The former Corner House chef and partner Arissa Wang have just opened their own restaurant, Euphoria in Singapore, to immediate acclaim. 50 Best delves into the menu to discover what’s behind Tan’s singular botanical-led cooking – and how one allium in particular plays a starring role
Jason Tan is partial to an onion. So much so that the Singaporean chef has firmly placed this humble vegetable front and centre at his new restaurant, Euphoria. We don’t simply mean that he’s using onions as a flavour-dense basis to dishes, as so many do. No, the allium cepa is the subject of not one but three of Tan’s signature dishes; it sits at the heart of his own range of base sauces; and it runs through the design aesthetic of the restaurant’s bar and dining room.
Euphoria's flora-focused dining room
Those who know Tan’s exquisite botanical-led cooking from his six years at Corner House, a fixture on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, may already be aware of his homage to the Cévennes variety in particular. But at Euphoria – located in a heritage former shophouse on Singapore’s Tras Street – Tan’s cuisine has progressed to a new level, dubbed Gastro-Botanica 2.0.
According to Tan himself, this culinary philosophy “gives prominence and elaboration to botanical elements of vegetables, tubers, herbs, spices and fruits”. Bang on the ever-growing global trend for vegetable-led haute cuisine, the chef’s approach has also given rise to the aforementioned series of sauces made from botanical extractions and reductions (with onions involved throughout, naturally). The chef is trained in classical French cuisine, but from this grounding he has replaced the rich, dairy-heavy ‘mother sauces’ beloved of Escoffier and his disciples in favour of lighter essences under the poetic title ‘La Symphonie de Légumes’.
Diners at Euphoria can therefore expect some highly refined flavours – without the heaviness resulting from more traditional techniques – as they sample either the six-course Secret Garden menu or the eight-course Journey menu. The always artfully plated dishes include sea urchin with daikon, gooseberries, tomato and Thai basil, and a dessert of cornflake semifreddo with chocolate-coated buckwheat, entitled Sweet Corn.
Sweet Corn, a stand-out dish on Jason Tan's tasting menu
The intimate dining room, seating just 26, has been created by Tan and business partner (and fiancée) Arissa Wang, herself an established entrepreneur in the design and marketing sector. The ultra-modern interior stands in contrast with the Singapore Botanic Gardens setting and colonial vibe of Corner House, which Tan departed earlier this year, but lush foliage is still very much present, interwoven into the dining room’s curved and layered organic shapes. Euphoria is Tan and Wang’s first solo venture and the couple have gone to great lengths to source and commission original and bespoke furniture, tableware, cutlery, and artworks. Tan has also assembled all-new kitchen and service teams, notable for both their youth and professionalism.
Back to the onions: when did Tan’s love affair with the vegetable begin? “I used to dislike all vegetables, until I tasted a Cévennes onion for the first time while working at a fine dining restaurant,” he says. “I was amazed how sweet and delicate it was; it singularly kickstarted my culinary journey of Gastro-Botanica. From that moment, I wanted to elevate onions from being the sidekick to the hero on a plate... and I realised that, with vegetables, you can unlock amazing flavours and create gastronomic wonders.”
The appropriately named My Favourite Vegetable dish, which was born at Corner House, reappears in updated format featuring fabled sweet Cévennes onion served four ways. An alternative new iteration is Oignon Jamboree, featuring Cévennes parfait, pickled pearl onions, yellow onion purée and an onion and kombu broth with spring onion oil, topped with rare Oscietra caviar. Diners are served one or the other, depending on their tasting menu choice.
The bread course, Mochishire Soup à L'Oignon, and Oignon Jamboree
Perhaps the most unusual moment in the chef’s ode to the oignon comes in the form of the intriguingly named Mochishire bread course. The name comes from a combination of the Brazilian ‘Pão de Queijo’ mochi bread and a British Yorkshire pudding. It sees the bread served with a caramelised onion dip in homage to a classic French onion soup. Expect a flash of unadulterated euphoria on the tastebuds.
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