When You’re Hungry In Singapore, Chef Andrew Walsh’s Relaxed Yet Refined Restaurant Is The Cure

In this day and age when dining concepts and dishes evolve under the scrutiny of both social media and critical consumers, chefs ruffle their aprons to keep up with the growing demands around them. In Singapore, Cure has managed to stay in the game for three-plus years, achieving success by carving out a stylish and relevant niche for its food and its establishment. 

 

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Cure is located in a conservation shophouse in Keong Saik Road amid the hustle and bustle of the street’s busy food scene, adjacent to neighboring Chinatown. It’s an establishment that I have frequented since 2015, bringing guests and friends who visit Singapore. It’s such a delight to witness how the menu has grown from its beginnings to what it is today, with an army of loyal patrons supporting it along the way.

 

 

The man at the helm of Cure is Chef Andrew Walsh from Ireland. He has worked in London with renowned chefs like Jason Atherton at Pollen Street Social, Tom Aikens at his restaurant Tom Aikens, Richard Corrigan at Lindsay House, as well as in New York at Brad Farmerie’s PUBLIC Restaurant, all the while imbibing strong international culinary training and discipline that enabled him to find his style.

 

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Chef Andrew Walsh | photo from curesingapore.com

 

Walsh moved to Singapore to cook at Jason Atherton’s Esquina and after his successful tenure there, he decided to open his very first restaurant venture, Cure, offering modern European cuisine to Singaporean and expat diners. 

It doesn’t hurt that Walsh’s fetching looks paired with his mysterious aura and athletic demeanor has captivated the hearts of his many admirers. While he’s certified eye candy (at least according to my women friends), he is an unmistakably talented chef, creating tasty, well thought out, and beautiful dishes to boast of. His approach to food is simple, focusing on the quality of ingredients, and complimenting flavors with a clean yet rustic plating. 

 

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Walsh’s traditional and modern European approach incorporates local ingredients, adding a twist of Asian flavor such as shiso in the amuse bouche, laksa with the seafood, or burrata in ice cream. An advocate of minimal wastage in the kitchen, Walsh uses every usable part of his ingredients to maximize their usage in his dishes. For example, his White Asparagus makes use of asparagus skin to enhance the flavor of the foam, with an accompaniment of burrata ice cream, Parmesan custard, and caviar.

 

White Asparagus with Burrata and Caviar

 

If you want to catch the action in the kitchen, there’s a cozy booth that seats 4 to 6 tucked behind a short wall where diners sit right next to the open kitchen. It’s quite the experience to see how the kitchen runs like a well-oiled machine, with chefs meticulously preparing dishes, and each chef’s station working cohesively in an atmosphere of organized chaos and dynamism. Next time, I intend to book that table to get to experience where the action is and witness how my dishes are creatively prepared.

My latest meal at Cure started with a series of snacks: a delicate Parmesan sablé filled with liver parfait, topped with raspberry jam, followed by a bowl of spring crudités made with crisp asparagus, crunchy radish, and white turnip, topped with a punchy chive emulsion and parsley snow for a nice contrast. The server then laid down a too-beautiful-to-eat but tasty fresh pea tart filled with yuzu gel and garnished with shiso flowers.

 

Pea Tart, Yuzu Gel, and Shiso Flowers

 

Next came the house-made sourdough. Being the bread fiend that I am, I kept on tearing off pieces of warm bread, and slathered them with the accompanying caramelized onion with bacon and burnt onion powder, enjoying each bite.

A series of small hand-held dishes came consecutively, starting with Hamachi with Green Curry, wrapped in shiso leaves and sprinkled with frozen pomelo, which had an unexpected yet welcome flavor. Another dish involved Salmon with Beetroot. I took a piece of thinly sliced beetroot-cured salmon, a bit of smoked crème fraiche, horseradish, blood orange, salmon roe, and dill, then carefully placed everything on a piece of Irish potato bread (Irish prata) and voilà, popped it in the mouth and experienced the mélange of flavors coming together.

 

Salmon with Beetroot and Irish Prata

 

As the meal progressed, new flavors were introduced, showing a twist of Asian in the delicate squid noodles hiding beneath foam floating atop a punchy laksa broth with kaffir lime. 

 

Squid Noodles in Laksa Broth

 

My favorites were the main dishes which stood out because they were perfectly cooked, simply plated, but ultimately very memorable. First was a melt-in-the-mouth Miso-glazed Red Snapper, with pickled daikon, wasabi cream, sake beurre blanc, tonburi, and dill, followed by a fork-tender Short Rib Pastrami with kohlrabi, sour cream, spring onion oil, and cabbage purée.

 

Miso-glazed Red Snapper

 

Short Rib Pastrami

 

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My favorites were the main dishes which stood out because they were perfectly cooked, simply plated, but ultimately very memorable. First was a melt-in-the-mouth Miso-glazed Red Snapper, with pickled daikon, wasabi cream, sake beurre blanc, tonburi, and dill, followed by a fork-tender Short Rib Pastrami with kohlrabi, sour cream, spring onion oil, and cabbage purée.

 

Chocolate with Orange and Honey

 

The dining experience is personal yet unimposing, so diners are able to enjoy good conversation with their companions while relishing the food, with unobtrusive but warm service hovering behind. With attractive price points at S$45 to S$75 for lunch and S$98 to S$125 for dinner, Cure offers tasty dishes, a good wine selection, friendly service in a refined yet homey atmosphere. What else would you ask for when you want a simple yet topnotch meal that puts a reasonable dent in the pocket?

 

Cure, 21 Keong Saik Road, Singapore, www.curesingapore.com

 

Photos by Dennis Hipolito

Led photos from curesingapore.com