Expat Choice | Celebrating Binary’s One Year Milestone and Revamped Menu

Come 24 February 2023, Binary enters a new chapter with a refreshed menu of Sides, Small Plates, Platters, Mains, and Sweets that is waiting to be discovered.

Drawing inspiration from the cosmic pas de deux of stars, the gastro-bar remains true to its unique binary approach of featuring distinct flavours of Asian and Western cuisine.

In every dish, the restaurant continues to present both Asian and Western versions of a single produce, while keeping the two cooking traditions distinct. This refresh also debuts a cocktail programme, where creations are built upon a base spirit or ingredient that is, likewise, presented in two ways: Asian or Western.

The new menu follows Binary’s recent milestone, where the gastro-bar celebrated their successful one-year run last November. The 45-seater oasis, located on the ground floor of Palais Renaissance, appropriately occupies unit number #01-01A, echoing the binary code of 0 and 1. It is a sleek affair decked out in blonde timber arches, marble-top tables and an al fresco terrace perfect for a good time.

Homemade Kubaneh Bread & Grilled Asparagus

Binary’s Signature Kubaneh Bread ($14++), the popular pull-apart rolls made in-house served with garlic butter and kombu butter will continue to be offered in the revamped menu.

New highlights under Sides ($14++ each) include a Grilled Asparagus, where the crunchy torched greens are flavoured with housemade egg aioli, grated parmigiano and salt-cured egg yolk. Binary also serves up new vegan-inclusive options here, such as an Impossible Meatball Marinara as well as Nachos that come with homemade sambal tumis and impossible chilli con carne.

Binary_Char-siew Wagyu Petit Tender

Fan-favourite renditions of sous vide Octopus curls as well as Chicken Wings are retained under the Small Plates section ($18++each). The Asian approach of the Tiger Prawns, however, is now elevated through a Hong Kong-style sesame prawn toast. A housemade tiger prawn paste is spread onto white bread, deep-fried and finished with a drizzle of kecap manis sauce. Included in the new menu is also the Wagyu Petit Tender, served with truffles or a savoury char siew sauce.

Meanwhile, the addition of a new Platters ($38++ each) section is translated into dishes like the Sausage Feast. Fit for the staunchest of carnivores, the plate stacks smoked pepper chicken sausage, garlic pork sausages, chorizo swirl, ketchup tossed mini sausages, served with complementary dips like honey mustard and sriracha mayo.

Spatchcock Chicken & Iberico Presa

Onto Mains ($42++each), the new Oven-Roasted Whole Spatchcock Chicken should not be missed, either marinated to perfection with fragrant rosemary and thyme, or a luscious blend of soy and oyster sauce that tantalises the taste buds. There’s also the Iberico Presa, which features a new Asian approach in the form of a Vietnamese spice blend, a side of fresh salad and Nước chấm (Vietnamese fish sauce).

Finally, the meal rounds off with a selection of Sweets ($16++each), which features two new additions. First, there is the Valrhona Dark Chocolate Terrine - 70% Valrhona chocolate oven-baked into a mould, served with vanilla Chantilly cream and a sprinkle of snowflake sea salt. The Miso Caramel Parfait on the other hand, layers Valrhona chocolate ganache with umami miso caramel sauce and crunchy pistachio brittle.

Tequila - Singarita (Left) Margarita (Right)

Complement the meal with the all-new Cocktail Menu (from $24 each). The programme features six distinct categories offering a range of drink styles: Gin, Vodka, R(h)um, Tequila/Mezcal, Whisk(e)y and Wines/Champagnes.

Rum comprises a Passion Ginger Julep, prepared with rum, passion fruit, lime juice and a splash of ginger syrup; as well as a classic Mojito on the Western front. When it comes to Tequilas, there’s a Singarita, made with Herradura Reposado, fresh lime juice, red chilli shrub and palm sugar; and a Margarita, which incorporates Herradura Reposado, fresh lime juice, agave nectar and sea salt.

With a refreshed menu that proves they are worth revisiting, Binary is the place to be for a solo respite from retail therapy, a breezy catchup with friends, or for a romantic night-out.

a. 390 Orchard Rd, #01-01A Palais Renaissance, Singapore 238871

e. [email protected]

s. www.instagram.com/binary0101.sg

t. +65 9363 0101

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Comments

Douglas

24 Feb 2023 , Fri

56 comments

CONTRIBUTOR

RATED 7.5 / 8

Binary is located in the uber-plush Palais Renaissance mall towards the top end of Orchard Road. The name of this gastro-bar is inspired by the phenomena known as the binary star and the binary number 0101, which is the unit number of the venue.

There’s a very good reason you should make plans to get to Binary; the unique nature of the menu. It offers a binary approach to cuisine in which guests can choose from Asian or Western cooking. For example, you can choose the octopus offering and have it Western style a la plancha (high-temperature searing) or the Asian style tossed in Lao Gan Ma spicy, crispy chilli sauce. It’s a very interesting and creative menu…a must-try for foodies alike.

While 80% of the menu has been revamped, some trusty and crusty favourites have kept their rightful place on the menu, including the Signature Kubaneh Bread, served with compound garlic and kombu butter. When it’s being served, you can smell the richness of the butter and the ever-familiar aroma of just-baked bread. It is pull-apart cotton wool soft, delicious, and elevated further by the unique kombu butter. This one is a no-brainer to order. So popular is this single menu item that people will order for home delivery. A couple of diners came once to have just this bread and two glasses of water.

After the excellent start with the Kubaneh bread, next was the Octopus sous-vided and dressed in the Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli sauce. The sauce is not overpowering and complements the tender octopus. Lots of mms’s around my table after tasting this one. Perhaps if served with dan-dan noodles, this could be a meal on its own.

The third dish to be served was the Tiger Prawn, this one done in the Asian style and served as deep-fried prawn toast drizzled with ketchup manis, a sweet, viscous, molasses-style soy sauce. Lots of prawn flavours and the subtle hint of ketchup manis helped cut through the oil from the deep-fried finger toast.

The Cheese option was from the menu's Western side: a fresh burrata with an Impossible meat Bolognese-style ragu. More of the ragu flavours dominated this dish, but the fresh ooziness of the burrata was a welcome pairing.

The Wagyu Petit Tender was served Asian style, with the familiar flavours of savoury char siew sauce. Perfectly tender melt-in-your-mouth beef slices. I’ve eaten char siew pork for a lifetime but never char siew beef. Innovative, tasty and super delicious.

The veggie dish of the day was Grilled Asparagus, served with a cured egg aioli, grated Parmigiano, and viking salt cured egg yolk. I love asparagus, and this didn’t disappoint. Think asparagus with Hollandaise sauce; you’ll be in the same ballpark as this dish. I love that the asparagus was cut in half, making it a lot easier to eat.

Wow, here comes dish number seven, the Iberico Presa. This one is Vietnamese-inspired with fish sauce and pickled vegetables. The pork was sous-vide which made for very tender slices, but I felt it was missing the car or reverse sear to caramelise the outside of the meat. Nevertheless, a thoroughly enjoyable pork dish.

Starting to feel full now but with enough space left for the King Prawns, which is butterflied and cooked with Cajun spices. These prawns were huge, both in size and flavour. The robustness of the Cajun butter didn’t take away anything from the prawns. A bold pairing, but this definitely works.

Ok almost full to the gills but one last dish to go, the Spatchcock Chicken. Marinated in soy and oyster sauce, this was the highlight for me. Take a chicken, treat it well, and cook it beautifully. Winner, winner, chicken dinner. Moist, juicy, bursts of flavour. This is the perfect case of taking s simple ingredient and doing it superbly well. Can you tell that I loved it?

Of course, desserts are the storybook ending for any great feast and no disappointments here. Miso Caramel Parfait, Yuzu Sorbet and Valrhona Dark Chocolate Terrine were the trio of superhero desserts. Lucky to have tried all three, but the sorbet was my favourite. Refreshing and cooling, it capped an excellent dining session for me.

Although Binary is located on busy Orchard Road, from the inside, I felt like I was in a speakeasy hideaway, catching glimpses of passing buses and pedestrians but within the seclusion of my private space. The ambience is wonderful, and Raveen, the manager, will conjure up some exotic cocktails. I loved Binary so much that I’m returning in a few weeks to try the dishes I didn’t attempt this time. Put this on your date-night list.