Ten lucky Straits Times subscribers and their guests spent Tuesday evening dining at home-grown celebrity chef Sam Leong's Forest restaurant in Equarius Hotel, Resorts World Sentosa.
As winners of a six-course dinner for two worth more than $276, they got to meet the 53-year-old chef - who shared stories from his years of cooking - and try dishes from a new menu titled I Am Sam, meant to celebrate his 30 years of culinary experience and trace his life journey.
The dinner - hosted by ST food correspondent Eunice Quek - was part of a contest under the ST+ news with benefits programme, which rewards subscribers, in partnership with Resorts World Sentosa.
Guests got to taste dishes such as pan-seared lemongrass chicken roll stuffed with glutinous rice, or what Leong calls a "Chin-Thai entree". It was the first dish he created with his Thai wife Forest, 49. She was also at the dinner, alongside their son, 26-year-old pastry chef Joe Leong.
Another dish was lobster barley porridge with condiments, which was served to Singapore's late founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew in 2013 when he visited Forest restaurant. Also on the menu were Leong's creations, wasabi prawn and coffee pork ribs, which he came up with and are now popular in Chinese eateries around the world.
Ms Isabelle Chen, 31, a primary school teacher and subscriber to ST for more than three years, enjoyed the mix of flavours in Leong's menu. The newlywed, who has been married for six months, took her husband to the dinner.
Referring to the dessert course - black sesame glutinous rice balls served in an avocado and coconut blend - she says: "The dinner was very good. I know he's a celebrity chef so I was quite excited about this. I think he's very creative with his food - who would think to match glutinous rice balls with avocado?"
Leong, who was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Gourmet Awards this year, says of his menu: "I have so many dishes and I can't pick everything, so I went back to look at dishes in my past and decided to highlight the ones with good stories behind them."
The I Am Sam menu is now available at Forest daily, except on Wednesdays, when the restaurant is closed, and for lunch on Sundays. A la carte selections start at $18 a dish, a four-course set lunch is priced at $48 a person and a four-course set dinner is $88 a person.
•For reservations, call 6577-7788/ 6688, e-mail forest@rwsentosa.com or go to www.rwsentosa.com/forest
