Molecular Gastronomy. It doesn't exist. At least according to Edward Voon, Executive Chef, of Aurum when asked what it was. I had been intrigued by this term (not to mention the food), and made reservations to find out whether my visions of a foam-filled dishes with no real substance were accurate. Although this might be the biggest scam in recent history, I HAD to sample this new form of cooking. Chef Voon prefers to call his creations "New Age". Regardless of label, I was absolutely thrilled that someone felt Singapore was ready for a restaurant like this and was gutsy enough to take a bet on us.
Located on the second floor of The Cannery at Clarke Quay, the restaurant is not the easiest to find. Amidst a slew of bars and restaurants, Aurum's entrance appears more like a waiting area for a plastic surgeon's office than a portal into a new dimension of dining. Once the wall of refrigerator doors (more like morgue doors) swing open, you quickly realise that you are in for an extremely unconventional experience.
Not for the superstitious, the whole atmosphere simulates a hospital setting with the chefs working at the operating theatre while diners are seated at metal dining tables on wheelchairs. Wheelchairs! I must admit that my fears of premature descrepitude did initially make the seating arrangement feel a little awkward, but the enchanting degustation menu soon took centre stage. Amusingly, the dominant color in the restaurant was gold (Aurum is Spanish for gold) which was accentuated by a large disco ball and gold polka dots achieving a funky Grey's Anatomy meets La Cage Au Folles feel.
We were fortunate enough to have the very personable Chef (who was also easy on the eyes) talk us through each dish. He described the various preparations and the best way to consume it - usually all in one mouthful. The menu and the food is hard to describe. Chef Voon's foie gras, ham, spanish omelette and soba were my favourites and all the dishes were amazing in flavour and entertainment value. Aurum only serves a 13-course degustation menu which changes every three weeks. Last night we sampled his sixth menu since they started.
Penang-born Voon made his name at the Oriental's Dolce Vita restaurant where he created an exciting, completely revamped menu consisting of mediteranean cusine with an Asian influence. Voon was also voted Best New Chef at the 2004 Food and Hotel Asia Competition out of 90 other chefs from the region. Paco Ronchero, a disciple of El Bulli's Ferran Adria, is a consultant for Aurum and Voon intends to spend three months this summer honing his skills at Ronchero's restaurant in Spain.
The night was a veritable feast of tastes, textures and temperatures (liquid nitrogen playing a key role). Go without any preconceived notions or expectations (I have purposely left out photographs) and you will be pleasantly surprised. Aurum will be undergoing a renovation pretty soon so I would urge the more adventurous to visit before the decor becomes more mainstream.
Voon also oversees the menu at Barfly, a great after-dinner place, just around the corner.
Aurum, The Cannery, Clarke Quay, +65 6887 3733
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