Pangium - Singapore
Futuristic 70s style
Rating: 17/20
Where: Singapore, Singapore
When: Dinner for 2 on 26 February 2025
Cost per Person: Tasting menu 248-298 SGD, Wine Pairing 138-158 SGD
Accolades: 1 Michelin Star
Why: Flavorful journey through Singaporean cuisine
Singapore's “Pangium” has a pretty unusual setting for a restaurant in a highly urbanized city. It is located in the city's botanic (sic!) gardens, and looks out on lush greenery, with no high-rises in sight anywhere. The restaurant's building is only a few years old, but its interior design looks like it came straight from the 1970s. It is elegant, decorated in light colors, and much more upscale than the first restaurant of chef Malcolm Lee's, Candlenut. The same is true of the cuisine - whereas both of the chef's restaurants explore historical food from Singapore and neighboring countries, Pangium's renditions are significantly more sophisticated. Likely aiming for two rather than its current single Michelin star.
We had to choose one of the restaurant's two tasting menus at reservation time, and went for the slightly longer one. There were wine, sake and mixed wine/sake pairings available, with either four glasses for 138 SGD or five for 158 SGD. A tea pairing was offered as well. I went for the mixed pairing, and all the wines and sakes were very good, and not just together with the food, but also considered on their own. Definitely worth a try, with the caveat that the initial set of amuse bouches and the desserts were not paired with any wines.
Our meal began with four amuse bouches. Two house-made prawn crackers contained a much-higher-than-normal amount of prawns, as well as sakura, ebi and seaweed flakes. The crackers’ texture was very light, airy and not oily at all. The prawn flavor was not terribly strong, but definitely more pronounced than in the store-bought variety 16. A fried tofu skin was stuffed with meat, mushrooms, and eggs and topped with a flower mushroom. This bite felt a bit more rustic than the previous one - it was meaty with some mushroom and umami flavors 17. Third, a crab cake that was filled with crab curry and fermented durian and topped with a mikan (a kind of orange) and shredded green mangos. The first and main taste impression here was from the mikan - there wasn't a lot of crab flavor and I (thankfully?) couldn't taste the durian, either 16. Finally, a tamarind/prawn broth containing squid, prawns, okra and chilies. Hearing “tamarind”, I expected a bit of sweetness, but this dish was entirely savory. The squid was lightly chewy, there was a bit of spice, but overall this had the most subdued flavors among the amuse bouches 15.
The first “real” course of the night was a serving of bread. What looked like a pineapple bun was filled with Iberico pork cheeks and candied watermelons. The top of the bread was nicely crunchy. Its filling was porky and slightly sweet, going well with the sweet bread. Among the best pineapple buns I've ever had 17. The pescatarian version had a mushroom filling instead - mushroomy, but unfortunately without the sweetness of the pork version 16.
Next, we received a rice dish. Koshihikari rice contained some Hokkaido scallops, and came with a spiced coconut-based sauce, a bit of chili sauce, spinach, and - most importantly - Bafun uni. The rice was slightly al dente, the sauce was flavorful and spicy, and the uni was creamy, but interestingly served cold as opposed to the rest of the dish. Very elegant with just the right amount of spice - spicy, but not too spicy 18.
A cup of shellfish broth contained a meatball made from minced pork, crab, prawns and tofu, as well as some bamboo shoots. The meat was very finely ground, but this dish nevertheless had a more rustic feel than the preceding one 17. The pescatarian alternative was slightly better, it consisted of sliced fish in a fish soup: quite salty, but with a nice fish flavor 17.
Thin wheat noodles came next. They were served with a beef stew, Australian wagyu and beef tendons, finely chopped salted egg yolk, and an oxtail kebab that had been marinated in ketchup mayonnaise. The tendons were very gelatinous - ugh, not my favorite. But the rest of the dish was pretty good: the braised beef was very tender, the dark sauce savory and full of flavor. Adding some juice from a provided lime made the dish feel lighter 17. The pescatarian replacement for this dish had the noodles served over pieces of scallops and lobster. The dish was topped with egg floss, and a little kalamansi was available for adding some acidity to the dish. The lobster and scallops were very tender, the noodles delicate and the citrus a nice addition. This dish was much lighter than the beef version 17.
The “meat” served in a flavorful gravy looked like pork belly, but was actually made from layers of pork and sea cucumbers. Next to it were a maitake mushroom, a stuffed morel mushroom and daikon. On the side was a little bowl of sour chili sauce, available to be added to taste. The sea cucumber had its usual gelatinous texture, and tasted a bit sweet, as if it was seasoned with a warm spice. I appreciated the complex work done here, but actual pork belly might have been even better. The maitake mushroom was crunchy, as were the nicely cooked vegetables. The chili sauce with its acidity and spice was a great addition that enhanced the flavor of the dish 17. For pescatarians, there was an entirely different dish. Blue crab, carabinero shrimp and a shrimp head were served with a turmeric-based curry. The crab and shrimp were delicious and had tender meat, and the sauce was very flavorful. A lovely dish 18.
The final course consisted of three dishes that at first glance had very little to do with each other. That actually was kind of the point, since they represented dishes from the different cultures in Singapore. And, somewhat poetically, they were actually much better eaten together rather than by themselves. The focus of the largest dish was rice that was served with ten different herbs. The herbs had been cut by hand and the rice served room temperature, all to avoid heating the herbs, since that would have given them a cooked flavor rather than the intended fresh flavor. There were also some beans, cucumbers, long beans, a chili mackerel and a deep-fried fish tail and head. By itself, this dish was herbal, but also a bit dry and not terribly flavorful (maybe a 14 by itself). Next to it was grouper fish, presented in a light curry, and seasoned with laksa leaves, coriander and ginger flowers. The fish was nicely cooked and the sauce very spicy (maybe a 16). Lastly, a fried egg topped with a dry curry sauce, ground pork and spicy green peppers. The sauce together with egg yolk were nicely creamy. This dish had a bit of spice and felt more rustic than the other two (a 16). Eaten together, though, this was a wonderfully complementary mix: creamy, herbal, dry, juicy, spicy, cool, yum 17.
As a palate cleanser, we were served a coconut sorbet topped with sagun powder. “Sagun” is a traditional Singaporean dessert that had its heyday sometime before the 1990s, and the restaurant is doing its part to stop it from being forgotten. The sorbet was made from coconut water rather than milk, and therefore pretty light. The sagun crumbles added a slightly caramelly flavor 17.
The main dessert plate contained five little bites. A rose/watermelon/lemongrass shaved ice was flavored with aloe vera and served with a black beauty watermelon from Thailand. Said watermelon was quite sweet, so that the whole made for an icy, fresh, light and refreshing dessert 17. A tropical coconut flan had a texture that was softer than mochi. The flan was a bit juicy and not too sweet 16. Steamed yam cake with coconut milk was creamy with only a light coconut flavor 14. A sweet “smelly” banana had lots of banana flavor, and reminded me of banana bread 15. Finally, a “kuih koci”, a traditional dessert, had a glutinous outside and was filled with what seemed like brown sugar. There was also a bit of a roasted coconut flavor - very nice 16.
Our last bite was an “ants' nest”, a cake made using only butter, sugar and flour. Its brown color came from the caramelized sugar. Not too sweet, it tasted of caramel, and (oddly enough) felt a bit milky 15.
Overall: An elegant and delicious tour through Singaporean cuisine, highlighting the history behind traditional dishes that even locals might not recognize anymore. Very strong for its one Michelin star, and definitely one to watch 17.
