Chef-owner Michael Wilson looked to the garden for culinary inspiration and curated a delectable menu that lets the spring ingredients shine
It has been less than a year since contemporary restaurant Marguerite opened at Flower Dome, and in that short period, chef-owner Michael Wilson has already impressed us with his ever-changing contemporary menus that put seasonal produce in the spotlight. And, with the arrival of spring, Wilson took inspiration from the activity of the garden in first bloom to craft his four- and seven-course tasting menus.
“Our approach to spring was to allow the inherent beauty of the ingredients speaks for themselves through our cooking,” explains Wilson, whose current repertoire uses ingredients like spring beans, morel mushrooms and Gariguette strawberries which are transformed into tasty and innovative creations. Wilson does this by employing various cooking techniques such as smoking, curing and fermentation, which he mastered while working at notable establishments such as the Italian fine dining outfit Grossi Florentino in his hometown of Melbourne, Australia.
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Wilson’s culinary ingenuity shines early on, as he serves us four bite-sized snacks that deliver in both taste and texture: aged and diced kingfish brightened by the citrusy notes of the seaweed vinegar and placed atop a crisp algae shell; steak tartare held by a crisp potato shell; aged comte cheese encased with apricot ‘leather’ made with the namesake fruit, water and sugar; and foie gras parfait entwined with prune puree and served in a brick pastry cone to resemble the Cornetto ice cream.
After serving us the flavours of the land and sea, we get a refreshing break in the form of a savoury cucumber sorbet doused in a lettuce gazpacho, poured tableside. While it is already good on its own, the sorbet is accompanied by another dish of Dungeness crab flakes cooked sous vide to let its natural flavours shine and perched on top of a savoury cucumber meringue. It is garnished with herbs and flowers such as French marigold and mizuna to showcase the beauty of spring on a plate.
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