Chef Jordan Keao turns up the heat at Butcher’s Block with a new Summer IMUA menu that channels his Hawaiian heritage through smoke, fire and seasonal produce.
Butcher’s Block at Raffles Hotel Singapore recently unveiled its latest summer IMUA menu, which sees Chef de Cuisine Jordan Keao continues his philosophy of elevating the butcher’s counter to one that coaxes flavour from ingredients with fire and smoke.
IMUA is Hawai’ian for “moving forward with strength and spirit”, and it’s a reflection of Chef Keao’s Hawaiian heritage while exploring the seasonal change of ingredients and expressing them through wood-fire culinary techniques. Along the way he brings in whole-animal butchery and zero-waste practices, while folding memories and flavours of Hawaii into a contemporary tasting menu without turning the evening into an extended lesson in culinary anthropology.
Expect to experience a slew of fresh offerings with wood fire smoke taking centerstage. Kicking off the theme you start with Summer Squash and Zucchini Tartlet with smoked burrata, and locally-sourced Razor Clams with smoked trout roe.
Bringing some welcome refreshing respite is the Lomi Lomi Kombu Cured Big Eye Ahi, where beet-cured Big Eye Ahi and smoked kanpachi with tomato sorbet, marigold oil and tomato water combine for a lighter interplay of smoke, acidity and sweetness.
Among the highlights? It is perhaps one of the dishes that best explains Butcher’s Block.
The Huli-Huli Dry-Aged Duck — inspired by the famous Hawaiian huli-huli barbeque chicken which is cooked over a revolving spit over wood — sees Malaysian duck aged for 21 days before being slowly roasted over fire, accompanied by duck-leg rillette, smoked plum and plum wine gastrique. Chef Keao’s version may not replicate the traditional rotisserie technique, yet is considerably more elaborate with slow-roasting where fire does what fire does best: rendering fat, crisping skin and adding enough smoke to perfume every inch of meat.
Then there’s Grilled Western Australian Marron, a seasonal delight with Western Australia’s iconic native freshwater crayfish marron grilled over coals and its sweet flesh is complemented with crème fraîche, caramelised parsnip purée and makrut lime. This dish is particularly personal to Chef Jordan, a throwback to his childhood of catching crawfish in Hawaii’s mountain streams.
After all that smoke, fat and protein comes dessert sensibly avoids excess. Calamansi Kakigori brings together shaved ice with dried longan ice cream, osmanthus “noodles”, and caramelised ginger pudding presented in a cloud of dry ice “smoke” that’s bright, cold and aromatic, with enough acidity to reset the palate.
The meal is concluded with Calamansi Kakigori, a combination of calamansi shaved ice, dried longan ice cream, osmanthus “noodles” and caramelised ginger pudding that is presented in a cloud of dry ice “smoke”.
The Summer IMUA menu is priced at S$178++ for lunch and S$238++ for dinner, with tailored wine pairings at S$138++ and S$168++ respectively. Those feeling particularly celebratory can opt for a Dom Pérignon Prestige Pairing at S$388++ for lunch or S$408++ for dinner, served for the whole table. The menu runs until 31 August 2026.
[Photo credits: Raffles Singapore]
Butcher’s Block
Address #02-02 Raffles Arcade, 328 North Bridge Rd, Singapore 188719 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 12pm to 2pm on Wednesday to Saturday; 6pm to 9.30pm on Tuesday to Saturday; Closed on Sunday and Monday
Tel (65) 6412 1816
Web www.butchersblock.com.sg
Instagram @butchersblocksg
Reservations book here
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