Cover Belimbing by The Coconut Club boldly redefines local Singaporean cuisine
Belimbing by The Coconut Club boldly redefines local Singaporean cuisine
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Here’s all you need to know about Belimbing, a “new-gen Singaporean” restaurant along Beach Road helmed by former Naked Finn chef Marcus Leow
The sheer thought of rethinking Singaporean cuisine requires spectacular bravery, and going through with it suggests magnificent foolishness to most. But Singaporean chef Marcus Leow, the former Magic Square and Naked Finn alumnus, reckons otherwise with Belimbing.
“Singapore is celebrated as a global food capital, yet our own cuisine feels at a standstill,” the head of R&D for The Coconut Club and the head chef of Belimbing explains ahead of the grand opening on April 15.
Above Grilled firefly squid
Above Wok-fried version of the nasi ulam
Grilled firefly squid
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Named after an overlooked Indigenous fruit, Belimbing finds home along Beach Road, above The Coconut Club restaurant. With Leow at the helm, he describes the cuisine here to be “new-gen Singaporean” where it isn’t necessarily nostalgic like how our grandparents remember nor does it aspire to be.
Think five-day aged kanpachi with a cold curry of coconut milk, mussel jus, and galangal. Grilled firefly squid as a canvas for the transformation of local rojak into an unconventionally well-layered dish that included picked jambu, young torched ginger, and an Argentinian prawn shell caramel. Even rice receives reverential treatment yet irreverent execution with a wok-fried version of the nasi ulam.
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Above Belimbing is helmed by Singaporean chef Marcus Leow, former Magic Square and Naked Finn alumnus
Belimbing is helmed by Singaporean chef Marcus Leow, former Magic Square and Naked Finn alumnus
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“Opening Belimbing is a natural next step,” says Daniel Sia, chef and managing partner of The Coconut Club and Belimbing. “While The Coconut Club has relentlessly pursued authenticity, Belimbing looks ahead—exploring possibilities and proving that Singaporean cuisine can and should evolve.”
The same approach to cuisine lends itself to the restaurant’s interiors and beverage curation. The anchoring mural by local artist Aeropalmics bridges heritage and contemporary vision, using charcoal as a medium to reflect motifs of local cuisine and kampong heritage. A series of hyper-local cocktails, such as an audacious sambal-laced margarita, is intentionally designed by award-winning South Korean bartender Bannie Kang to pair and complement.
Above Interiors of the main dining hall of Belimbing
Interiors of the main dining hall of Belimbing
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It is clear that the folks at Belimbing believe that Singaporean cuisine needn’t be preserved in amber to remain authentic. Leow adds, “We’re shaping the next chapter of local cuisine, not by clinging to age-old traditions or depending on luxury ingredients, but by celebrating the flavours that reflect who we are today.”
Doors open April 15 and reservations are now live. Expect reasonably priced tasting menus with imaginative locally-inspired dishes and an a la carte selection that encourages sharing.
Belimbing
Address: 296A Beach Road, S(199546)
Credits
Images: Belimbing
