12 Years of Candlenut: A Culinary Adventure
As part of my April birthday celebration bash, my wife and I decided to join the 12th year dinner celebration event at Candlenut on 6th April 2022.
The tasting menu for the evening is an amazing collaboration amongst the entire restaurant team which includes managers, service leaders, interns, cooks, and sous chefs. Based on our conversations with various team members, they had two weeks to conceptualize and deliver the final dishes for the evening. It is truly an astounding feat that demonstrates the depth of expertise and collaboration within the team.
We kickstart the evening with 5 delicious starters that the team should seriously consider adding them permanently to the menu.
LARB PIE TEE: Homemade kueh pie tee shell with chicken larb, toasted glutinous rice, mint, chili, coriander, lime, fried shallots, and jackfruit.
In my humble opinion, the jackfruit is the icing on the cake which helped to elevate the humble kueh pie tee into a gastronomical affair.
BUNGA AEK POPIAH: Popiah with turnip, scallop, whole prawn, beansprouts, crispy pork, chili cuka.
My wife is not a big fan of popiah but she would happily have this version anytime of the week.
SALAD SEDAP: Chitose x Cameron Highlands sweet corn, mizuna, guava, fresh mint, honey, pineapple, roasted cashew nut, lemongrass with homemade sour plum dressing.
With such a varied mixture of flavors and textures, the salad is truly worthy of its sedap title!
LITTLE INDIA OTAH TOAST: Mackerel and prawn otah toast made aromatic with cumin seeds, coriander seeds, homemade curry powder, and coconut milk.
If only I could have this savory toast each morning, it would be heaven on earth.
CHICKEN MEATBALL “TINOLA”: Chicken meatball soup with ginger, lemongrass, green papaya. tamarind, laksa leaves.
This sweet and sour soup is the perfect cleanser for our taste buds, rounding off a tasty medley of starters.
Next up are 5 meaty savory mains that are big on flavors and portion, ensuring that we will not leave the restaurant feeling hungry. Although the mains were all delicious, the key improvement that I can suggest is having more balance in the overall menu as each dish is so heavy that my palate can get kind of lost after a while and the flavors just start to blend and mix into each other without any contrast or break.
SINGAPORE BBQ CHICKEN WING 2.0: Marinated chicken wing with minced chicken and gizzard, five spice powder, chili, and lime.
Trust me: this is the only chicken wing that you will ever need in your life. This dish is easily the best in the menu for the evening.
GRILLED STUFFED SQUID WITH PERCIK SAUCE: Marinated squid with tumeric spice paste, stuffed with chicken kebab mix, chili, coriander, cumin, and Percik sauce.
Only one minor improvement: more lady fingers to balance the strong sauce and chewy squid.
HAE BEE HIAM PORK SHOULDER: Pork shoulder fried in light soya sauce, dried scallop, dried shrimp. chili, laksa leaf, and kaffir.
Although the hae bee hiam is absolutely amazing, it overpowers the pork shoulder and buries the subtle sweetness of the delicate meat.
MYSORE MAIMOA LAMB RACK: Pan seared lamb rack marinated with Indian spices, served with crushed cashew nuts.
I loved the dish though I would have preferred the lamb rack to be even more tender, falling off the bone easily instead of having to tussle with it.
GOAN PRAWN CURRY: Tiger prawns, coconut milk, tumeric, and chili.
Warning: This curry is so sedap that you are going to eat more rice than you can imagine.
As we wind down the evening, it is time for desserts and we were not disappointed with 4 creative sweet creations.
“GUAVADORA”: Pink guava sorbet, mascarpone and yogurt cream, young coconut shaved ice, and sour plum powder.
This dessert is a masterclass in the art of delicately balancing flavors. We can taste each component in the bowl and everything just makes sense, creating an unforgettable experience that will make us coming back to the restaurant for more.
THE LITTLE BABA: Little Babas soaked in lime syrup with fresh pineapple, coconut, calamansi lime juice, gula melaka Chantilly cream, and lime zest.
A one bite wonder bursting with flavors, all tied up into a neat little package.
MANGO CRISPY RICE: Crispy short grain rice, glutinous rice cake, and fresh mango.
And yes, all mango sticky rice should be served this way as it provides a great contrast between the sweet soft mango and the fragrant crispy rice.
MATCHA X ADZUKI: Creamy green tea, homemade pandan kaya, vanilla sponge cake and aiskrim susu kacang merah.
Not our favorite dessert of the day but still worthy of its place in the menu. The dessert might be too mellow to be memorable due to the other superstars that came before it.
Our verdict for the evening? We loved the theme of the night, celebrating the amazing collaboration of the entire restaurant team with a tasting menu that highlights the stories and memories of each member. We adored every moment of our evening and we will be back again soon. Fingers crossed for some of our favorite dishes of the night to be permanently added to their regular offerings.
A big happy birthday to Candlenut and cheers to another amazing 12 years ahead!
