Love it or hate it, Chef LG Han’s Labyrinth is an innovative restaurant that continually pushes the envelope for reimagined, contemporary Singapore cuisine.
Ask anyone from local culinary circles who has been most influential in redefining modern Singapore cuisine in recent years, and chances are the name Han Li Guang would pop up. Chef LG Han, as he is better known, first burst onto Singapore’s dining scene back in 2014, ditching the black and whites of a lawyer for, well, the black and whites of a chef with a rather controversial approach to Singapore flavours.
I have to admit, I wasn’t a fan of Labyrinth in its initial days. The dark, forbidding interiors of its original location along Tanjong Pagar Road. And a culinary approach – what he calls Neo-Sin – that took inspiration from Singapore flavours but reimagined them as culinary metaphors. Think Singapore’s iconic chilli crab, but reinterpreted into softshell crab tempura served with an ice cream that tasted like that messy dish’s chilli sauce. Or what looks like the classic Singaporean breakfast of soft boiled eggs, but is really a dessert of mango mousse.
Ingenious, yet at that time I felt it gimmicky at best; sacrilegious, even.
But his is a story of constant culinary reinvention and evolution. Chef Han later pivoted to championing local produce, setting himself the near-impossible task of sourcing prime ingredients that are locally grown or caught in land-scarce Singapore, and turning them into creations fit for fine-dining. That endeavour even landed him the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ Sustainable Restaurant award in 2021, the same year Labyrinth debuted at No. 40 on the coveted Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Ten years down, Chef LG Han remains a de-facto poster child for contemporary Singapore cuisine. And Labyrinth? Garlanded with a Michelin star every year since 2017, Han’s restaurant continues to draw globetrotting epicureans and curious locals alike for his avant-garde approach to Singapore flavours.
Lately Han has been exploring beyond local produce with what he calls the ‘New Expression of Singapore Cuisine’, tapping into Singapore’s vast culinary repertoire and presenting those unearthed heritage gems in typical, surprising Labyrinthian fashion.
The current tasting menu at Labyrinth is case in point.
Among those dishes is Wartime Rojak; inspired by a recipe drawn from Japan’s occupation of Singapore during World War Two, this salad – comprising beetroot, pineapple, sugar snap peas, and wasabi cress – is totally unrecognisable from its current form.
Or Laksa Siglap, a version of laksa that originated as a Malay dish from the coastal village of Kampung Siglap that’s now pretty much forgotten. Chef Han presents this as laksam noodles – made from tapioca and rice flour for a chewier texture – swimming in a delicate broth rendered from mackerel, tamarind, spices and coconut milk that’s a flavour blast from the past.
Chef Han retains a little of his cheeky bait and switch with Char Kway Teow. The hawker favourite is given the Labyrinth’s elevated treatment by eschewing the usual kway teow noodles for fish maw, which has been carefully rehydrated, steamed and then trimmed to look like the flat rice noodles. It’s even topped with luxe abalone for good measure.
There’s Chicken Rice too, because people have come to expect him to play punk with the signature hawker dish, but probably also because his Hainanese roots demanded it. Here he draws Japanese inspiration, cooking koshihikari rice with chicken stock, ginger, myoga, lemongrass and other aromatics in a donabe claypot, and then served with braised cockscomb. It’s a very different interpretation of Singapore chicken rice and, just putting it out there, one that this bona-fide Hainanese approves of.
Then there are fun takes on the humble curry puff, the Ramly burger, and the once hugely-popular Rotiboy; an opulent twist on satay; the list goes on.
Like Daedalus of Greek myth who designed the impenetrable labyrinth at Knossos containing the legendary minotaur, LG Han and his team weaves an elaborate culinary illusion, drawing diners through a delicious maze of treats that tug at the heartstrings of nostalgic locals or offer those less familiar with Singaporean flavours with thought-provoking gastronomic introspection.
You’d expect nothing less from the proud flag bearer of nouveau Singapore cuisine. I’m a fan now.
Labyrinth
Address 8 Raffles Ave., #02-23 Esplanade Mall, Singapore 039802 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 6.30pm to 11pm on Wednesdays and Thursdays; 12pm to 2.30pm and 6.30pm to 11pm Fridays to Sundays; closed on Mondays and Tuesdays
Web www.restaurantlabyrinth.com
Facebook RestaurantLabyrinth
Instagram @restaurantlabyrinth
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