After closing Sky on 57 at Marina Bay Sands last June, celebrity chef Justin Quek (郭文秀) recently came back with two new concepts at the very same location. One of them is Justin Flavors of Asia (星洲老爺), which is the more casual one of the two, offering none other than chef Justin's Asian flavors based on his extensive travel in the region.
Chef Quek made a name for himself with his modern take on Franco-Asian cuisine more than 20 years ago. He was also best known for famously cooked for all of Singapore’s founding prime minister Lee Kuan Yew’s birthday dinners since 1993.
The chef himself was on hand tonight as he was keeping a close eye on his two new restaurants (wearing the white apron).
Scallop and sea urchin har gow (扇貝海膽蝦餃) (SGD$12) - Many top chefs try tackling this Cantonese dim sum classic by putting a contemporary spin to it. It's chef Quek's turn using scallop and sea urchin in place of shrimp and pork. Personally, I thought not bad but I was expecting much stronger flavors especially from the uni.
Singapore Hainanese chicken (星洲海南風味白斬雞) (SGD$32) - We now switched back to the flavors of Singapore starting with a number of the chef's signature dishes. First up, it was his Hainanese chicken, which came highly recommended by our server. As she would point out, it's a dish that should not be missed.
I thought the meat was really tender. Even the chicken breast had no sign of being rough or chewy but I wish it could be a little more flavorful. It's difficult to blame them though, as there're no fresh chickens in the city anymore.
Chef Justin’s signature wok-fried live Maine lobster Hokkien noodle (招牌鑊炒緬因龍蝦福建炒麵) (SGD$38) - Another signature dish but this one fared much better. The Hokkien noodles were really nicely cooked with good wok hei. A little more lobster meat would really make me a very happy camper.
Prawn and pork belly noodle soup (鮮蝦五花肉湯麵) (SGD$16) - Judging from the symbols on the menu, I guess it's another house specialty around here. This was surprisingly tasty. The broth in particular was very sharp with great depth of flavors and the noodles did well to absorb those flavors like a sponge. Pretty nice.
Stir-fried seasonal oriental greens (清炒時菜) (SGD$15) - We were given a number of choices but decided to go with this stir-fried chayote shoots (龍鬚菜) simply because we don't see them very often in the Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. This tasted a lot like Chinese chives (韭菜花). At least their texture showed a lot of resemblance. Excellent to go with my steamed rice.
I was going to take a look at the dessert menu but then I thought of another place I wanted to visit for dessert so we settled the bill and quickly moved on.
Singapore Hainanese chicken (星洲海南風味白斬雞) (SGD$32) - We now switched back to the flavors of Singapore starting with a number of the chef's signature dishes. First up, it was his Hainanese chicken, which came highly recommended by our server. As she would point out, it's a dish that should not be missed.
I thought the meat was really tender. Even the chicken breast had no sign of being rough or chewy but I wish it could be a little more flavorful. It's difficult to blame them though, as there're no fresh chickens in the city anymore.
Chef Justin’s signature wok-fried live Maine lobster Hokkien noodle (招牌鑊炒緬因龍蝦福建炒麵) (SGD$38) - Another signature dish but this one fared much better. The Hokkien noodles were really nicely cooked with good wok hei. A little more lobster meat would really make me a very happy camper.
Prawn and pork belly noodle soup (鮮蝦五花肉湯麵) (SGD$16) - Judging from the symbols on the menu, I guess it's another house specialty around here. This was surprisingly tasty. The broth in particular was very sharp with great depth of flavors and the noodles did well to absorb those flavors like a sponge. Pretty nice.
Stir-fried seasonal oriental greens (清炒時菜) (SGD$15) - We were given a number of choices but decided to go with this stir-fried chayote shoots (龍鬚菜) simply because we don't see them very often in the Chinese restaurants in Hong Kong. This tasted a lot like Chinese chives (韭菜花). At least their texture showed a lot of resemblance. Excellent to go with my steamed rice.
I was going to take a look at the dessert menu but then I thought of another place I wanted to visit for dessert so we settled the bill and quickly moved on.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Bay Level L1-83, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Closest Metro Station: Bayfront
Tel: +65 6688-7722
Website: www.marinabaysands.com/restaurants/celebrity-chefs/justin.html
Price: $$$
Address: Bay Level L1-83, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore
Closest Metro Station: Bayfront
Tel: +65 6688-7722
Website: www.marinabaysands.com/restaurants/celebrity-chefs/justin.html
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