Matera, an Italian restaurant helmed by Chef Bjoern Alexander, has just lately opened within the historic Fullerton Waterboat Home. Named after the traditional metropolis in Italy, Restaurant Matera affords trendy Italian delicacies, interpreted via Chef Bjoern’s fusion with Asian influences.
Chef Bjoern Alexander hails from Octavium, a 2 Michelin-starred restaurant in Hong Kong. His culinary profession has taken him to locations such because the Center East, Hong Kong and Shanghai earlier than arriving in Singapore. He started his profession in Germany, the place he initially comes from.
Matera occupies the bottom ground of the Fullerton Waterboat Home. The eating room is a picturesque affair with floor-to-ceiling home windows spanning the complete width of the eating space. There’s additionally a non-public room that’s nonetheless being developed on the time of my go to.
Matera affords lunch with set menus ranging from S$78. The extra elaborate dinner menu begins from S$138 for 3 programs. Throughout my go to, I attempted their 6-course dinner menu which is priced at S$248++.
A collection of two canapes and a couple of amuse bouche precedes the 6-courses and serve to set the tone for the dinner. Chef Bjoern’s penchant for infusing Asian components within the delicacies is clear even from the very first canapes. We received Mala-style Olives. Olives are after all a regular a part of Italian delicacies. Right here, the combined Kalamanta olives are lent a delicate punch with a marinade of chili, Szechuan pepper, garlic and bay leaves. The opposite canape is the Fried Spicy and Bitter Beef Chips served with anchovies cream.
Among the many amuse bouche, one can anticipate a distinction of flavors – from the zesty and refreshing notes of the shredded pomelo, anchovie and pine nuts Tartlet to the savory Puff Pastry which pays homage to the egg custard bun – one of many staples of Hong Kong dimsum. Right here, the custard is made out of savory duck sausage and egg yolk.
For the subsequent course, Scallops are sliced paper skinny to make for a mattress of uncooked tartare. The pure sweetness of the scallops sashimi is enhanced with creamy buffalo burrata jelly and contrasted with a dollop of caviar on prime.
The Foie Gras was clean and buttery and possessed a touch of sweetness. It goes completely with the aspect serving of brioche made with a 40-year-old recipe.
The Gnocchi course is definitely beef tendon reduce into small items resembling the dumplings then cooked till it evokes an analogous texture. This was fairly a novelty to me because it nonetheless very a lot felt like a beef dish within the mouth slightly than gnocchi. Whereas the meat tendon was nicely cooked and possessed a bouncy texture, the gnocchi idea was simply one thing I couldn’t reconcile in my head.
My favourite dish of the evening has received to be the Smoked Pink Prawn. Served with prawn toast studded with sesame seeds on the aspect, the huge piece of prawn was undoubtedly one of many richest tasting I’ve had as of late with the prawn having been cold-smoked for six minutes. The meat was supple and the top was brimming with juices once I separated it from the physique. For a little bit of a Chinese language tinge, the prawn additionally got here with XO sauce on the aspect.
The principle dish, French Pigeon, is a multi-layered affair. It’s grilled and served with butter mushrooms, truffles and a wealthy Cantonese jus of star anise, chilli, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon. The pigeon meat was tender and possessed a wonderful, sous-vide high quality to it.
The dessert course takes one to the custom of elaborate omakase meals the place the candy ending is often a serving of candy fruit from Japan. Right here, Japanese Melon is served with limoncello jelly, granita, and snow. On the aspect, tofu ice cream with burrata sauce and tapioca awaits as a candy and savoury palate cleanser.
The petit fours have been fairly substantial with tangy limoncello jelly balanced with chocolate ganache with Szechuan peppercorn for a daring chocolatey punch. On the opposite finish of the profile is a full-sized Chinese language-style pineapple tart that brings one thing candy and bitter into the combo.
Matera makes for an thrilling addition in Singapore’s eating scene. With Chef Bjoern’s worldwide background, there’s no different Italian restaurant within the nation that gives one thing comparable and it’d be attention-grabbing to see how the general public reacts to it. These planning a go to and anticipating the standard Italian staples ought to include a extra open thoughts although the extra standard pasta and meat dishes are anticipated to grace the ala carte menu as nicely.
Restaurant Matera
3 Fullerton Rd
#02-01/02/03
The Fullerton Waterboat Home
Singapore 049215
+65 6224 2232
Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 6PM to 10:45PM
