Crispy Chicken Rendang
Lunch @ "CreatureS", a Peranakan cuisine-inspired restaurant.
"Plump chicken thigh slow cooked in a heirloom home-made Rendang recipe, coated with a crispy batter with lightly herbed spices, served with a side of butterfly blue pea coconut fragrant rice, Nonya Chup Chye and egg omelette slice (Mildly Spicy)"
Gregg Wallace's (UK Masterchef competition judge) "Crispy Chicken Rendang" controversy stirred up a hornet's nest of dissent and displeasure in Southeast Asia, where Rendang is highly revered....and for a dish braised over several hours till the protein is nearly disintegrating, a traditional Rendang is NEVER crispy.
And so, thanks to the (unapologetic) judge, a faux Asian dish is born....with eager culinary entrepreneurs seeking white spaces for new tastes.
"CreatureS" is one of the fastest spot to roll out their version in Singapore. Strike the iron while it is still hot! And naturally, my curiosity is pricked enough to have a try.
Verdict? Oh....Gregg....I need you to fly over and in your best stiff-upper-lipped British accent, utter those famous words.
Granted the restaurant had battered fried the pre-slow cooked chicken thigh, but by drowning the battered pieces in the thick Rendang gravy, defeated any attempts of delivering "crispy". The Rendang gravy also lacked a coconutty oomph..."Not Lemak enough" uttered my mate with disapproval from across the table.
I do love the pieces of deep-fried curry leaves instead - these were flavour burst dynamos! The side dishes were decent but the big disappointment came for both of us when we bit into the piece of deep-fried chicken skin, perched seductively atop the hill of butterfly pea blue rice. We had to spit it out - the piece tasted rancid! We guessed that the oil used for frying it had gone bad.
Disappointing!
There is a good reason why there is NO SUCH THING as a "CRISPY" Rendang.
Crispy Chicken Rendang
Lunch @ "CreatureS", a Peranakan cuisine-inspired restaurant.
"Plump chicken thigh slow cooked in a heirloom home-made Rendang recipe, coated with a crispy batter with lightly herbed spices, served with a side of butterfly blue pea coconut fragrant rice, Nonya Chup Chye and egg omelette slice (Mildly Spicy)"
Gregg Wallace's (UK Masterchef competition judge) "Crispy Chicken Rendang" controversy stirred up a hornet's nest of dissent and displeasure in Southeast Asia, where Rendang is highly revered....and for a dish braised over several hours till the protein is nearly disintegrating, a traditional Rendang is NEVER crispy.
And so, thanks to the (unapologetic) judge, a faux Asian dish is born....with eager culinary entrepreneurs seeking white spaces for new tastes.
"CreatureS" is one of the fastest spot to roll out their version in Singapore. Strike the iron while it is still hot! And naturally, my curiosity is pricked enough to have a try.
Verdict? Oh....Gregg....I need you to fly over and in your best stiff-upper-lipped British accent, utter those famous words.
Granted the restaurant had battered fried the pre-slow cooked chicken thigh, but by drowning the battered pieces in the thick Rendang gravy, defeated any attempts of delivering "crispy". The Rendang gravy also lacked a coconutty oomph..."Not Lemak enough" uttered my mate with disapproval from across the table.
I do love the pieces of deep-fried curry leaves instead - these were flavour burst dynamos! The side dishes were decent but the big disappointment came for both of us when we bit into the piece of deep-fried chicken skin, perched seductively atop the hill of butterfly pea blue rice. We had to spit it out - the piece tasted rancid! We guessed that the oil used for frying it had gone bad.
Disappointing!
There is a good reason why there is NO SUCH THING as a "CRISPY" Rendang.