laksa dumplings with noodles, we sat down for lunch at an immaculately laid table.

Singapore Takeout Meal

A six-course Singapore Takeout meal ensued. Three of the courses were Janice’s, and three were Peter’s. It went a little something like this.

The first course was a green chili omelette with a poached oyster, crab, mango, crispy shallots, and cilantro by Peter Gordon.

It featured crab meat wrapped in a green-chili-and-fish-sauce omelette garnished with mango. The omelette was very good, but the oyster was a little fishy for my liking.

The second course at the Singapore Takeout was yu sheng citrus salad by Janice Wong. It consisted of tangy fish carpaccio on a bed of Asian greens garnished with crispy crackers.

The yu sheng tasted just like Hawaiian ahi poke, and the salad featured tiny leaves and flowers hand-picked in Denmark.

It was so pretty that I almost didn’t want to eat it. But as soon as I started, I couldn’t stop. It was excellent.

The third course was deep-fried pork belly and peanuts with rice, cucumber, and chili-roasted pineapple by Peter Gordon.

It featured a 24-hour brined five-spice-infused pork belly that was steamed, baked, pressed, and chilled before being fried.

This Singapore Takeout dish was served with steamed jasmine rice, peanuts, pineapple, and tamarind-and-pineapple sauce.

There were so many flavors in the pork belly that the room went silent as each of us contemplated the melange of sweet, spicy, salty, and savory elements of the dish. It was one of the highlights of the lunch.

The next course was lemongrass-infused laksa dumplings with noodles by Janice Wong. It consisted of tiger prawn dumplings in an aromatic coconut curry broth with handmade noodles.

There were many distinct flavors in the dish. Each one complimented the others without challenging them, and the dumplings were one of my favorite courses of the meal.

The fifth dish at Singapore Takeout was pandan ginger tapioca with sherry agar jelly, lychees, strawberries, and almond coconut cream by Peter Gordon.

Tapioca marinated with ginger and pandan was served with an Oloroso-sherry-and-fruit-juice jelly layered with succulent lychees, strawberries, and a palm-sugar-and-almond coconut cream.

This Singapore Takeout dish was all about texture. Peter himself encouraged us to stir it thoroughly before eating it so we could experience the full range of textures in the dish.

The dessert excelled in that sense, but I didn’t think the flavor component was as strong.

The last course was Popcorn Nostalgia by Janice Wong. It was a duo of sweet and salty popcorn ice cream served with yuzu parfait and salty caramel.

Like her dumplings, Janice Wong’s inventive take on popcorn was a winner. The flavors were intense yet playful, and the dish was perfectly balanced between flavor and texture.

For a final treat at Singapore Takeout, we were brought toffee pudding with a special custard sauce. The pudding was flavorful and moist, and the sauce was rich and lovely. I could have eaten a whole bowl of it all by myself.

Singapore Takeout: The Verdict

At the end of the meal we said our thank-yous to the chefs, and I got to talk to Janice one-on-one. I asked her about her future plans, and she told me about a new laboratory that she’s working on in conjunction with 2am:dessertbar in Singapore.

In it she plans to develop new takes on traditional foods, as well as new flavors and textures.

If the byproducts of the lab are anywhere near as good as the food she made for Singapore Takeout in London, I might just have to revisit the city-state to try them in person.

In the meantime, more Singapore chefs will be appearing around the world as the pop-up restaurant moves to Paris, Moscow, New York, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Delhi, Dubai, and Sydney. If you get a chance to go, I highly recommend it.

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