E'spuma Lab sounds rather clinical, like a nice name for an aesthetic clinic. Well, it is actually a new dining option (opened in 21 March 2014) located at the newly renovated PoMo shopping mall that focus on two main cooking techniques in its dishes - Espuma and Sous Vide at pocket-friendly prices!
I have not been to PoMo for almost 5 years! The last time I came here was with my hubby to celebrate his birthday at Ju Ju Hokkaido Hotpot (closed) way back in 2009! This is the new look of the PoMo building.
E'spuma Lab is located near to the entrance to the mall at level 1. It has a very clean look and the machine and equipments for sous vide and espuma are clearly visible at the shopfront. The dining outlet has just been awarded an "A" grade for food hygiene and cleanliness by NEA.
Espuma means foam or froth in Spanish. It is a culinary technique where by an espuma siphon is used to infuse air into the food to create an airily light mouthfeel, giving it a lighter texture.
We were introduced to the team behind E'spuma.
Afterwhich, Mr Andrew Koh, the marketing and Communications Director at E'spuma Lab Pte Ltd gave us an opening speech.
Before the start of the food tasting session, Chef Teo Yeow Siang gave us a live E'spuma Culinary Demonstration.
He demonstrated to us the use of E'spuma onto this dish which I got to try later.
Canister equipped with air cartridges.
Used cartridges from the canisters which you can pick from the counter as a souvenir if you want.
How about Sous Vide? This should be a more familiar term to many of us. For this cooking technique, the meat is vacuum-packed and cooked at a constant temperature using a thermal circulator that you see here. It will help to control the "doneness" of the meat, especially for thicker or uneven cuts of meats which are difficult to ensure consistency. This technique also helps to ensure better cooked eggs without the need to use kitchen timer.
This was one of my favourite dishes: -
(All-Day Breakfast)
Sous Vide Eggs with Smoked Norwegian Salmon
(Topped with Crispy Salmon Skin and Ginger Soyu ($3.80)
It was surprising how the different textures of the runny eggs, crispy salmon skin and smoked salmon could blend so well together, and it definitely left me craving for more! I have always liked the traditional soft-boiled eggs and toast for breakfast but I think it is good to have a change once in a while. New breakfast idea? Mini french baguettes can be requested to be served with this for an additional dollar.
Sauteed Mushrooms with E'spuma Potato Foam, served with mini french baguettes ($6.80)
Generous servings of mushroom chunks were served with the E'spuma potato foam. The potato foam is like a lighter version of mashed potato and it is very smooth too. Although the dish was a bit salty to eat on its own but I think it will go very well with the mini french baguettes that will be served with it. We were not served with baguette during the tasting session as we had other main courses to try and we didn't want to fill up our stomach so fast!
Sam tried their Curry Chicken with E'spuma Potato Foam. In their menu, you can find fusion dishes such as our local delight curry chicken, beef rendang served with variations of E'spuma sauce.
Sam also had Fragrant Rice Served with Cajun Chicken Leg and E'spuma Curry Sauce.
For me, I ordered Fragrant Rice Served with Pan Seared Sou Vide Chicken Breast and E'spuma Pesto Sauce. The chicken breast was really very evenly cooked as a result of sou vide cooking method and was pan seared to give a slight crispy. On first look, I thought the rice looked like nasi briyani with raisins but it actually tasted like our fragrant chicken rice.
Very smooth texture of the chicken breast meat as you can see here. Yummy!
Pauline had a tasting portion of Spaghetti with Swedish Meatballs (Beef) and E'spuma Caramelized Onion Sauce. The actual portion is much bigger at an affordable price of ($6.80). The sauce is served at the side so it is up to individual customer to decide how much sauce they want to mix in their food.
For snacks, we tried the recommended E'spuma Batter D24 Durian Fritters ($3.80 for 5 pieces). Below shows the tasting portion. It had an inner texture that seems like "Goreng Pisang" (Banana Fritters) and the batter was light with a slight crispy. The E'spuma battered fritters were non-greasy and so you can have them take-away conveniently too!
Menu
Their main course is available at a very affordable price and prices stated on the menu are Nett price ie no GST and Service Charge! I think students from nearby SMU and SOTA are in for a treat!
Thanks E'spuma Lab and Mileage Communications for this food tasting session. It was fun and we got to learn more about the culinary techniques using Espuma and Sous Vide!
1 Selegie Road, #01-20/21, PoMo Mall
Singapore 188306
Opening Hours:
Mon to Sat: 11am to 9pm, closed on Sun
Tel: 8222 1113
