[dropcap size=small]A[/dropcap]ngela May Food Chapters is a restaurant with plans to seduce. Step in and your eyes are immediately drawn to the curvaceous dome-shaped interior, rounded macaron tables and intricately-carved wood panels by Akar de Nissim, and the colourful display of choux pastries sitting pretty in bell jars.
There’s no room for jarring sharp edges here. After all, given the restaurant’s location – tucked away in a corner on level 2 of Robinsons, The Heeren – it’s clearly meant to be a respite for weary feet (or bored husbands).
It might be Angela May’s first time donning a chef’s toque, but the TV host is no stranger to the world of food. Thanks to her role as host of the Bocuse d’Or (the world chef championships) in the US and Lyon, France, May now counts culinary bigwigs like Paul Bocuse, Thomas Keller and Daniel Boulud as friends. It’s also why Olivier Bendel, CEO of the DHM group (formerly known as Deliciae Hospitality Management) which owns Forlino, Sabio, &Made Burger Bistro and L’Entrecote, chose May to front this latest venture together with retail giant Robinsons.
The food here is delicious yet forgiving, meaning many dishes adopt May’s partiality for eating healthy but well. The lobster roll, for instance, is filled with succulent chunks of New England lobster dressed in a light creamy yogurt sauce that has been infused with laksa leaves. A stalk of the crisp, fragrant leaves are the perfect garnish – pluck these off and scatter them generously over the roll.
May’s rendition of Thai curries – May was born in the US to her American father and Thai mother, and moved to Bangkok when she was 13 – is also flavourful, but without the usual film of grease found coating the surface. Instead, she laces her version with raw cashew milk “filled with all the proteins that are good for you”, and pairs it with red mullet and strips of coconut ‘noodles’.
But what you’ll really want to save space for are the choux pastries at the end. Get the one sandwiched with a refreshing jasmine tea-infused cucumber jam, or the one “for adults only” –where a sweet raspberry cream is infused with champagne, then topped with fresh fruit and edible gold dust. As May cheekily puts it: “Think of it as a mid-day boost.”
Rating: 3.5/5. An ambition as green as Tesla’s.
Spotlight On: Laksa Leaf Lobster Roll, Cucumber Jasmine Mint Choux
Behind the scenes: Angela May, DHM Group and Robinsons
Angela May Food Chapters
#02-02, Robinsons at The Heeren
Tel: 6881-7440
