Candlenut is a the world’s first and only Michelin–starred Peranakan restaurant. Peranakan cuisine is unique to southeast Asia and comes from a tradition of Chinese who came to the Malaysian/Indonesian/Singapore area in the 15th and 17th centuries and married the local women here. The culture became intermixed between Chinese an Southeast Asia, including the cuisine. On my recent whirlwind 4 day stay in Singapore, I had a chance to enjoy dinner at Candlenut for Peranakan food.
We ordered from Chef Malcom Lee’s Ahma-kase menu, a play on the Japanese word for omakase which is chef’s choice, and the word for ahma which means grandmother. The Ahma-kase menu is a prix fixe menu which starts with fish crackers, a small sampler of starters, soup, a family style set of dishes to share for a main course to be eaten with rice, then multiple little bites for dessert. There is a also an a la carte menu available, and Candlenut serves both lunch and dinner.
Starters
We started with four intense little small bites served on a wooden plate. In order from top to bottom you see (my favorite were the 2nd and 4th bites for how they were such upgraded refined takes on the familiar southeast Asian classics of curry and satay)
Homemade Kueh Pie Tee Shell with Boston Lobster, Chincalok Dressing, Laksa Leaf
Kueh Bakar Berlauk with Spiced Chicken, Mum’s Curry
Bergedil, Pork Buah Keluak Lemongrass Curry
Charcoal Grilled Maori Lamb Neck Satay, Kicap Manis Glaze
Soup
Fish Maw Soup, Chicken and Crab Japanese Tofu Puff, Mackerel Omelette, Fried Shallot
This tasted like a healthy soup that would be typical fare in a Straits Chinese household of the past or current times, but with the puff being a fancy addition.
Mains
The main dishes were all served at once and were to be eaten family style between the two of us with Thai Hom Mali Rice. The dishes included
Yeye White Curry, Local Chicken Fried Shallot, Green Banana, Kaffir Lime Leaf was my favorite curry, very nostalgic and creamy rich, I would love to eat this as a whole meal just myself.
Stuffed Baby Squid Bakar, Candlenut Turmeric Broth, Cherry Tomato, Taro Stem
Snake River Farm Kurobata Pork Kapitan Curry, Pumpkin
Kulbarra Ocean Barramundi Filet, Masak Merah, Chillis these really did have a nice spicy kick
Crispy Turmeric Tiger Beer Battered Soft Shell Prawn, Sambal Hijau
This was the only dish the whole evening I did not care for, it was too heavy on batter and oil
Okra stuffed with Prawn Paste, Dried Scallop Sambal Goreng
Chayote Shoot and Young Jackfruit Kerabu, Starfruit
Achar of Cucumber, Carrot, and Pear, Roasted Sesame Seed
Palate Cleanser
Freshly Extracted Coconut Milk, Purple Sweet Potato Shaved Young Coconut Ice, Sago Pearl, Ulam Raja Flower
Dessert
Homemade Traditional Nyonya Kuehs an Sweets with Bunga Telang Tea.
These traditional nyonya kueh included Kueh Salat, a smooth custard of pandan and coconut milk steamed with fragrant glutinous rice cake
Kueh Kosui, gula melaka fudge cake coated with freshly grated coconut
Pandan Lepat Pisang, steamed emas banana coconut and pandan custard cake
Kueh Bingkah, traditional tapioca cake topped with caramelized coconut
This was a wonderfully paced dinner of about 2 hours with thoughtful smooth service. The dishes were both new and familiar to our palates as diners of Asian food before, and we discussed whether we liked a dish better because it was a new flavor combination or because it was so homey and nostalgic like from a grandmother or olden days – recipes and flavors that might be starting to get lost with less time to cook complicated recipes (lol you can tell what my stance is).
What do you think of Candlenut?
Singapore Travel Posts
- Dinner at the world’s only Michelin starred Peranakan restaurant (this post)
- Singapore Sights: Old Hill Street Police Station, Singapore Chili Crab in Clarke Quay
- Peranakan Style Buildings in Singapore
- Guide to visiting Hawker Centers in Singapore
- Is visiting Gardens by the Bay and Marina Bay Sands worth it?
- Other sights in Singapore: things to do in Singapore
- Things to see in Changi Airport
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