Forest

Brace yourself. this is gonna be a long review. Firstly, I love how Sam Leong’s Forest menu goes according to the seasons ala Fashion style. My visit was the Autumn/​Winter 2013 (or as fashionistas will call it. A/​W 2013) season. I ordered the Autumn set which consists of one starter, one main and the dessert.
We served a complimentary starter which was really refreshing. It’s some kind if cold tomato with some kind of iced fruit shavings with a leaf of mint on top and pardon me for being uncultured. some unidentifiable thing that looks like a truffle but doesn’t taste like one… but maybe it is? This complimentary dish it’s quite unique but a little sour. and because it’s complimentary, it’s serving size is tiny.
My first dish was the Pan-​seared Chicken Breast with herbs and apple salad. Minimal, healthy, oil-​free and delicious. I literally wiped the plate clean with my fork.
My main which is the Wok-​Fried Japanese Pearl Rice with Squid Ink accompanied with Seared Hokkaido Scallop came next. I found the presentation really interesting. If I didn’t know better, I’ll think it’s some kind of odd birthday cake. The ‘candle’ stuck above is actually leek. The fried rice. I suspect the squid ink was infused into it because it didn’t stain the fork or my teeth. It wasn’t oily and the scallop was perfectly seared. This is definitely a dish I can get addicted to.
The last dish which is the Forest Delight. well, I was a bit annoyed with the waiter initially when I was ordering this. I asked him what is the Forest Delight? The waiter told me it was dessert. It took every ounce of self control not to roll my eyes at him. Yes, I know it is DESSERT. I want to know WHAT exactly it is? Anyway, I found out for myself when the dessert was served to me. It’s coconut pudding with aloe vera and orange popping candy. Yes, you did not read this wrong. The chef put popping candy into the dessert! I could hear the candy crackling in the coconut husk.
Sounds like an odd combination? But it actually works! The sweetness of the aloe vera cubes, combined with the crackling of the candy and the somewhat neutral taste of the coconut pudding makes a pretty good marriage of ingredients. A really interesting taste.
Though the food servings may be small by other restaurants’ standards, I find the set just nice. No point eating till you feel like throwing up right? I got to savour each and every bite. and this is a plus point to me! So if you ever are around Equarius Hotel, do drop by Sam Leong’s Forest. It’s worth a trip!

i feel like a poor unpaid writer waiting for my big break!
sitting in a parisian café, immersing in culture, seeking inspiration.
but i’m lepaking in old town white coffee, immersing in food, soaking in sweat.
forest…occupies 30%(down from 50%) of earth’s total land mass.
forest…composes of an overstory and an understory.
forest…provides a diverse range of resources.
sam’s forest… probably occupies 30% of equarius hotel’s land mass.
the size of the restaurant is big and therein lies it’s achilles heel.
the ratio of the staff to plot is just not enough to ensure enough attention.
we arrived before the couple next to us but they got their amuse bouche and not us?
to the staff’s credit, after my open rant ala tarzan, they fixed it.
the rest of the evening went smoothly and the sequence of meal then came to us first.
the staff also kindly offered to take a photo for us without any prompting.
hot and cold water, refilled as and when they emptied.
dishes explained thoroughly as they were served.
sam’s forest… composes of an art worthy overstory and a well designed understory.
super high ceiling, as if purpose built, to accommodate the ‘trees’ that grew indoors!
the lighting, wood, greenery and leaf motifs created a nice thematic visual ambience.
you can just lean back, look up and imagine the birds chirping away.
however, the high ceiling also contributed to it being somewhat noisy.
the understory is also well integrated in theme.
from the plates, menu, wallpaper, panelling to the wooden fixtures, they sang a similar tune.
i can imagine how the sound of crickets will turn this into a forest theme park!
sam’s forest… provides the freshest produce from all over the world.
oysters from oz, crab from sri lanka, lamb from hobbiton country, numbing sze chuan peppers and young coconuts from malaysia?
he then carefully and creatively assembles them together making sure that textures, colours and tastes compliment.
plating skills however may need improvement or maybe they just need a trolley to transport the finished dish from the far away kitchen?
my only complain with respect to taste is the numbing effect of those infamous sze chuan peppers!
to me it detracted from the crab mapo tofu rice dish.
also, the crab pieces were tiny, unlike what was featured in their distributed write up.
maybe a victim of restaurant week?
my favourite dish has to be the lamb chop, whose bone was chopped.
a nice caramelized flesh perfectly cooked within.
too bad i couldn’t enjoy a finger licking good time as the protruding rib bones were severed.
in all, it was a good meal comprising a nice sour pruny, tomatoey start finished with a sweet crackling coconuty end.
and i can see the forest for the trees…
p. s. please drive, take a cab or wait for the free shuttle that comes once every 15 mins to take you from hotel michael to hotel equarius. alas, i just missed the shuttle and though the walk is manageable, it left me sweating profusely!

Serving up contemporary Chinese cuisine with a western presentation, I’ve got to say I left Forest impressed with the food and what chef Sam Leong had to offer.
While the food isn’t exactly cheap here, the décor and ambience, together with the wonderfully created dishes here more than make up for it. The portions for certain dishes are somewhat minute, but overall, they leave with enough room for the next course and wanting more. And by the end of it, you’ll definitely leave filled and satisfied.
But what I like best about it all is that the pacing for the food was timed remarkably well and the attentive service that was showered upon us the entire time we were there. Apart from its location, which makes getting there a hassle, I’ve got to say I can’t find much wrong, but everything great in it.