Dining at Province is an amazing experience where I feel like I had travelled to various parts of ASEAN in the comforts of a restaurant. The food here, with its quality ingredients sourced from specialty farms around ASEAN, is so unique and delicious, full of nuanced flavours, that I realise there is actually lots of potential for contemporary South East Asian cuisine, and it can be interpreted in ways that we had never seen before.
It is quite an adventure here where Chef Low Jia-Jun meticulously pieces together the components of each dish right in front of the patrons, who can catch whiffs of the aroma of the components during plating. This is followed by the introduction of the dishes, where the chef explained the story behind the dish, the origins of the seasonal ingredients, the reason for the use of these ingredients. He really travels around ASEAN to look for inspiration and the ingredients in season to make these dishes possible.
The restaurant is located at the back of Eating House 808 and is a intimate cosy space that can host about eight diners. The service here is of course exceptional because the chefs–young, energetic and full of passion for their crafts–are the service crew who want to do their best for the restaurant.
This is one dining experience that foodies should go for at least once.
The Snacks are beautifully plated to resemble the lush greenery of South East Asia jungles and fields. Tomato and Kombu Lime-Smoked Snapper from Ah Hua Kelong instantly refreshes the palates while making them happy with a multitude of subtle flavours. The snapper is clean in taste with a dash of briny sweetness. A very good start.
Next up is Carrot Croustade & Ricotta, packed with the sweetness of carrot and zing of ricotta, is more earthy in taste. I like this transition in taste profile.
Prawn Tsukune with Calamansi Kosho and Prawn Tare surprises me with its texture and taste. Its texture is really like that of chicken tsukune, but the taste of prawn tsukune is way more complex due to the light umami of the prawns. The special sauce drizzled over the tsukune lifts up the whole taste.
After the power trio of snacks, I'm totally excited on what is to come.
Into the Gardens is such a beautiful dish, both in terms of looks and taste. The ravoli is filled to brim with the sweetness of caramelised onions plus hints of the lovely pungency of onions and spring onions. The fermented carrot introduces the bits of excitement to the flavours while the fresh crunchy greens are refreshing in taste. All these are nicely rounded up by the Grilled Tang-O sauce.
Yup, and after savouring this dish, I'm still scrapping the plate for the tiniest bits of greens and sauce because I love it so much.
Nice fruity white wine from Sicily to go with the first part of the course.
Tubers showcases how sweet potatoes can actually be so amazing in taste. Taking into account the cooking process and the transportation time that affects the amount of starch converting to sugars, Chef-Law finds the right balance between earthy sweetness and starchy texture of the cubes of sweet potato. The sweet potatoes have such good bite due to the iota of chewiness, to the point that it feels meaty, which is cool. These delicious nuggets are hidden beneath the buah keluak puree, with its nutty goodness, and smoked potato espuma, both of which add more variation to the taste profile.
Molluscs has super tender Grilled Abalone with Liver Sauce stacked over a mix of Jasmine Rice and Glutinous Rice, with a crown of Laksa Leaf Radish on top. So many flavours and textures at work here, and they work beautifully together to yield the perfect comfort food. And when mixed with fish broth at the second part, this becomes the best mui fan I ever have.
Full bodied red wine to go with the heavier dishes at the second part of the meal to tone down the richness.
Finned features a special Garoupa with Mussel Jus, Smoked Coconut Cream and Sweet Peas. The garoupa fish is a specialty from South China sea during this season, where it is egg laying season, so the fishes are fatter. First of all, I love the slightly charred top of the fish, which is so crispy, thus juxtaposes very well with the unique firm yet succulent texture of the flesh. This is the first time I try such a different texture in fish, and I love it. The mussel jus extracted from mussels of Ah Hua Kelong has such lovely mild umami. The smoked coconut cream adds a nice light creaminess while the sweet peas are like pops of refreshment in the dish.
14 Day aged Duck with Aubergine puree, grilled Oyster Mushrooms and Duck Jus is unbelievably tender. This is one perfectly done duck steak, especially when seasoned with a special spice from a Thai village to cut through the richness of the duck. The accompanying duck heart is very surprisingly not metallic and gamey in flavour at all. Being someone who will gag when trying any organs, except for foie gras, obviously lol, I can actually finish this heart easily.
Fruit is Longan interpreted in different ways as sherbet, pudding and poached, with a pickled Thai basil for a dash of zest injected into the musky sweetness of longan. Plus the crispy rice puff, the result is a sweet refreshing delight with varied textures. I love this!
Soursop sorbet has just the right balance of sweetness and sourness. It is creamy in taste, going excellently with the smoky flavour and sweet aroma of the handmade love letter. Prik Pao, with its spiciness, makes this dessert very interesting and exciting.
I totally love this place and all the dishes of the 7 course meal here. Dining here is an experience like no others. It is one of the best restaurants here. I look forward to see what new surprises they have in store for next season.
Thoughts: Splendid South East Asian Contemporary Cuisine
153 Joo Chiat Road
Nearest MRT: Paya Lebar
