Shangri-la's Grill Idyll
by Reuben Oh
@ 31 Aug 2018
Stepping into the beautiful interior of Origin Grill at Shangri-la Hotel Singapore, Chef Heidi Flanagan from Sydney (though she’s been around enough to call the world her home) starts us off on what ‘Origin’ is all about: “We’re not simply just going for food fads, we’re gunning towards winning customer loyalty through the use of quality produce. We have a variety of products with different price lines so we’re not ruling anyone out either.” She professes a certain timidity towards interviews, but as she talks her energy and passionate for the plates she serves emerges.
The restaurant’s wine-list is intriguing: sommelier Britt Ng has done away with the usual categorisation based on country/region, and has grouped his according to grape. Along with the inclusion of some unusual varietals on the menu (there’s even a wine from Syria!), this ensures that customers that come in can be encouraged to try out something entirely new.
One of the dishes I’m served is Chef Heidi’s Pan Seared Hokkaido Scallops with Fragrant Chilli Jam. “I have a very high threshold for chilli. I was brought up with curries, from a young age I would even be taking left-over curry to school for lunch! So I like to use a lot of chilli and have a got quite a good understanding of the flavours they bring to the table.” The chilli jam itself is slightly reminiscent of the sauce from sambal stingray: a delicious testament to Chef Heidi’s relationship with the flavours of the region, “I love tamarind, I love fish sauce, and I love shrimp paste! The jams got dried shrimp and scallop. It’s fried with shallots garlic, fresh chilli and seasoned with tamarind, palm sugar, and fish sauce. It’s definitely very similar to sambal.”
Another interesting dish of note would be her Rangers Valley Beef Bone-In Short Rib. Just a slight press of the fork and the meat pulls apart - it’s that tender. Little surprise too, they marinade it for a full day and then sous vide it for two. The marinade? A mouthwatering combination of Korean gochujang chilli paste, apple juice, ginger, garlic, spring onions, grated apple and daikon. It’s served with a potato gratin, which, with its full rich flavour, could be a dish in its own right. This is Chef Heidi’s touch: “We slice up the potatoes super fine and then we layer it with clarified butter and put it into the oven. We then take it out and press it – that’s how we get all the layers.”
The last dish to be served is her Miso Butter Glazed Black Cod. The recipe itself is standard, but is elevated by the superb quality of the cod. Along with the fresh sautéed greens, the dish makes for an excellent example of Origin Grill’s dedication to good produce. Chef Heidi though is surprisingly, not the biggest fan of the fish. “Singaporean folk love the cod. I find it too sweet, and I’m not a big cod person. I much prefer snapper, but it doesn’t work as well as a codfish in this particular application.
Chef Heidi has helmed many restaurants through her well-travelled career: to name a few, she’s cooked in Bali, the Caribbean, and Spain. You don’t need to inspect much closer to see the pattern here. “I tend to chase the sun, my biggest influence is my environment – I think I perform better in one that makes me happy. Let’s see what Singapore has up its sleeves. I think it’s different from where I’ve come from so its taken a while for me to get used to it. But I’ve certainly met some really cool and talented people here.“ Best to visit while she’s there – Origin Grill & Bar is definitely worth one, or two.
Origin Grill, Shangri-la Hotel Singapore
Lobby Level, Tower Wing, 22 Orange Grove Rd, 258350
+65 6213 4595
