Any restaurant with two Michelin stars under its belt would be happy to sit back and rest on its laurels. Not so Amber. Yes, as the city’s gourmands would be well aware, culinary legend Richard Ekkebus’ brainchild, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental’s iconic restaurant and repeated winner at Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants Award shut down seven months ago to renovate and reinvent itself.
Now, the restaurant has just reopened its doors in an updated and upgraded avatar – and we were honoured to be among the first guests to have been invited to the newly-reopened cuisinary. Stepping into Amber’s renovated space, it’s clear from the very start that it’s not just a cosmic change, Creative Director Richard Ekkebus has completely overhauled and reshaped the restaurant’s DNA. This reimagining is not only limited to the furniture and the furnishings, it has extended to its state-of-the-art kitchen, the extensive wine experience and, of course, its menu.
We start with Homemade Silken Tofu, Heirloom Tomatoes, Salted Sakura and Virgin Almond Oil. A disarmingly simple dish, its sweet tomatoes pair perfectly with the savoury sakura leaves and the tofu. The lacto-fermented jus makes the dish even more healthy, soothing our stomachs and piquing the appetite. Testifying to the team’s attention to minute details, even the bowl in which the tofu is served is especially made from rice grain, so that the tofu doesn’t wiggle in the bowl, making the experience even more seamless for the diner.
A surprise awaited us for the next dish. We were ushered into the kitchen to try the Kegani, Palmheart, Hygernatsu and Coriander. A light appetiser with horsehair crab (kegani), palmheart and coriander, the dish is tied together by the citrusy hyuganatsu, a Japanese fruit that is similar to grapefruit. It’s a creation that’s close to Ekkebus’s heart and, after just one bite, we could tell why. The sweetness of the meat, the slight crunchiness of the heart of palm and the citrusy notes of the fruit combine in one harmonious explosion of taste in our mouth.
The other memorable dishes of the night were the Pointed Cabbage, Shiitake Mushroom, Button Mushroom and Virgin Black Sesame Oil, and the Teardrop Peas, Pomelo, Cuttlefish and Wakame, both healthy and nourishing dishes where the each ingredient – though a hero in its own right – doesn’t grab attention individually but rather works in a simpatico relationship to elevate the dish altogether. This is not fine-dining at its most decadent, it’s luxury at its most discreet.
However, it is in its desserts that Amber allows itself a touch of extravagance, with the standout being the Sake Lees, Raspberry, Puffed Black Rice and Rice Milk. While the other dishes so far had looked subtle, basking in their unobtrusive goodness, this dessert looked and tasted much more flamboyant in comparison. With the raspberry crêpes being delightfully tangy, the puffed rice crispy and the sake lees mildly sweet, it was as balanced as dessert can hope to be.
It is this emphasis on balance and quality that sets Amber version 2.0 apart. Where chef Ekkebus could have designed an overly opulent menu, he has chosen to keep things simple, perhaps because it is in simplicity that his vision shines through.
Amber, The Landmark, Mandarin Oriental
15 Queen’s Road Central, Central
(+852)21320066
Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay