India is on the Michelin map with The Song of India restaurant
Chef Manjunath Mural has won his restaurant a coveted star in Singapore's debut Michelin Guide 2016.
Walk past the traditional Kerala-style wooden pillars, up the staircase into the sprawling colonial bungalow on Scotts Road in central Singapore and the unmistakable fragrance of Indian cuisine comes wafting in from the live tandoor kitchen at the very heart of The Song of India. Over the past few months, a number of inspectors from the Michelin Guide team have walked down the restaurant's corridors, which are lined with contemporary Indian artworks, to experience Corporate Executive Chef Manjunath Mural's interpretation of modern Indian cuisine.
Their anonymity has ensured the staff remains on their toes, Mural orchestrating them from the kitchen in the back of the restaurant. Mural and his team clearly managed to please inspectors, for on July 22, when Singapore's first Michelin Guide was launched, The Song of India was awarded a coveted Michelin star and deemed "a very good restaurant in its category."
The restaurant, which got its name from the decorative plant in the landscaped gardens surrounding the bungalow, has been serving modern Indian cuisine for the past decade. Chef Milind Sovani, who mentored Mural during his time at Juhu Centaur Hotel, set up the restaurant and invited the Mumbai boy to join the team. When Sovani left the restaurant five years ago, Mural took over as head chef. He retained most of the signature recipes but introduced his unique style to the restaurant. "My focus is on presentation and plating and giving Indian food a luxurious twist. Every dish leaving our kitchen must look elegant and appealing," says Mural.
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Traditional curries, stews and kormas find pride of place among Mural's experiments with techniques and ingredients from around the globe. A slow-cooked lamb shank is served with a refined French-style sauce, pan-seared foie gras is spiced with star anise and a leg of lamb is stylishly flambeed with a touch of rum at the table. Singapore's vibrant culture has fuelled Mural's imagination for creating new recipes and allowed him to give Indian food an edge. "There is such variety of food, including Thai, Singaporean, and Cambodian. Japanese sushi inspires me the most and I have even attempted an Indian-style sushi-a kathi roll with foie gras," says the chef.
A large part of the menu is dedicated to showcasing India's regional cuisine. Born and trained in Mumbai, his Chowpatty and Lalbag favourites kothimbir wadi, kombdi wade and pani puri find a place on the menu along with Rajasthan's Jaipuri tikki, Lal Maas and Kerala's delicate moily or appam and stew. Mural has always treated the kitchen as his "second home" even as a trainee commis working the night shift at The Resort, a job he got after he rustled up a grilled sandwich and salad. "There wasn't much work for me to do, so I used to head to the other departments. I'd work at the butchery, prepping for the next day, or learn how to make naan. I was over-enthusiastic and eager to learn," recalls Mural. While training at the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, the biggest lesson he learnt from Chef Ananda Solomon was to work hard without glancing at the time. It's this passion he tries to inculcate in his staff at The Song of India today.
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Eighteen years since he first began working as a trainee Mural has realised one of his biggest dreams. "I'm very proud of what we've achieved," says Mural. "For a chef, being awarded a Michelin star is like winning the Academy Award." At 43, the recognition has come early he believes, realising that with the star come great expectations and the burden of retaining if not upping the restaurant's status.
VIVE LE FRANCE
"I'm inspired by the French style and love using contrasting colours and sweeping brushstrokes across the plate," says Manjunath Mural. Plating and presentation are important, believes the chef, and over the next year he plans to write a handbook for students teaching them how to plate Indian food. "When I was in college, it was very difficult to find a good Indian book that talked about good presentation techniques," he says.
MAKING MUSIC: The menu is divided into traditional and signature dishes.
TRADITIONAL: Kothimbir vadi, papri chat, dhokla and Jaipuri tikki
SIGNATURE: Kashmiri lamb chops, salmon marinated with tandoori masala and topped with caviar, flambeed leg of lamb
PRICE: Lunch
Set Meal @ $30-40
A La Carte $55-125
Dinner
Set Meal @$49-129
A La Carte $55-125
WHERE The Song of India, 33 Scotts Road, Singapore Website: www.thesongofindia.com