Celebrating the Year of the Tiger @ 藝 yì by Jereme Leung

 ~Invited Session~

Jeremie Leung, quite possibly Singapore’s most famous Chinese chef for export, returned home to his latest outpost in Raffles Hotel as a homecoming of sorts.

I was glad to be able to taste his latest creations in time for the Lunar New Year, having first came across one of his restaurants at the China Blue by Jeremie Leung at the Conrad Manila. It was certainly a memorable experience with his avant garde interpretations of refining quintessential Chinese cuisine dishes and I looked forward to his take on Chinese New Year classics.

 

 

 

Prosperity YuSheng with Tuna Sashimi, Spanish Iberico Ham, Honey Melon, & Signature Yunnan Rose Dressing.

The atmosphere was a bit muted because of covid-dining restrictions; the server could only play pre-recorded greetings and blessing as she poured the condiments of the dish in one by one, and we couldn’t really lao the yusheng and had to do it in silence. But the flavors of the dish more than made up for that; I like my yusheng with more punch savory flavors and this hit the right spot, with layers of meaty goodness juxtaposed with the crisp sweetness of honey melon and rose.

 

 

 

Yu Sheng with sliced Raffles Tasmania Wild Caught Abalone

But, I must mention that the yusheng was made even more impressive with the gigantic wild abalone (line-caught!) that is bigger than my palm. Frankly speaking, the size of all our abalones combined (there were 5 of us) was even bigger than the yusheng dish itself. The sweet brininess and sea-salt fragrance of the abalone really kicked this meal off to a high gear. 

 

 

 

Sea Whelk with Wasabi Soy Sauce Dressing

This is a 藝 specialty and I remembered seeing this in his other restaurants. This is always a delightful starter, with the pleasantly piquant wasabi soy dressing enhancing the freshness of the sea whelk that is so delightfully chewy and bouncy. 

 

 

 

 

Zhejiang-style Shredded Crystal Pork Knuckles with Spinach Jelly

Now this is a type of dish I’ve seen in high-end Chinese restaurants, particularly in Shanghainese-styled places. I won’t profess to be an expert in all Chinese cuisines, but I do enjoy this dish based on its beauty, and the fact that it is quite a laborious dish to make and takes a lot of skill to perfect. The pork knuckles sealed in spinach jelly melts in your mouth with a creamy pork lard taste that isn’t too ‘oily’, in fact the spinach jelly serves like a mini-palate cleanser. Ingenious.

 

 

 

 

Deep-fried Japanese Pork Jowl with Beancurd Skin & Caviar

I love pork jowl, and I love it even more when it is served with layers of creative texture (the fried beancurd skin) and other interesting flavors (caviar). And how can you not have a lavish Chinese meal without barbequed pork?

Double-boiled Sea Cucumber Soup with Dried Scallop & Masutake Mushrooms

I am a sucker for double-boiled soups, especially with great ingredients like dried scallop and masutake mushrooms. A must-have nourishing broth at 藝 yì by Jereme Leung, this is basically the best Chinese soup that the winter/spring season has to offer.

 

Braised Beef Ribs with Dried Tangerine Peel, Carrots, & Radish

This, to me, is a very Zhejiang/Shanghainese styled dish, with the use of sweeter flavors with red meat dishes. However, the sweetness is very pleasant and very well-balanced and this is certainly a crowd pleaser. The lushness of the gravy also makes this dish a prime accompaniment to a big steaming bowl of rice (which you must order at 藝 yì by Jereme Leung, because they actually bring the whole rice cooker to you to make sure that your rice is really steaming hot when its served to you. Feels like home!

 

Braised 8-head Abalone, Goose Palm with Green Vegetables

This is the classic high-roller dish in high-end Chinese cuisine. This dish alone will easily set you back by a few hundred dollars, as ingredients are ultra-expensive and they probably will only allow the senior or executive chef to even touch this dish. You are guaranteed of exquisite and fine flavors here; I just wish they could serve more abalone gravy to go with it. 

 

 

Handmade Ramen in Scallion Oil, with Spanish Iberico Pork Char Siew & Shrimp Roe

No, this is not your hawker centre char siew noodles, this is the uber-version of char siew noodles. Buttery sweet Iberico pork char siew with melt-in-the-mouth fats, fragrant ramen noodles dressed in even more delectable scallion oil. I would go to this place just to eat a large portion of this dish. 

 

 

Pumpkin & Sweet Potato ‘Nian Gao’ and Cantonese Sponge Cake Infused with Dried Tangerine Peel

For the ‘nian gao’ lovers, this will please you a lot, the chewy textures and sweet flavors is sure a crowed puller. I think the sponge cake is nice, I would have liked to see it more ‘dressed up’ with perhaps as an east-meets-west kind of dessert. It has great potential for that and I can totally see this happening at a place like 藝 yì by Jereme Leung.

 

藝 yì by Jereme Leung

Raffles Hotel