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You haven’t experienced the full luxury of The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore until you have dined at the signature Asian bistro and grill restaurant, 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung.
Canadian chef Alvin Leung, known as the Demon Chef, is not your typical Michelin-starred chef. Sporting his iconic blue hairstyle and tattoos, this maverick culinary craftsman found fame with the launch of his Hong Kong restaurant Bo Innovation.
The menu at 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung reveals the more subtle aspects of Chef Alvin’s epicurious genius. It showcases a fascinating array of his favourite Asian recipes inspired by his travels around Asia, particularly the cuisines of Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Chef Alvin’s creative twists on well-known Asian classics breathe new life into old, familiar recipes and inspire a fresh appreciation for the flavours and ingredients you always thought you knew.
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When was the last time you popped into 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung? Well if you have not been for a while, now is a great time to pop in again! The restaurant has a newly appointed chef in residence, Elden Lee, who moves up from sous chef to boss and in doing so launches a new menu and indeed concept, going from the traditional three course menu options to sharing style. I was lucky enough to try out four dishes from the new sharing menu. Chef Lee fuses modern culinary techniques with traditional flavours, and this is evident in the dishes we tasted.
We started with Hiramasa Kingfish which is served cold on a bed of peppery green goodness in the form of a Szechuan sauce. The delicate flavour of lightly cured Hiramasa Kingfish pairs wonderfully with the subtle heat of the pepper sauce and zesty citrus pops from both calamansi lime and fresh orange. The orange with a pleasant surprise for me, not something I would have thought to serve with this fish but it really elevates the flavours. The dish is fresh and light, the perfect way to start a tasting menu.
Next up is Angus Beef Tenderloin Tartare. Chef Lee puts a unique spin on this classic dish by seasoning the fresh tenderloin beef with anchovy and capers and serving it not with an egg yolk, but with an oyster hollandaise sauce. The dish is rich and complex although I did find that I preferred just a small amount of oyster hollandaise in each mouthful to avoid overpowering the beef.
Both of these dishes are on the smaller sharing plate menu, so now it is time to move onto the main event with the Chef’s Ocean Plate. WOW! This is a show stopper! The platter is generous in its proportions and shows Chef Lee’s deft hand with the chargrill. Prawns, salmon, lobster, scallop, octopus, kingfish are all seared perfectly – a slight char to them, but still just cooked through as they should be. Accompanying the platter is an adobo butter sauce. Where has this sauce been all my life? I have had adobo before but not like this. The sauce is rich and barbeque-y with just a hint of heat that comes onto the palate late. It is stunning with all of the seafood but particularly the sweet, grilled prawns. Yum!
Now there is always room for dessert, especially when it is Rotisserie Sarawak Honey Pineapple with Dark Rum Ice Cream and Gula Melaka. This dessert combines so many of my favourite things. The pineapple is thin and lightly charred, the traditional caramel taken to the very edge and the ice cream smooth and creamy. This is delicious, although I definitely would have liked a little more lime salt just to cut through some of the richness of the other elements.
The restaurant itself is sophisticated and warm with nearly every seat having a view of the kitchen and the grill that the team is putting to such good use. The service is of course, wonderful. Do yourself a favour and get yourself to 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung, which is located in The Capitol Kempinski Hotel.
