kUN 坤: Amoy Street’s Sichuan Omakase shines in a flourish of Spice, pickles, and elegance
Rooted to our seats, my gaze arrested by the graceful movement of the man clad in white, his attention wholly trained on the regal wooden counter that separated us.
Spoon in hand, the figure donned with a tall chef’s hat carefully nested mounds of flesh-pink chunks into shallow crevices punched into a hollow transparent acrylic tube.
I continued looking on with beguilement, bouncing guesses in my thoughts, processing what I was witnessing as the first course of our omakase at Kun was patiently plated in front of us.
Bewilderment is natural —Kun is a wild-card experience for me, sorely lacking in knowledge and discernment of Sichuan cuisine beyond mala.
Voguish as the cuisine may be in Singapore, it is claustrophobically compressed into a narrow niche. The public’s perceived best Sichuan food restaurants rehash ubiquitous heavy flavours of mala stir-frys, sauerkraut fish, and la zi ji — hence our knowledge was similarly in a shallow ditch.
Against the prevailing current, Kun’s approach differs as it proudly parades Western China’s finest flavours and techniques, but constructs the whole experience with greater focus to intricacies.
The restaurant stages everything in the form of a Sichuan-cuisine omakase (from $98 for lunch 5-course or $168 for dinner 8-course), an experience that pays respect to all the eclectic flavours neglected by Singapore’s dining trends.
It is haute cuisine, it is exquisite, and it is entrancing to explore.
It’s not just mala
That thrill is wonderfully chaperoned in by an appetiser highlighting the region’s underrated fermentation methods, as Kun leads into the meal with the aforementioned suspicious pink chunks.
Using fruit and vegetables, the restaurant presents a fete of three pickles, starting with Pickled Chinese Kale and ending with a luscious Pickled Cherry Radish.
This was a mesmerising journey of plush textures, spice, effervescence and fermented zing — maybe the best pickles I’ve tasted.
Still keeping it mild, a cauldron of Kun’s Mushroom Consomme with Fish Maw and Morel Mushroom followed.
As with the best nourishing Chinese broths, it tastes clean and delicate but also elegantly fills you up with the fragrance of mushroom with a touch of meaty umami.
I drained every last molecule of that supremely comforting broth and relished the delectably juicy morel and silky fish maw, but still hungered for more
Following that, Kun slowly amps the flavours as it continues the parade of courses with a tangy vinegar-soaked Fresh Hokkigai Surf Clam, then potently spice-laden Stir-Fry Black Tiger Prawn, before the Crispy Australia Angus Short Ribs with Black Vinegar Glaze hits the table.
Redolent of gu lou yok, the glaze sleekly coats over the shatteringly crunchy outer layer, cracking open to a deluge of sumptuous beef rib juice, mingling harmoniously with the feisty and fruity black vinegar.
Beef appears to be a protein that Kun excels at, as the Poached New Zealand Beef Tongue was equally stunning in its mouthfeel.
Quite a fascinating look at how beef tongue would fit into Sichuan cuisine — ribbons of pristinely soft and bouncy beef tongue come doused in a sauce lushly inundated with veggie sweetness, while bodaciously jazzed up with a big slap of spice.
This dish is the paragon of Kun’s cooking ethos —- guests are greeted with that potent spice often associated with Sichuan cuisine, but it’s incorporated with absolute finesse into a very elegant dish.
Weightless cold rice noodles
At a certain point, the chef fished out a mound of faintly translucent white gelatin, placing it right in our view. It piqued our interest — what could this be?
He then proceeded to daintily scrape it with a slotted spoon, pulling forth slivers of Cold Rice Noodles, which he tossed into a bowl and mixed with a myriad of seasonings.
As simple and unostentatious as it is, this was all about the incredibly velvety mouthfeel, where the weightless noodles sat on the tongue and proceeded to dissolve, while the coldness played the perfect foil to the piquant and spicy seasoning.
Sublime.
Dry-braising is the next classic technique from the Sichuan canon to be showcased in Kun’s Dry Braised Sea Cucumber dish, where a tiny amount of braise liquid is used and is soaked up without a trace.
The sea cucumber sports a delightfully soft and gelatinous chew and is further bolstered with the sharp earthy twang of a 20-year-old bean paste.
Kun also showcases their luxe take on dim sum, serving Steamed Chinese Dumplings with Perigord Truffle Stuffing as the penultimate savoury dish.
Impeccably thin skin and the vintage red oil and vinegar combo make for a great foundation but the truffle elevates it from your usual dumplings.
Similar to their cold noodles, the dumplings are straightforward, but the lavish burst of truffle perfume bolsters it with much more flair.
However, the closing dish of Preserved Vegetable Fried Rice with Abalone and Diced Morel Mushroom felt more pedestrian to us.
As with everything, Kun’s technical details are all airtight, with rice grains moist and well-separated and fabulously interspersed with crunchy Chinese sprouts.
Ultimately though, it felt more like an obligatory rice dish that deviated from the intricacies of other dishes.
We finish with our favourite Boiled Glutinous Rice Balls with Fermente Rice Wine that is just about as good as it gets for this beloved Sichuan dessert and I slump into my chair to let it all sink in for a while.
This omakase journey at Kun was as eye-opening as it gets. The finesse. The esotericism. The huge flavours.
I think Kun is a profound gastronomical journey that would enthrall all food lovers, and probably my best meal in 2024.
There’s no doubt that anyone looking to understand Sichuan food would relish their experience here.
Make a reservation online before visiting Kun at Amoy Street for its Sichuan omakase.
KUN (坤)
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- Address: 74 Amoy St, Singapore 069893
- Hours: (Wed–Sat, Mon) 12pm to 2pm, 6pm to 11pm, (Sun) 6pm to 11pm
*This was an invited tasting