Neo-Indian cuisine appears to be having a moment in Singapore, and Ammakase is bang on trend. Hidden inside the retail podium of a downtown skyscraper, this fine-dining spot merges the omakase experience with the nostalgic home cooking expected of a doting amma (mother). Bangalore-based celebrity chef Abhijit Saha and his team have amassed over 100 traditional recipes gathered from India’s coastal states and Sri Lanka, using them as the basis for their avant-garde creations with global touches. The ever-changing multicourse menus might include a dainty avocado “chaatlet” inspired by Kolkatan street food, its riot of flavors and textures expressed through spiced guacamole, pomegranate seeds, tamarind and mint chutneys, yogurt, and chaat masala enclosed in a crispy teff flour shell. Keralan chicken stew is given a North Indian twist by way of steamed “tzatziki raita” and paper-thin slices of Japanese cucumbers. Jamnagar garam masala — alongside chunky smoked eggplant and sweet tomato-date chutney — imparts the pan-seared French duck a Gujarati flair. Andra Pradesh also gets a nod in dishes like sea bass with sour gongura (roselle leaves) atop a deeply comforting khichdi composed of millet, rice, and dal.

Focusing on single-origin drops by small producers, wine and sake pairings like ruby-red Heletto from Italy’s Veneto region play up the complex flavors on each plate; an off-dry Riesling Kabinett offsets the tamarind-forward Vijayawada Pacific rock lobster in vivid red pulusu sauce. Desserts, too, are equally bold. Mango rasmalai has been recast as a chili mango sorbet with dehydrated pistachio sponge, saffron foam, and homemade almond milk, while the “surprise bon bon” features fennel, cardamom, and rose jam as an homage to paan, the subcontinent’s ubiquitous betel-leaf snack. Ammakase is already a hit among Singapore’s Indian diaspora; go now before everyone else gets wind of it. —James Louie

ammakase.com
+65 8898 5275
#04-48, One Raffles Place, Singapore

Ammakase: the World’s First Indian Omakase Restaurant

Singapore Dining

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