The seasonal tasting menu at modern European eatery Ingleside isn’t just a showcase of fire and fermentation — it’s a rare example of how immersive storytelling can elevate modern dining into a multi-chapter culinary experience.
In a city crowded with contemporary European restaurants — and many good ones at that — it is increasingly difficult for relatively new venues to stand out. But modern steakhouse Ingleside, located in a charming shophouse space along Tras Street, is doing exactly that with a more story-driven narrative.
The restaurant’s recently introduced seasonal experience, ‘Evolving Elements: The Crafts of Fire, Time and Transformation’, is the first chapter of a year-long storytelling arc that looks at culinary craft through the lens of ingredient transformation.
More than just a six-course tasting menu, this is an exploration of techniques such as wood-fire cooking, dry-ageing, and fermentation that has shaped modern cookery.
‘Ignition, the First Spark’ — which the husband says sounds like a new Transformers movie — marks its first chapter, proferring a more delicate profile that features more seafood-forward dishes, with gentle smoke and lighter lacto-ferments.
Following an amuse-bouche, the meal begins in earnest with seasonal black truffles shaved over brioche in Truffle Toast, with miso-enriched mousse to enhance the earthiness of the fungi while an espresso reduction helps balance the richness of the dish. Continuing in the philosophy of highlighting seasonal ingredients, White Asparagus features lacto-fermented asparagus, served a top a smoked cod cream with pine nuts and chorizo oil, a seeming nod to Spanish influence.
Smoked Tuna Tartare is presented with much fanfare, encased in a dome of applewood smoke. Raw tuna cubes are mixed with mushroom shoyu, sesame oil, and yuzu for brightness, with a generous quenelle of caviar to provide a briny lift.
Then comes the main event: Koji Icon Wagyu Striploin MBS 8/9 with 18 hour shio koji marinade, beef tallow pomme puree, and pickled radish. It’s hard to go wrong with such a highly-marbled piece of wagyu, and the pomme puree was as smooth as you’d find in any French restaurant. If I had one quibble? The chef could have skipped the flaked salt; the beef is already perfectly seasoned with the shio koji.
The tasting menu ends with not one, but two cold desserts. Both of incorporate more house ferments. Amazake Sorbet with lemon thyme vinegar granita and herb oil is the more savoury of the two, with the amazake made with the same koji used in the shio koji for the striploin. Pear & Honey is anything but a typical poached pear, with smoked vanilla ice cream, macadamia crumb, and lacto-fermented strawberry honey to finish. A salty parmesan crisp cuts through the sweetness.
While ‘Ignition, The First Spark’ regrettably comes to an end late June, ‘Evolving Elements’ will transition into ‘Embers, the Deepening Glow’ come July, which will feature heavier proteins like pork and duck are paired with stronger ferments like shoyu and garum. This will be followed by ‘Inferno, Roaring Symphony of the Flames’ in November, the richest menu showcasing game meats like pigeon and venison complemented by robust miso.
So yes. What elevates the dining experience at Ingleside above the rest isn’t just its ingredients or technique. It’s immersive storytelling. It’s the sense that you’re not just dining at a fixed point in time, but in motion and part of a bigger story that will evolve over months, returning in richer, deeper form as the seasons shift.
We’ll stay for the next two chapters.
[Photo credits: Ingleside Singapore]
Ingleside
Address 49 Tras St., Singapore 078988
Opening Hours 12pm to 3pm Wednesday to Friday, 6pm to 11pm Tuesday to Saturday
Web www.ingleside.com.sg
Instagram @ingleside.sg
Reservations +65 8838 4393 or Book Here
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