August 2022 – YummyDelight

MASL stands for Meters Above Sea Level, is the theme of the pop-up restaurant by Chef Virgilio Martínez and Pía León. Central, the flagship restaurant of run by the chef-couple, was crowned No.1 in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants for three times (latest update: it was crowned No. 1 in World’s Best Restaurant 2023). Chef Pía León, named World’s Best Female Chef 2021, also started her own restaurant Kjolle as well since 2018.

Fans of Netflix’s award-winning documentary series – Chef’s Table would have caught the episode featuring Central Restaurant (Season 3) where viewers had a glimpse of Peru‘s indigenous and diverse ecosystem. The multi-course tasting menu curated for this pop-up is a rare chance for diners in Singapore to taste limited imported ingredients from various altitudes/stages of elevation throughout Peru.

Unlike the other residencies organised by Mandala Club which were held at the Club House, this pop-up was held at the premise of Art Restaurant in National Gallery Singapore.

Crab – Clam – Carabinero 5 MBSL

Note the name of the dish was tagged with MBSL instead of MASL as we commenced our meal exploring ingredients from the ocean – below sea level.

Sweet crab meat, Clams prepared two ways – fresh and in its own foam, Carabineros in crudo oil made from its shells

Squid – Caviar Abalone 10 MBSL

In one bite you could taste squids presented in different textures, from thinly sliced stripes to the black crackers that were made with squid ink. After the crunchy cracker, we had the chewy abalone filled with subtle sweetness complemented with the buttery brioche and creamy caviar.

Maca – Hibiscus – Yacón Root 3280 MASL

The bread was a dish on its own, made from maca root which is dried and ground into a powder form. We were shown the maca seeds to let us better appreciate this ingredient native to the Andes Mountains of Peru. The warm bread which had a texture similar to sourdough was served with two exotic spreads – hibiscus flowers and yacón sweet root made into yoghurt and syrup (by reducing yacón juice). The syrup was thick, dark, and sweet. I certainly preferred the yacón spread more than the dark red hibiscus flowers spread which was more tart and sour.

Corn – Kiwicha – Cancha 3550 MASL

Corn is said to hold an significant role in the Peruvian diet. Peru is known to cultivate the largest number of corn varieties on Earth. It is not surprising that it is an important staple food along with potatoes.

It was fascinating to see the corn samples especially the purple corn!

This dish featured different textures of Andean Corn, comprising corn puree topped with corn crisp and high altitude leaves.

Scallops – Spirulla – Uni 0 MASL

We descended back to 0 metres and were delighted to see this deep lavender blue to violet coloured “ocean waves” with uni toppings. The blue spirulina is a natural extract derived from certain species of blue-green algae, hidden underneath were scallops ceviche.

Potato – Wagyu – Egg Yolk 1650 MASL cured raw beef covered with threads of egg yolk and mash potato.

Pork Belly – Cassava – Andean Mushrooms 2700 MASL slow cooked pork belly served with cassava and Andean mushroom crisp. The cassava (yuca) was amazingly sweet and had a nutty flavour.

Cacao – Hidromiel (fermented honey water) – Mango 1450 MASL

Chef explained that they strive to make full use of every part of the Chuncho fruit (a species of cacao native to Peru) as part of the effort to reduce food wastage. The dish includes a salted caramel made from the husk and a warm cacao creme from the prized seeds.

Finished our meal with mango with a gel of Hidromiel (mead)

We paired the meal with cocktail pairing of:

MASL Apple-Seaweed Cocktail – scotch based, roasted apple with seaweed and tonic water

Whiskey blackcurrant, pisco, peruvian high altitude leaves

Cognac and champagne

It was a pity that the lunch menu did not include the Tubers – Clay – High Altitude Leaves 3,850 MASL. This dish was inspired by the ancient Andean cooking technique of using a Huatia (a type of underground earth oven) out of clay and hot rocks to cook tubers.

Given that the highest point of Singapore is Bukit Timah Hill with a height from ground of 165 meters, MASL is an interesting way to introduce the landscape of Peru to Singaporeans.

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Located in Parkview Square, ATLAS‘s art deco-inspired interior and its impressive shelves of meticulously curated gin bottles made waves since its opening. In recent years they were consistently ranked in Asia’s/World’s 50 Best Bar list.

In need of a time-off from work on a weekday, I was browsing through the internet for afternoon tea locations when I chanced upon ATLAS Afternoon Tea. Unfortunately, my impromptu plan was thwarted as little did I expect that they were FULLY BOOKED for the next few MONTHS, so I gave up on the idea.

Couldn’t exactly recall under what circumstance did I revisit the idea but somehow managed to book a slot 2 months from the date of my booking. If you are planning a visit on a specific day, do take note that their bookings are opened 90 days in advanced.

After being shown to our seat, the staff said that there were a complimentary welcome drink for guest and there was a choice of alcoholic/non-alcoholic. For me – the choice was clear~

The drink was served together with an warm amuse bouche for guest to enjoy when we waited for the rest of the Afternoon tea set to be served. For some odd reason, I didn’t capture the menu at all…perhaps too engrossed in taking in the grandeur of décor and distracted by a few poser guests who were taking reels/photos non-stop.

Some savoury items which were staple items in the set such as lobster crostini, smoked salmon pumpernickel, truffled egg brioche, jamon toast, quiche etc.

For sweet items it include scone, jams and clotted cream, madeleine, raspberry financier, berry fruit tart, banana cream pie etc.