NEW OPENING | DINING | ORCHARD
Same Calming Vibey Dining Room
Tanica has taken over the old Fysh space at The Singapore EDITION, with Malaysian chef Mandy Goh cooking Southeast Asian food over charcoal.
When Josh Niland brought his whole-fish cooking to The Singapore EDITION, I went, I ordered far too much, and I came away half convinced a fish could be butchered and aged like a side of beef. So when Fysh closed, I sulked a little. When I heard a modern Asian restaurant called Tanica was moving into the same room, I went mostly to see what they'd done to it.
They kept the room. They changed everything on the plate. And they're charging $48 for three courses of it at midday, which in a hotel this nice, this close to Orchard, is close to unheard of.
The Singapore EDITION sits on Cuscaden Road, a short walk off Orchard. That puts you within reach of the best shopping nd yet a santuary an oasis in this city.
You can spend the morning between Ion and Paragon with three bags and sore feet, then walk ten minutes and find yourself in a lobby of white marble and trailing plants where nobody is in a hurry. The traffic, the crowds, the escalator music all drop away. It's a cocoon, and the people who love this hotel love it for exactly that.
Tanica is built in the same spirit. Calm on the surface, plenty happening underneath.
The Room: Still the Greenhouse
You'll know the space as soon as you sit down. The greenhouse dining room is untouched. Plants on every side, soft daylight, interiors in the quiet greens and creams that make your shoulders come down an inch. Someone made the right call and left it alone.
Tanica's version is a modern asian palate. Imagine vistors, shoppers, neighors from Cuscaden alking a little louder over shared plates.
The name is a mash-up of "botanical" and "tannins." Ta- for tannis and Nica from Botanical. I did get that while having a high tannin wine along with with a cempedak dessert, all well paired.
I went on a Tuesday. By 12.30pm the room was nearly full. A few business lunches, two friends sharing a dessert, one man eating alone with a book and clearly having the best time of anyone. Service was quick when it needed to be and unhurried when it didn't, which is exactly what you want from a weekday lunch.
The Chef: Mandy Goh
The reason the menu has changed so completely is the person running the kitchen.
Executive chef Mandy Goh is Malaysian, and at 22 she won gold at the Bocuse d'Or Asia in 2010 with an all-female team from Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur. The Bocuse d'Or is about as close as cooking gets to the Olympics. Taking gold at the Asian round at 22 is a serious credential.
She has kept a seafood focus at Tanica but pushed it toward punchier Southeast Asian herbs, spices and techniques. So it isn't a clean break from Fysh. Think of it as a handover, with the volume turned up.
How the Kitchen Cooks
Chef Goh's kitchen works from three ideas: herbs, spice and fire.
Flavour goes in early. Pastes, marinades and rubs are on the meat and fish long before they meet any heat. Then the wok and a Josper charcoal grill finish the job, adding char and smoke. There are a few Western touches, some dry-ageing, a brown butter here and there, but the food stays plainly Southeast Asian. Nothing has been watered down for a hotel crowd.
The kitchen sources from the region where it can and tries to use the whole ingredient. Fysh was famous for wasting nothing. It's good to see that habit survived the changeover.
The $48 Set Lunch
It runs Monday to Friday, 12pm to 2.30pm. Three courses, each with three choices, plus coffee or tea. Here's how I'd play it.
Starter: Get the Squid
Charcoal-Grilled Indonesian Squid. This is the one. It comes off the grill smoky at the edges and soft in the middle, with pickled watermelon rind, sawtooth coriander and a ginger torch dressing. The watermelon rind is what makes it. Crunchy, sharp, and made from the bit most kitchens throw in the bin. It's also on the dinner menu, so you're getting the real thing at lunch, not a cut-down version.
The Salad of Yellowfin Tuna, confit tuna with watercress, celery and fennel, is the lighter pick. The Salad of Jicama & Pineapple with tamarind dressing is the one to choose if you're keeping it plant-based. Both are fine. Neither has the squid's personality.
Main: Risotto, or Pay $10 for the Steak
Asam Pedas Seafood Risotto. If you only try one thing at Tanica, try this. It's an Italian risotto cooked in a Malay asam pedas broth, sour from tamarind and warm with chilli. Creamy first, then sharp, then the heat builds. On paper it sounds like a stunt. It isn't. On the à la carte menu it's $58 on its own, which tells you everything about how good this set is.
Rendang Braised Short Rib. Slow-braised, tender, served with crispy rice cake and local achar. Rich and comforting, and the achar cuts through it nicely. Choose this on a rainy day.
Dry-Aged Murray Cod in Nyonya sweet potato leaf curry is the dish that feels most like a nod to Fysh. Good fish, fragrant curry, and a gentler option if you've got a long afternoon ahead.
Then there's the upgrade. For $10 more, you can swap in 150g of Brown Butter Sambal Wagyu Hanger Steak. That's $58 for three courses with wagyu in the middle. The sambal brings the heat, the brown butter rounds it off, and the char is spot on. If you're lunching with colleagues, this is the line you'll be repeating when you get back to the office.
Dessert: Pandan or Pulut Hitam
Fragrant Pandan. A pandan roll cake with soursop and kaffir lime sorbet. Light, green, not too sweet. The right way to finish a midday meal.
Cempedak & Pulut Hitam is the bolder choice, with coconut almond cream and black glutinous rice gelato. If you grew up on pulut hitam, this one will make you smile. The Kuantan Chocolate & Pisang Emas, a 70 percent dark chocolate mousse with gula melaka banana compote, is for the chocolate people.
To Drink
Coffee or tea is included. A glass of red or white is $15 extra.
The smarter add-on is the Saicho Single Origin Osmanthus Sparkling Tea at $12. It's alcohol-free, floral and a little honeyed, with notes of apricot, and it's poured like a glass of wine. It gives a weekday lunch a sense of occasion without wrecking your 3pm meeting. I'd order it again.
Is It Actually Good Value?
Yes, and here's the maths. The risotto alone costs $58 at dinner. At lunch you get it with a starter, a dessert and coffee for $48. Every dish in the set comes straight off the main menu, made by the same kitchen, served in the same room. Add the hanger steak and you're at $58 for wagyu and two more courses in one of the best hotels in the city.
For comparison, a sandwich, a salad and a flat white in most Orchard malls will get you past $30 without trying, with a food court soundtrack thrown in. Here, $48 buys you three proper courses, a calm green room and nobody rushing you out the door.
Come Back for Dinner
The set lunch is the way in. Dinner is where the kitchen shows off.
The two signatures to plan around are the asam pedas risotto (yes, again) and the "Iga Bakar Kicap" 72-Hour Wagyu Beef Short Rib, cooked over three days, glazed in sweet soy and served with a fiery sambal embe and herb salad. There's also an XO Mapo Tofu Lobster from the wok, a Percik Grilled Spring Chicken with coconut and pickled mango off the Josper, a Chicken Rendang Puff to start, and a Soya Milk & Lemongrass Crème Brûlée to finish. Bring a group. Everything is made to share.
On Sundays, Sunday Table runs 12pm to 3pm from $98 per person: a semi-buffet of salads, charcuterie, cheese and pastries, plus unlimited à la carte plates like slipper lobster laksa linguine and a nasi lemak burger. It's $168 with free-flow wine and cocktails, or $198 with Louis Roederer Collection 246 champagne.
Do your shopping in the morning. Book a table for 12.30pm for a mid-way break to the shopping spree. Thank me later.
NEED TO KNOW
Address Tanica, The Singapore EDITION, 38 Cuscaden Road, Singapore 249731
Chef Executive Chef Mandy Goh
Weekday Set Lunch Mon to Fri, 12pm to 2.30pm; $48++ for three courses with coffee or tea
Upgrades Wagyu hanger steak +$10; glass of wine +$15; Osmanthus Sparkling Tea +$12
What I had Charcoal-Grilled Indonesian Squid; Asam Pedas Seafood Risotto; Fragrant Pandan; Osmanthus Sparkling Tea
Dinner Mon to Thu 6pm to 10pm; Fri to Sun 6pm to 10.30pm
Sunday Table Sundays 12pm to 3pm; from $98++
Reservations tanicasingapore.com; +65 6329 5000
Instagram @SingaporeEDITION
