Artisanal Indian and Malay Cuisine at Fullerton Hotel’s Town Restaurant

Mother-and-son duo, Lakshmi and Daniel Surendran, who are guest chefs from 6 to 16 January at Fullerton Hotel’s Town Restaurant, make for an unlikely culinary team. Daniel exclaimed that as a child, his mother discouraged him from helping her in the daily cooking. In the end, it was his persistence to learn and innate curiosity for the culinary arts that later prodded her to let him in to master her secret recipes.

Over the years, Daniel’s developed cooking techniques of his own, incorporating South Indian favorites with Malay and Peranakan flavors. The combined talents of mother and son have led to Heaven’s Curry at Ghim Moh Market, a highly popular eatery well-known for Indian goodies such as Appam and Thosai.

For most of the first-half of January, diners can enjoy Lakshmi and Daniel’s recipes over at Town Restaurant via the “Lost and Found: Artisanal Malay and Indian Cuisines” dinner buffet, which not only features some of the highlights from the food stall at Heavens Curry but also includes dishes specially whipped up by the mother-and-son tandem for the 11-day event.

I managed to try some of these delights during a tasting held on the first day of the food event. I started off with some of the highlights that hail from the Ghim Moh stall – Putu Mayam, Appam and Royal Thosai. Of these, I must say that the latter got me hooked. I was a convert right from the first bite with the thosai’s thin, crispy and slightly buttery skin. It greatly complemented the potato within which was flavored with all the right spices.

Moving on to the mains, Peranakan is one of my favorite cuisines so the Malayo-Indian infused flavors found in the heavier courses were right up my alley.

The Kambing Kicap Manis for instance was made using lamb rather than mutton to make the meat less gamey in flavor. Although topped with chili padi, it wasn’t anywhere near as spicy as I feared so I got to thoroughly enjoy the meat in its tender and slightly juicy glory.

The Udang Buah Keras was perhaps my favorite among the mains. The candlenut gravy coating on the prawns created a tangy and sweet flavor which prodded a second and third round.

The Daging Masak Itam was a crowd favorite but I appreciated it more for the underlying beef rather than the interesting squid ink that it came with. As with my experience eating other items with this kind of sauce, such as pasta or paella for instance, the squid ink itself does not carry any strong flavor but acts mainly for the striking visual effect.

The Fish Lemak with Yam was another fascinating item. It came slightly sour with the rich coconut gravy adding a rich flavour to the palate.

The Kari Itek or Duck Curry was certainly something I’ve not tried before. I’ve had chicken, beef, lamb and pork curry but not duck. Nevertheless, this was another winner, with the bird thoughtfully sliced in the same manner as Chinese-style roasted duck.

Aside from the items introduced specifically for the Malay and Indian cuisine event, Town Restaurant already has a decent array of Indian dishes which I was glad to again encounter that evening. As always, the varying sourness of the Dhall and Chickpea Curries were excellent – the type that would make for excellent dips with hot servings on naan bread.

A buffet at Town Restaurant would of course be incomplete without tasting the establishment’s iconic Laksa, with its spicy and rich coconut milk soaking the rice vermicelli, shrimp and tofu.

“Lost and Found: Artisanal Malay and Indian Cuisines” is available from 6 to 16 January 2016 and is priced at $56++ per adult and $28++ per child of 6 to 11 years old, $69++ per adult with a seafood selection and S$34++ per child, or S$89++ per adult with free flow of draught beer and Singapore Sling, and S$44++ per child from Wednesday to Saturday. The buffet  includes other Town Restaurant staples such as laksa and chicken rice as well as extensive local and international specialties.

Town Restaurant
1 Fullerton Square
The Fullerton Hotel
Singapore 049178
Tel: +65 6877 8128