Modern Asian restaurant Path by 1855 F&B and Chef Marvas Ng treads new ground in contemporary East Asian flavours.
What used to be OLA Cocina Del Mar is now Path.
Dining group 1855 F&B has converted the Spanish restaurant in Marina Bay Financial Centre – after the departure of celebrated Peruvian chef Daniel Chavez who left to join his wife Tamara at Peruvian restaurant Canchita in Dempsey – for a totally different dining concept. Helmed by Chef Marvas Ng, Path explores the increasingly well-trodden trail of modern Asian cuisine but with a unique East Asian twist.
That culinary direction comes from Chef Marvas’ previous kitchen experiences that run the gamut, ranging from stints in Tianjin and Hong Kong, then all the way to Singapore. But Path would be Marvas’ inaugural restaurant, one that he can call his own. And one where he can forge his own way.
And trailblaze he does.
Chef Marvas pulls out all the stops, combining modern culinary techniques with a plethora of East Asian – specifically Japanese and Chinese – and Southeast Asian ingredients with equal measures of abandon and aplomb, resulting in tasty dishes that awe and shock at the same time.
Consider the Wakamatsu Strait Yellowtail, effectively a Japanese-style ceviche of sliced amberjack served alongside slivers of zucchini marinated in a combination of dashi, rice vinegar and soy, as well as Chinese artichoke that’s been pickled with Sichuan peppers.
Or how about the Hand-Dived Hokkaido Scallops? This are sashimi-grade scallops turned into little umami bombs with a seaweed truffle sauce that’s flambéed on a hot stone tableside. A salad of pickled pumpkin is served alongside, as much to provide texture as flavour.
Do not miss out on the Premium Kuhlbarra Fish Maw. Fresh fish maw sourced from the local sustainable fish farm is braised in sake and dashi into collagen-rich sheets that simply melt in your mouth. Flavouring it is a buerre blanc made with fermented black bean, garlic, and chilli, while diced celtuce, cai xin, kai lan stems, and water bamboo shoots – as well as tobiko and ikura – add contrasting crunch.
If you’re a fan of eel, the ‘Suan Ni’ Hong Man is a must. This is freshwater eel sourced from Vietnam’s Mekong delta, and turned into a dish that will floor you. The eel is first deep-fried and then braised in sauce – one made from kudzu, dou ban jiang, plenty of garlic, and a special blend of different chillis. This explosive mix of flavours will have you scraping the bottom of your plate, wishing for some rice to go along with it.
But if there’s one dish that defines Path, it’s the Signature Butter Roasted Herb-Brined
French Poulet.
This is no simple roasted chook. This bird is a gastronomic confluence of Eastern ingredients and Western techniques in epic proportions. Brined for the better part of a day in a salt solution infused with a mixture of Chinese herbs, it’s then blanched in a marinade of soy, hoisin, maltose and red vinegar, then air-dried for another 12 hours. And in case there’s not enough technique, Marvas slathers almost a kilo of butter on the poulet before it goes into the oven for roasting.
It’s phenomenal. Be sure to take a mouthful of chicken with the accompanying spring onion salsa and drippings-tossed lettuce and daikon vegetable rolls; it’ll blow your mind.
If Path’s approach to modern Asian cuisine sounds a bit overwrought and excessive, that’s because it is. There’s really little subtlety here. And we’re fine with that.
We won’t fault this daring chef for forging his own Path.
Path Restaurant
Address 12 Marina Boulevard, Tower 3, #01-05/06 Marina Bay Financial Centre, 018982 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 11.30am to 3pm and 6pm to 10.30pm Mondays to Fridays; 6pm to 10.30pm on Saturdays; closed on Sundays
Tel (65) 6443 0180
Web pathrestaurant.com.sg
Facebook pathdining
Instagram @pathdining
