The Spot: New multi-concept space at Marina One houses a restaurant, bar, and cigar lounge

Beef short rib. Photo: The Spot
Beef short rib. Photo: The Spot

COCONUTS HOT SPOT — Seems like Marina One is the place to be, and not just because it’s a new billion-dollar Instagram hotspot. The CBD complex, which houses the offices of mega corporations, as well as restaurants, cafes, residences, and retail spaces, is where The Spot has settled in. A venue for people who want to be wined and dined (or just chill), the multi-concept brand counts a restaurant, bar, private dining area, and cigar lounge within its 5,000 sq ft space, which is also taken up by wine retailer 1855 The Bottle Shop and The Macallan Boutique.

The restaurant. Photo: The Spot

Situated just next door, with connecting entrances, 1855 displays more than 800 New and Old World wine labels and spirits, while The Macallan Boutique is Southeast Asia’s first of its kind, featuring exclusive merch, a tasting bar for whisky flights, rare bottles, limited editions, and new releases.

It’s also got a sort-of secret door leading to the Cigar Lounge, a cozy nook with leather couches for an escape from the crowds.

Cigar lounge. Photo: The Spot

Not so coincidentally, the people behind 1855 are the same ones behind The Spot. And it’s basically got everything you need to get you through the day — from granola, sandwiches, fresh juices, and Toby’s Estate coffees at breakfast, to lunch, bar snacks, dinner, and cocktails later in the evening.

The restaurant itself is casual enough that you won’t feel the need to get too dressy, but chic enough that you can bring a date or a business partner over for a meal. Central to the orange-splashed space is the coffee and cocktail bar, with light tubes up top in wave-like formations, surrounded by modern hanging light fixtures, and a mix of high chairs, round tables, and bar seats.

Restaurant interiors. Photo: The Spot

As with most new restaurant launches, that just-opened allure may be what attracts first-time diners, but the food is what will bring them back again. The menu is designed by executive chef Lee Boon Seng, formerly of Osia and Curate, and features dishes created with European techniques using Asian ingredients, spices, and herbs.

Sure, that may sound like a number of any other generic fusion-style restaurants, but the foundation of flavors here are familiar, yet the chef builds on them to produce something unexpectedly different. His sauces, painstakingly prepared, are exquisite — relying on recipes centered on traditional Southeast Asian items like buah long long, laksa leaves, chrysanthemum, and Java peppers, which form the backbone of his standout creations.

Dishes on the menu. Photo: The Spot

To start, order the roasted carrot soup ($18). In an enjoyable twist, each sour-ish spoonful tasted like no other carrot soup we’ve ever had — probably because there’s a distinct tang from the orange juice mixed in along with coconut cream and kaffir lime leaves. For a little crunch, it’s sprinkled with rye crumb, and the lemongrass chorizo prawn salsa adds a pleasant variety in texture.

Other appetizers to try include scallop carpaccio ($30) served with buah long long vinaigrette and jicama remoulade, and grilled octopus ($25) of charred tentacles topped with preserved green papaya slaw and peanut and red miso emulsion.

Scallop carpaccio. Photo: The Spot

But what we couldn’t get enough of was the pan-fried red snapper ($28) soaked in a rich, creamy green curry emulsion that we caught a fragrant whiff of before it even arrived on our table. The tender cut of fish boasts a crisp skin, and those textures are complemented with the silkiness of its surrounding eggplant and spinach purée.

Red snapper. Photo: The Spot

Just as good is the local skate ($25), or stingray, filleted and pan-fried before it’s placed on a mound of Kokuho rice risotto hidden by blanched butter lettuce leaves. A broth of house-made fish stock is poured into the bowl upon serving, which makes for a very comforting, elevated version of fish porridge.

In the realm of meats, the beef short ribs ($40) marinated overnight with a Japanese soy sauce mix are sous vide and grilled, then paired with Java long pepper sauce, pickled oyster mushrooms, and aerated porridge (a blend of Japanese rice with house-made chicken stock, cream, salt, and white peppercorns).

Meanwhile, the succulent “bak kwa-style” grilled pork cheek ($26), rubbed with a mix of soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, and oyster sauce, is served with potato mousseline and pork floss sprinkles.

Licorice ice cream. Photo: The Spot

Desserts aren’t your typical kind of plates, either. The sea coconut brûlée ($14), studded with sea coconut chunks and topped with sour cream ice cream, wasn’t cloying or sickeningly sweet, but the licorice root ice cream ($15) was a revelation. There’s just a hint of licorice (nothing too overpowering), with caramelized candied parsnips, malt molasses, and coffee crumble — afterwards, you may never look at the chewy black substance the same again.

If you swing by during the day, lunch sets are priced at $30 for two courses, $38 for three, and $68 for a splurge of five, while the dinner set menu goes for $98 — or you can just order à la carte.

Bar snacks. Photo: The Spot

Those in the mood for bar bites can try intriguing dishes like the eclair sandwich ($18), a savory work of art with smoked salmon, salted egg yolk emulsion, curry leaf powder, and mentaiko, or the cuttlefish arancini ($10) with kaffir lime dressing.

On the drinks list, we gravitated towards the $20 cocktails, in concoctions such as Halo Halo (chocolate and coffee liqueur), Madame Nhu (Hendrick’s gin, St. Germain elderflower liqueur, and rose syrup), and Undress Me (bourbon, ginger liqueur, lychee, and mangosteen).

But should you feel a bit cheeky after a couple of cocktails, we’d suggest ending off your meal with the “Sexy Beast”. It’s a 2016 bottle of cabernet sauvignon ($75/bottle, $16/glass) by Aussie winery Two Hands — and no, it doesn’t come with a side of stripper Chippendales, but perhaps it’ll unleash that risqué side of you anyway.

 

FIND IT: 
The Spot is at #01-26/27 Marina One, 5 Straits View.

6284-2637. Mon-Fri 7:30am-11pm, Sat 5:30pm-11pm.
MRT: Downtown/Marina Bay



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