Harummanis

Harummanis is the first local restaurant opened by Singapore-born chef Akmal Anuar, who heads award-winning joints in Dubai like 11 Woodfire and 3 Fils. Located in the heart of Kampong Gelam, the restaurant has a clear aim of bringing modern Malay cuisine closer to the Malay community in Singapore. In dishes like the ketoprak ($20), Chef Akmal puts a twist on the traditional Indonesian salad made of tofu and bean sprouts, replacing the usual peanut sauce with Japanese sesame sauce and adding kombu. And with the batang pinang ($24), he incorporates wagyu beef tenderloin, spicy petis, jicama and white truffle in a Malay rendition of beef carpaccio. Takeaways are equally welcome. Chef Akmal recommends the epok-epok ($24) – a Malay curry puff if you will – made with French puff pastry and stuffed with wagyu mince and potatoes.