What: Amp up the patriotism of August with the best of locally sourced/farmed seafood—that’s right, superbly fresh seafood caught from Singapore’s very own shores in the morning, and plated on the table for dinner.

It’s a extremely special (and did I mention fresh) 2-day only, 6-course Marine Treasures Menu dinner partnership between modern European restaurant Porta, located at Park Hotel Clark Quay, and home-grown brand Ah Hua Kelong fish farm.

What to expect: Employing the traditional ways to nurture harvests, such as using only quality live baits and avoiding shortcuts like growth hormones or chemicals, the daily caught seafood is packed with freshness and a wonderful, natural sweetness, which is then elevated with Porta's Executive Chef Alex Phan's modern European culinary techniques.

Our dinner kicked off on a crisp and flavoursome note, with fearfully addictive, delicate white miso crackers matched with a robust, curry-esque sauce.

Then there is this glorious dish of extremely plump XL Lokan Clams—harvested by hand in the morning and transported live to the restaurant, an Ah Hua Kelong representative shared—brimming with a nice, briny freshness, on sweet potato noodles, and topped with Thai basil, green chilli and lime for an appetising dash of heat and acidity.

Specially harvested when the fish is at the range of 2-2.5kg, Ah Hua Kelong presents a Pearl Grouper with a particularly amazing texture—lightly fried exterior breaking to reveal succulent white meat that's tender yet slightly bouncy. The dish is then competed with earthy elements like baby spinach, Shimeji mushroom and kombu.

Chef's deliciously full-flavoured Red Curry with Green Lip Mussels is also an unplanned game of creamy chance. The colour to hope for when you get the mussels is orange—the Ah Hua rep shares the male mussels, which are red-orange, are slightly creamier than their white female counterparts.

Chef showcases another star fish from Ah Hua Kelong. The Sea Bass is pan seared first before finished in the oven, so the skin is beautifully crispy with a hint of smokiness, and the flesh packed with flavour and sweetness from the sea.

Between the refreshing pre-dessert and petit fours is a very unique Raspberries with Chocolate & Salted Caramel. Just when you thought you were done with seafood, he sneaks in some crunchy deep fried fins as a delightful savoury surprise.

The exclusive Porta x Ah Hua Kelong 6-course Marine Treasures Menu is available only for dinners on 15 and 16 August 2018. There are two seatings each evening: 6.30pm-8.30pm, and 8.30pm-10.30pm. The menu is priced at $72 per adult, and $36 per child (5 to 11 years, smaller portions). Diners also stand to win staycation prizes from Porta’s Lucky Dip.

This was an invited media tasting session, though all views expressed are my own.

Porta
Address: Lobby level, Park Hotel Clark Quay, 1 Unity Street, Singapore 237983
Tel: +65 6593 8855