Jiak Modern Tzechar Esplanade, Singapore
After tasting the delicious food at Jiak Modern Tzechar (HillV2), I was excited to visit Jiak Modern Tzechar Esplanade, their downtown outlet, right by the Marina Bay waterfront.
Jiak Modern Tzechar Esplanade is a bigger outlet than Jiak Modern Tzechar HillV2. The 3/4 windows lend themselves to gorgeous views of Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Marina Bay Financial District.
Jiak Special S$5
Calpis Soda Fizz with Red Tea Jelly and Passionfruit Puree
This is really fast becoming my favorite drink. It is not overly sweet. It has a slight acidity from the fruit and soda, yet the red tea jelly adds chewiness and an oriental flavour. A very complex and well-conceived drink.
Longan Soda Fizz with Red Tea Jelly S$3.8
More of that delicious red tea jelly! Since this drink is colourless, the red tea jelly really stands out visually.
Curry Assam Fish S$20
What a grand spectacular entrance! Imagine if you were hosting guests and the server brings out this steaming, colourful plate! You really gain a lot of “face”. As for the flavours, what I really like about like was that the sour assam flavour was really mild. Usually, dishes with assam use too much assam, so much so that the dish has a strong, overpowering sour stench. This, however, since the assam flavour is very mild, feels much more refined.
Prawn Paste Chicken (small – S$10)
I love the umami of the prawn paste. Though deep fried, I loved that it was not too greasy.
Beans with Salted Fish (small – S$8)
This dish needs to be stir-fried really dry with a bit of wok-hei. It delivers exactly that!
Salted Egg Prawns (small – S$18)
I don’t usually like dishes with salted egg and I never really understood the whole salted egg craze. But I like this one, mainly because they were very generous with the salted egg paste. The salted egg paste is savoury and umami. In many restaurants, they don’t use enough of the yolk so that the paste is only salty. So boring.
All in all, the food really lives up to my expectations. With its fantastic central location and gorgeous views, if I were entertaining friends from overseas, Jiak Modern Tzechar Esplanade would be my number 1 choice to host them. Also, Jiak Modern Tzechar Esplanade has received Halal certification, so Muslims can enjoy tzechar dishes too.
Jiak Modern Tzechar Esplanade
8 Raffles Ave, #02-14 The Esplanade Mall, Singapore 039802
Tel: +65 6252 8765
