A Singaporean chef guest stars at Cork Elite? Whey!
Chef Barry Quek sports a tattoo on his left forearm: an anatomy chart of a pig, separated into cuts. “It’s my cheat sheet,” he explains, after serving us a six-course sampling from Whey, his Hong Kong Michelin-star restaurant. Like the concept behind Whey — and the young chef who’s first to be highlighted in Cork Elite’s “Exclusive Dining” series — it’s a conversation starter.
Cork Elite itself gets tongues wagging. An exclusive, members-only club for wine enthusiasts on the roof of W Fifth Avenue Building, its private dining rooms, named after French wine regions, allow guests to splurge on extravagant bottles, and there’s a jaw-dropping wine room near the garden-themed lounge area (the most expensive bottle said to be a 2014 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti Grand Cru selling for P3.5 million).
Which brings us to guest chef Quek, who showcased his Whey menu for two nights in a pairing menu. The Singapore-born chef stinted at Michelin-starred Joël Robuchon and Les Amis in Singapore then imbibed innovative techniques from De Wulf in Belgium before opening Beet in 2017, then Whey in May 2021, which quickly earned him a star from the Michelin Guide Hong Kong and Macau 2022, furthering Quek’s commitment to Singaporean flavors: bak kut teh, laksa, jackfruit, durian, and a fresh-baked brioche using the intense nut buah keluak (said to be poisonous in raw form) that’s native to his country’s cooking.
For this two-night stint, chef Quek teamed up with a very special wine estate, M. Chapoutier, operating in France’s Rhône Valley since 1808. The estate’s export director Edouard Payot presented the six wines at dinner and talked about biodynamic farming.
It was an unusual pairing: the wines chosen first, then the dishes selected to go with them. “Usually, we choose wines to match the food,” says Payot, “but here, we try to find the wine we want to showcase and match the food with that. Basically, we try to match the body — slight, medium, or high intensity — but with an expression of fruits or minerality, to not only balance but also highlight the food.”
We started with a duo of amuse-bouche appetizers: a scallop tartlet encasing white asparagus, radish, dill and tarragon enjoyed in one bite; then a donut-like confection fashioned after the Vadai, a South Indian snack made with lentil flour and spices, with a creamy, savory, smoked tuna mousse filling and trout center, topped with caviar and a layer of tomato jelly.
This went well with the 2006 M. Chapoutier Ermitage de L'Oree Blanc Rhone, France, a 100-percent Marsanne that was lush, round and lively, made from hand-harvested grapes grown in ancient fluvioglacial alluvial soil deposits, the must then hand-stirred before it’s aged 10-12 months. A clarion opening wine.
The Sweet Shrimp arrived as a mound of puréed green (cucumber and tangy pickled jackfruit, one of the chef’s favorite ingredients), atop a buttery layer of shrimp that mingled with the flavors for a bright, gazpacho-like zest. Topped with local flowers and served with a green apple juice and lemon plum dressing, it was paired with the 2018 Couteau du Chery Blanc from Viognier grapes harvested from granitic soils.
Next came chef Quek’s Bluefin Tuna, set in a striking bath of green color — mostly from the pickled watermelon radish and calamansi jelly — and marinated with coconut sugar and ginger flower, finished with spring onion oil for a burst of umami. Another white — the 2007 Ermitage de L'Orée Blanc Rhone — was similar to the opening wine but more restrained.
Whey’s signature Brioche came next: soft, fluffy, freshly baked and paired so perfectly with the silky buah keluak emulsion that we wanted to eat more. The black spread has hints of molasses, cacao and black olives. We had another glass of the Couteau du Chery to swirl with the candy-like joy of the brioche.
As though anticipating our sudden carb rush, chef Quek dialed back the next entrée with a substitute: the masterful Grilled Lobster was served in a curry laksa — with konjac rice. “Konjac rice comes from a plant, so no carbs,” the chef noted. “We used a type of prawn laksa with a coconut-curry base and served it with local pusit (squid).” The lobster tail is char-grilled, and there’s a hint of baby shrimps brought from Lamma Island off Hong Kong. The 1994 Cote Rotie La Mordorée Rhone, a hearty Syrah, was a strong pairing with the playful, spicy, sweet umami of the lobster dish.
For the Wagyu A3, chef Quek served us a generous two lumps of meat, both delicious. The Kagoshima A3 is served on a bed of house-made miso made from petai bean, commonly favored in Singaporean cuisine for its pungent, earthy umami flavor. The petai complemented the wonderfully grilled wagyu striploin and cheek, and the delicious A3 was a taste sensation. Paired with a 2016 M. Chapoutier Saint-Joseph Le Clos Rouge, also a Syrah, each forkful was like settling down into the local terroir.
Things ended with a Pandan Chiffon Cake, layered with kaya jam and pistachio ice cream topping. Enjoyed this with the 2004 M. Chapoutier Ermitage Vin de Paille Blanc Rhone, a dessert wine that brought even more flavor depths with each swirl on the tongue.
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Cork Elite is on the Roofdeck level, W Fifth Avenue Building, BGC.
