Brrrrr.....unch

I much prefer the Brr…than the unch in Brunch, but to satiate all appetites, we will be inaugurating our big weekend feast starting 23rd of June. Everyone always asks me what I like to cook and I always reply, breakfast. I’m sorry if this offends people, but, I love the smell of bacon in the morning, and have been woken many a times from a deep slumber from it’s glorious scent, not to mention the lingering aromas of fresh brewed coffee and french toast hot off the griddle. I have vowed with our brunch to stick to the basics and cook from the heart. As a treat to the millions of readers of this blog I thought I would pass along a little eye candy to get you dreaming. I won’t fill you in on the exact details of each dish, but as the saying goes "a picture is worth a thousand words."

When you think of breakfast with us, I want you to invision, house cured bacon, freshly squeezed juices and rustic pancakes. A place where you can come at the end of a long week and relax, read the paper, catch up with friends, have a few coffees and tuck into some good food.
If you’re a bit more ambitious you can always start the morning with a bottle of bubbly or a fiery bloody mary. It’s up too you. We will also have the almost world famous "Garage" Burger and our fresh Oysters available for your enjoyment. I look forward to seeing all of you!! Here are a few pics to keep you salivating.

Slow Food = Slow Results

There was a recent article posted on the Slowfood website in Singapore that caught my attention. Mainly because Slow Food is an organization I have flirted with off and on for about 5 years now. Each time I was uprooted and moved to a new city in the states, I would find the local convivium and see what they were up too. Some were focused on sustaining dying breeds of pigs others on preserving the legacy of heirloom vegetables while many more were formal and proper and participated in luncheons and dinners that supported slow food producers.

What I learned most about Slow Food, and contradictory to the article had nothing to do with the physical act of eating slow, but rather a sincere desire to keep traditions alive and sustaining our environment for years to come. It was a holistic approach to eating, in that what you eat is as important as how you came to eat it.

With that being said I started to ponder my philosophy here at the restaurant and questioning the methods and ways in which we end up with a final dish. Many of you know that our food here is rather minimalist, meaning that we showcase a few great ingredients on a plate with minimal fuss. In this pursuit, I am often at odds, mostly because of the source of my products. Do I know who produces my pork? Is my Salmon really farmed the way it says on their website? Is my produce grown in a manner that is sustainable? The questions go on and on. Being on an Island as glorious as it might sound does have its drawbacks. But, over the last year and half I have been able to assess the market and find those that are truly passionate about bringing in great ingredients even if they are at greater prices. I know in the long run, that for us to prosper as a restaurant we have to make a pledge to only buy and source the best, no matter the cost. Once Singapore becomes a major player on the international food scene, more and more great products will come our way.

Our farming project is still in the works and has taken some time to get up to speed, but the relationships we have built and are forging will be of great value in the years to come. I see a renewed interest in organic farming and a strong sense that to compete in the world markets, changes have to be made to the way they are growing vegetables in the highlands. Much of the interest in our project has come from you, our guests, who are as excited as we are to bring you nothing but the finest produce in South East Asia.

The moral of this whole rant, is that everything takes time to do it right. We must wait for the tomatoes to fully ripen to pick, take time to forge relationships with people who are passionate about what they produce and think about what goes onto a plate.