Chinese New Year is about new beginnings, looking ahead and having a fresh start. For Si Chuan Dou Hua (Top of UOB Plaza)’s executive Cantonese chef Hoo Chee Keong, it’s all that and more, especially when it comes to food. From thoughtful details to the careful plating and presentation of each dish, these are the little joys in life worth celebrating.
Take the exclusive Fugu Yusheng on its festive menu for example. More than just your typical festive salad, Hoo has incorporated fresh edible flowers such as ulam raja for a tarte mango flavour, and Szechuan leaves for a spicy kick. Meanwhile, the fugu (pufferfish) sashimi is artfully arranged as a tiger in an obvious nod to the Year of the Tiger.
“Last year was rather pessimistic with people living under the shadow of uncertainty,” Hoo explains. “With a new start, I hope that the edible flowers in the dish would brighten up everyone’s mood.”
A HEALTHIER ROAD AHEAD
The 40-year-old chef has also introduced plenty of firsts since joining last April. As one of the youngest executive chefs to helm the restaurant, he began curating a new dining experience – a more refined and modern take on Sichuan and Cantonese cuisines but still rooted in traditional techniques.
The two dishes he is particularly proud of are Deep Fried Cod with Cordyceps Flower in Homemade Soybean Stock, and Smoked Spare Rib with Lychee Wood Crumb. The former is a refreshing interpretation of fish head steamboat where, instead of regular milk, he combines homemade soybean milk with flavourful stock made from fish bones and cabbage. “It’s an homage to the restaurant’s signature beancurd dishes,” says Hoo.
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