ABOUT TIME

The law, age and time are social constructs but the latter is prime in the preparatory work of these dishes.

- Bryan Goh

The 2018 Netflix documentary Salt Fat Acid Heat was not just an eye boggling four-part series that chronicled what makes food taste so good. It changed the generic formula of a woman helming a cooking show and had chef and food writer Samin Nosrat travelling the globe.

While Nosrat has dropped a few recipes (her buttermilk marinated roast chicken is really delicious), they are not the generic kind that promises “excellent results in just 20 minutes”. It encourages one to take his time to prepare the food and to “really rub the spices and seasoning in just like a massage” on the meat.

If the culinary journey one is on starts with instant noodles and ends with one-pot pastas, these nine restaurants going the extra mile (some, quite literally) to make their food jingle one’s taste buds, would prove to be inspirational.

AGNOLOTTI — BAR CICHETI

10: The number of hours it takes to braise the grass-fed beef cheek used in the dish — the process involves braising the beef cheek in a vegetable stock for ten hours, hand-shredding it, cooking it with its own jus and then blending it.

Two: The number of days it takes to prepare the dish.

Three: The number of the Agnolotti’s accompaniments — parmigiana stuffed pasta and a simple butter sauce cooked using pasta water and butter, and a drizzle of beef jus.

DUCK CONFIT — SO FRANCE

Four: The number of ingredients used in the marinade (salt, orange zest, star anise and thyme) and the number of hours for said marination.

18 & 72: The former, how long the duck is confit for and the latter, the exact temperature at which it is confited.