Singaporean local fare such as otah, rojak, and laksa, are reinterpreted as signature dishes at Orangutan.
Orangutan is founded by chef Marcus Tan.
The restaurant, temporarily housed in the bar Laut, will unveil its permanent address later this August.
The modern Singaporean restaurant Orangutan serves audacious plates inspired by signature local fare with unfamiliar presentations.
To put it succinctly, Orangutan is a pop-up restaurant in residence at the cocktail bar Laut. Dotted amongst an eclectic mix of curious establishments peddling religious memorabilia and white fluorescent-lit corporate spaces offering fax services, Orangutan is but one of a growing number of restaurant bars changing up impressions of what the seedy Fortune Centre Mall is known for.
Founded by chef-owner Marcus Tan, the restaurant serves modern Singaporean cuisine with sophisticated plates adapting the familiar flavours of local fare. For now, Orangutan serves a set dinner menu comprising of eight separate dishes, beginning with a bread course coined Otah Buns — presented as fluffy baked rolls served alongside a butter folded with the same spices found in spicy otah fish paste.
A duo of starters follow, with chicken liver rojak; the palm sugar-marinated chopped salad paired with poached offal. Of the difollowssh, Tan says, “…why should modern dining be more premium, more expensive, just because (Singapore) got rich? I’m looking at what’s always been here, because value can also come from memory, or asking why some things got forgotten in the first place.” The other starter is a Laksa Sashimi, featuring slices of kingfish, scallop, and red shrimp swimming in a pool of chilled coconut milk-seafood broth and a cucumber granita.
The pièce de résistance arrives with the main course, a Wagyu Beef Cheek stewed with buah keluak and fermented black beans. The spoon-tender beef and accompanying quail eggs are paired with a Market Bean Salad; Tan’s rendition of his favourite nasi padang dish, Coriander Rice, and a Collagen Chicken Soup, rounding off the savoury courses. The set dinner concludes with a panna cotta, layered with multi-textures courtesy of brown bobba tea pearls, pickled longan, and balanced with bitter chrysanthemum.
While Orangutan’s current address may be temporary, Tan is in the process of launching a permanent location, to be disclosed this August.
Where: Laut, Fortune Centre, Middle Road, Singapore
When: Tuesday to Saturday, from 7pm
Contact: https://www.instagram.com/orangutan__orangutan/