Jaan’s winter menu elevates British cuisine

SINGAPORE – Anyone who has spent enough time in foodie spaces will know that British food does not have the best reputation.

Every so often, the internet has a field day with beans on toast, jellied eels, scones that could knock out a man and other frequently lambasted creations that make sense, it seems, only to those who grew up with them.  

British chef Kirk Westaway makes no apologies for tradition. Eleven years ago, he took a French fine-dining restaurant with some of Singapore’s best views and added “fish and chips” to the menu. 

Eleven years on, no one is laughing. Not even a single raised eyebrow.

Modern British food is, in some ways, as much of a novelty in Singapore now as it was in 2018, when chef Westaway launched his Reinventing British philosophy. But it is a take he has made entirely his own, and his finesse is evident in a menu that is not afraid to have fun. 

Lunch ($198++ for four courses, $238++ for five) starts with a trio of appetisers: delicate cheddar straws, goose mousse tarts with celeriac and, of course, “fish and chips”. 

His version is not dunked in oil and fried within an inch of its life, but layered with aching precision: cod mousse on a crisp hash brown, topped with a generous dollop of caviar. It does not quite evoke the simple joy of hiding from the rain in a hot chippy – the fish is too subtle – but it is hard to grouse about good caviar. 

The charred leek and potato soup is the greater balm. This silky, smoky, nutty concoction captures all the things I miss about my years living in England. It tastes of woodsy forests, the cosiness of the hearth, and the sweetness of a meal cooked at home in the dead of winter. 

Then comes the salt-baked white beetroot, which, though less immediately resonant, is the kind of sophistication necessary in a place like this.

The hen’s egg that follows returns to nostalgia. Inspired by the egg and soldiers chef Westaway’s mum used to make for him, it deftly captures childlike joy using very grown-up ingredients – a rich, runny yolk in an umami-laden custard, paired with a slice of mushroom pate toast, which would be perfect if it were a tad less oily. 

It is at this point that the restaurant pulls out the heavy hitters: turbot poached till pearly, then roasted venison, stuffed with veal sweetbreads and wrapped in a layer of chicken skin that adds a welcome dusting of savoury oomph. 

Desserts are light and tart. The Gin & Tonic nods again to British tradition: the Georgians and Victorians often served water ice as a palate cleanser between courses and this practice is revived here with a smattering of citrus fruits and smoky theatrics. 

It paves the way for the real finisher, in which pear is sliced into long, thin sheets, layered with dark roasted butter caramel and served with vanilla bean ice cream and English custard, drawing the meal to an elegant close.

Given Jaan’s enduring success, one can only hope that more restaurants in Singapore will start to embrace contemporary British food. I look forward to tasting someone’s reinterpretation of beans on toast – now that will be the true test of culinary skill. 

Where: Level 70 Swissotel The Stamford, 2 Stamford Road
MRT: City Hall
Open: 11.45am to 2.30pm, 6.30 to 10.30pm (Tuesdays to Saturdays)
Info:

jaan.sg