Story and photos by Dr. Michael Lim The Travelling Gourmet TM

Copyright all rights reserved

All food photos are of REAL food with no photoshop

The irrepressible and inspiring Travelling Gourmet TM goes to the Bond Street of Singapore to experience contemporaray Cantonese cuisine in…

MITZO…The name sounds Japanese but it actually serves cutting edge Cantonese cuisine. MITZO is derived from the Cantonese for “Honey Date” aka red date used so often in Cantonese cuisine especially for making super  Tonic Soups! (In Cantonese “Pak Cho”. Located on Level 4 of the 5 Star Grand Park Orchard Hotel, in a very prominent location on bustling Orchard Road, the restaurant used to be called Open House and served Singaporean cuisine buffet style. That was the past…

The Grand Park Orchard Hotel is the flagship of the Park Hotel Group helmed by dynamic and intelligent Allen Law, a gentleman I am honoured to call my friend. Allen’s other family business is the widely popular and hugely successful Giordano brand.of clothes and accessories founded in 1981 in Hong Kong. To reflect its tailoring connections, the façade of the hotel is lit up in a “Herringbone” pattern which changes colour on occasion. Even the doors of the elevators sport the ‘Herringbone” motif.

Avant garde Cantonese cuisine RECONSTRUCTED!

Cutting Edge Cocktails too!

Not only is the new wave “out-of the-box ” Cantonese cuisine astonishing good, there is also an Artisanal Cocktail Menu. Forget James Bond’s Vodka Martini shaken, not stirred…instead sample unconventional…

Asian Redux and other intriguing Cocktails crafted by tall and approachable Mixologist Marco Pignotta who hails from sunny Italy. Livorno on the west coast of Toscana near Firenze to be exact. I was very happy to get an opportunity to practice my Italian with him! The Cocktails are made with Asian ingredients like Chrysanthemum Tea and Ginseng for its aphrodisiac properties. POWDERFUL! Wahahaha! Salty Espuma foam on top of one cocktail was rather amazing. It is a Molecular Gastronomy technique using Soy Lecithin. They go well with the creative dishes. Forget the old Chinese Tea, go for exciting Cocktails infused with Chinese ingredients like herbs and ginseng instead

Blow up the box!

Like myself Chef Nicky believes in thinking out of the box. I personally like to blow up the box! Chef Nicky aims to fill in the gaps in traditional Cantonese cuisine by drawinh inspiration from his far flung experiences in Dubai and China and Thailand…His aim is to create avant-garde Contemporary Cantonese cuisine to please the palate of discerning well travelled food connoisseurs. Bear n mind that this kind of cuisine is not for everyone. Die hard traditionalist Grandma or Grandpa may find it a bit too modern for their tastes…never mind, we must all move with the times n’est pas! The space age decor is as unusual as the food. A squadron of  shimmering silver “Flying Saucers” dangle from the ceiling. They are high tech lights! Well, I am no interior archittect but I like the futuristic decor which complements the cuisine. Service too is exemplaray without being obtrusive.

LIVE! LIVE! MUST TASTE!

[ I make NO excuses for my opinion  that the asinine phrase “die, die must try” used by brain-dead food writers who can’t cook, and unqualified vegetarian bloggers with poor taste is the most ABSURD and goondoo phrase ever. How can you try or taste anything when you are DEAD!]

You must try the Signature Degustation Menu which gives you an overview of the philosophy of the cuisine here. It also showcases the creativity and talent of  friendly Chef Nicky Ng who is Singaporean.

精选点心炸拼 DEEP-FRIED DIM SUM PLATTER

金牌甘笋罗卜丝酥 Thousand layer radish puff

Oh so very crispy like the French millefeuille! Love it!

脆炸奶皇金瓜粿 Crispy glutinous pumpkin in custard

鹅肝虾多士 Bread coated shrimp and foie gras

The presentation is outstanding and…the taste and texture…simply sublime! Bravo! When i savoured the Crispy Shrimp and Foie gras I felt an impulse to go in the kitchen to give the Chef a big hug. I would have…if Chef Nicky was a beautiful voluptuous female Chef…

虫草花鲍鱼炖鸡汤 Double-boiled abalone soup with cordyceps flower, chicken and king oyster mushroom

This tonic super power soup has aphrodisiac properties with a whole abalone to enjoy. OMG! Yummie! Cordyceps sinensis which is a fungus also improves renal function. It has been used in Tibet as a medicine for thousands of years!

樱花姜茸蒸鳕鱼 Steamed cod fish with minced ginger in soya sauce

Moist tender naturally sweet Cod is so heavenly when done well. I could taste the oceanin every precious morsel and its sublime flavour was enhanced but not overpowered by the Superior Soy sauce applied with discretion.

奶柠虾球 Deep-fried prawn coated with creamy lemon sauce

Say bye bye to mundane and passé Wasabi Prawns…this is so much yummier! Big crunchy prawn and a beautiful piquant sauce that tickles your taste buds to delight.

新疆羊仔骨 Pan-fried lamb chop with enoki mushroom and onion in Xinjiang style

An Oriental answer to the French lamb Chop! Well matched with healthful Enoki Mushrooms!

千子虾粒蛋炒饭 Fried rice with ginger, shrimp and tobiko

Not your run of the mill Fried Rice. Take flight with this jazzy Japanese inspired Fried Rice!  Tobiko is the roe of the Flying Fish. Tobiko gives it a unique orange colour and taste.

鳄梨果鲜奶露伴酒酿煎堆 Chilled avocado milk shake served with fried sesame dumpling

Well served with a smoke filled dry ice effect! Spectacular! Excellent! Lovely silky texture on the palate and Avocado is so healthy. No mundane Mango Pudding here…

The sesame sphere as big as a golf ball is crusted with aromatic white sesame seeds and…inside is a sexy luscious liquid liquer and chocolate filling. It is Baileys Irish Cream!Bamboo leaves like two green horns and smoke from dry ice give this jade green Avocado dessert a spectacular entrance at your table! My friend bit in expecting lotus seed paste and got a suprise when the liquid filling burst like a hand grenade! Ha! Ha! 🙂

Scrumptious specialities during Sunday Brunch include Goodies like teamed bamboo clam with minced garlic, Spicy chilli lobster served with bun and Stir-fried XO abalone with asparagus, Mitzo special barbecued pork, Har gao, Siew mai, Braised duck with pulled noodles, SAS (silky and smooth) Hokkaido milk cheese tart.

A most serendipidous repast found me in a jolly good mood…I am most impressed with the ambience, décor, food quality, food presentation, Cocktails and service of Mitzu. There is always resistance to the NEW…except sometimes in the world of fashion…However, the new when done well is to be appreciated and encouraged and supported. At Mitzo I experienced a re-construction of Cantonese cuisine that made me drop some of my long ingrained ideas about this remarkable cuisine of southern China. I feel confident that Mitzo will win at least One Michelin Star in next year’s Michelin Guide Singapore 2017. I shall of course do what I can…(Das ist mein Geheimnis)

“I shall return”, in the words of General Douglas MacArthur, “hungry for more…” 🙂

*****MITZO is awarded The Travelling Gourmet’s BEST CONTEMPORARY CHINESE RESTAURANT 2017!

MITZO

Level 4

Grand Park Orchard Hotel

270, Orchard Road

Singapore 238857

Tel: 6603 8855

Opens from:

Lunch:

• 12:00pm to 2:30pm

Dinner:

• 6:30pm to 10:30pm

Supper:

• 6:30pm to 1am last order (Thursdays to Saturdays, eve of Public Holidays)

Bar:

• 12pm to 1am (Sundays to Wednesdays)
• 12pm to 2am (Thursdays to Saturdays, eve of Public Holidays)

As the motto of the intrepid and indomitable SAS goes. “Who Dares Wins!”  Chef Nicky’s ModCantonese cuisine is “Chan hai ho sek!” That is Cantonese for “it is really delicious”

To be continued…

More to followed…

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