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French culinary techniques, Japanese ingredients, Southeast Asian soul – Ce Soir's positioning can feel a little abstract, but trust us when we say that any sliver of cynicism dissolves in about three bites. Located along the quiet Portsdown Road, the restaurant's floral-splashed dining room opens out to a garden terrace, setting the stage for romantic proposals. But this isn't just a place for popping the question. The real reason to visit is the cooking by Michelin Young Chef Award 2024 winner Seth Lai, whose dishes feel deeply personal yet surprisingly resonant.
The current winter menu is a nostalgic journey through Chef's memories of his hometown, Teluk Intan, a small town in Perak, Malaysia. Choose between the three-course ($68 per pax) or five-course lunch ($108 per pax), but for the full experience, you'll want to commit to the eight-course dinner menu ($228 per pax). One of the most charming details of the experience is a slim illustrated booklet placed on each table. Inside, you'll find the original home-style dishes that inspired each course. We recommend tasting each dish first, then guessing what it's meant to represent.
A snack trio in the dinner menu sets the tone. An obsiblue prawn arrives crunchy and warm, brightened with kinkan (kumquat). Its citrus notes carry forward to the next bite: ankimo (monkfish liver) set within a hollowed-out mandarin. You are instructed to drizzle the juice over it, adding a refreshing tartness that cuts through the ankimo's richness. Then comes the wagyu, green mango and lime leaf tart. For anyone who grew up in a Malaysian household, this one hits like a memory capsule that's scented with common pantry ingredients – barring the wagyu, of course. It's at this point that we start to get a sense of what Chef is trying to achieve.
The kanpachi course paints an elegant picture of rojak, where guava granita melts over the amberjack slices with hints of umeboshi. Small shavings of jambu (rose apple) provide a delightful crunch, but what ties it all together is the whisper of hae gou (prawn paste), faintly detectable and retaining its savoury depth while losing that characteristic funk.
As the soup is served, it feels as if you're momentarily transported to a Cantonese dining room. The makeshift bowl, fashioned out of a wintermelon husk, is packed with melon cubes, octopus, Japanese snow crab and Chinese peanuts. As it is set down, the unmistakable aroma of dried cuttlefish hits first, followed by the broth – deep and complex, with a waft of smokiness. The cubes of melon are gently cooked, retaining their natural, delicate sweetness. And while it's all too common for Cantonese soups to come with mushy peanuts and toughened meat, the peanuts here are surprisingly crunchy, while the octopus chunks are impossibly tender. Even the melon seeds have absorbed all the flavours and can be eaten on their own. Needless to say, we sip it down to the last drop.
When modern Asian dishes aren't executed well, the common response is often, "Just give me the real thing". But Ce Soir's interpretation of assam fish doesn't make you miss the original. Sawara, or Spanish mackerel, is beautifully handled, such that none of those intense, fishy notes remain. Here, it is perfectly succulent – almost buttery, in fact – and not flaky at all, with the skin lightly charred for a hint of bitterness. The tamarind sauce, despite not having a trace of spice, is excellent. However, when eaten with the cabbage and mussels, the flavours of the fish are completely overshadowed. The solution is simple: save a piece of the mackerel to enjoy at the end, just as we did.
Our meal is pleasantly interrupted by the arrival of the house bread, beautifully glossed with a sweet and sticky star anise glaze. It's enjoyable on its own, but add a knob of butter and it becomes even more luxurious. We are less impressed by the following lobster course, built around chickpea miso and a splash of yellow wine. The dish is inspired by kacang putih, but save for the chickpea sauce, the idea isn't quite conveyed; the lobster itself feels more indulgent than necessary for the story, and the foam redundant in our view.
In any case, it is promptly rescued by Chef's rendition of dang gui duck, which has my dining companion and me singing praises. Served pink with a marmite-glazed skin, it's on the leaner side, just the way we like it. A dang gui (angelica root) sauce pools beneath, aromatic and addictive enough to make you crave a bite of rice. But in its place, maitake mushrooms and carrot purée are served on the side to give the dish more dimension.
The rice arrives in the final savoury course as a colourful five-grain medley featuring spelt, barley, red rice, brown rice and corn. The vibrant dish is a nod to pao fan, a Malaysian fried porridge. Each mouthful is flavour-packed, thanks to the Japanese seafood stock in which it is simmered, plus bits of sakura ebi. All the rich flavours are balanced by tiny studs of diced pickled cucumbers, providing a nice acidity. It's satisfying on its own, with the South African abalone on the side playing second fiddle. Even desserts are a walk down memory lane. Red dates and pears star in the first dessert, inspired by tong sui, while small bites of black sesame-flavoured tarts and a kaya-coffee confection complete an already impressive meal.
Ce Soir is, at its core, a very grounded tribute to Malaysian flavours and Chef Seth's heritage, interpreted through the lens of French cooking and the superiority of Japanese ingredients. The dishes are thoughtful but never needlessly complicated, the flavours clear and the references heartfelt. This winter menu at Ce Soir runs until mid-April. After that, Chef Seth will pivot to a spring offering, and whispers suggest he has been experimenting with chee cheong fun, among other familiar dishes. If this season is any indication, you'll want to make those bookings early.
Find out more about Ce Soir here. Ce Soir is located at 5B Portsdown Road, #01-03, Singapore 139311.
Time Out's rating: 5/5
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