Small's V2: Great flavours and bending boundaries with Bread-sushi
Seriously misunderstood. Like an onion, Chef Bjorn Shen’s zany concepts require a little patience to go beyond the surface—even if you are indeed served a dick in your hotpot.
Chef Shen started Small’s small, literally—basically him whipping out creative pizzas from a tiny ‘storeroom’ attached to his Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant Artichoke. The new Small’s has found its own space and also evolved in terms of food.
The journey begins in the sketchy back lanes of King George’s Ave. A nondescript gate and flight of stairs lead to a kitschy, playful studio-sushi bar. ’Bread-sushi’ as a concept—seafood on high hydration, long-aged doughs—is really just suggestion of what to expect from his ‘dough-makase’. I’d say go with an open mind and you’ll find some great flavours and surprises.
The menu is sectioned into snacks, a variety of ‘bread-sushi’—chef shares the pivot to a more protein-heavy menu, so diners no longer stumble out with a food coma—a hotpot/soup, before ending with sweets.
Starting snacks—Charred Chilli with a fail-proof side of mentaiko and juicy Cherry Tomatoes with a bright, intense olive oil dressing—were adequate, though only got interesting at the Wasabi Pea.
Wisps of nostalgia and childhood giggles burst from the crisp crunch of love letters made from pressed bread. The wasabi appreciably builds up but doesn’t detract from the baby peas and fresh hints of yuzu.
Served on fluffy, chewy dough are Shima Aji (striped jack) and Hamachi (kingfish). The former with a familiar touch of aromatic, Cantonese-style aromatic ginger-scallion relish, and the latter stronger on Japanese flavours with housemade kumquat kosho and a wedge of cold seaweed butter that melts instantly to liquid flavour in the mouth.
To match chef’s Schiacciata (think a thin, chewy foccacia), Korean-style tartare (Yukhoe) is reinterpreted with fatty tuna belly. Negitoro of chopped fish is tossed in a house-made bulgogi dressing and sesame seeds, then torched so there’s a savoury smokiness that lingers beyond the juicy strips of sweet nashi pear.
Resembling an angular baby pita wrap is chef’s take on the ubiquitous California Roll. Crab meat, avocado, cucumber strips and tobiko are dressed up with shiso, a tasty nori mayonnaise and yuzu dressing, served in a light, deep-fried dough cone.
The Tenshi No Ebi has a complicated tale—inspired by Chinese-style prawn toast, served in the way of ajo blanco, famed cold Spanish soup—but also easily one of my favs from the evening.
Raw Tenshi No Ebi (angel prawns) is served with extremely flavoursome Spanish migas (croutons) that’s been toasted in prawn oil made with heads and shells of the angel prawns, luxuriating in a rich ajo blanco (made with housemade almond milk, dashi, grape juice, garlic and stale bread). Really enjoyed the complexity of richness and different textures.
His Engawa is a work of art. Torched engawa (flounder fin) served with green papaya strips stewed in lime juice and fish sauce, and topped with a showy ‘snow’ of grated frozen ankimo (monkfish liver) at the table. Beautifully buttery, tender, and I enjoyed that juxtapose of creamy, cool ‘snow’ against green papaya.
His modern Chirashi didn’t quite do anything for me. Scallops, whelk, assorted fish, tamagoyaki, trout roe and pickled cucumber—fresh, natural sweetness pulled together with dollops of uni cream. It’s served on a thin, crunchy lavosh, which felt more like a challenge than a serving tool.
From here, the menu moved to close with some stronger flavoured ‘bread-sushi’ where the focus seems to be more on the accompaniments rather than the seafood - not that I’m complaining. Delicious piquant, refreshing Sambal Matah—loved the punch of lemongrass, garlic and onions—obviously overpowering the Akami, and a tasty vindaye (curry) with the Monga Ika.
Ended with a warming (and cheeky), comforting dashi broth hotpot.
Deserts—black truffle ice cream with perfumey black truffle shavings and a medley of strawberry, yoghurt and olive oil—were lovely, though perhaps strayed too safe and soft (lacking any bite/texture) after such an adventurous meal.
What I had was their Jan 2022 menu. Stay tuned to the Small’s IG page for updates on their monthly menus and book your slots here. Reservations are necessary.
This was an invited media tasting session, though all views expressed are my own.
Small’s
Address: 115 King George’s Ave #02-02, Singapore 208561
Contact: https://www.bjornshen.com/smalls (Reservations required; payment guarantee is required upfront)
Opening hours: Currently only Dinners on Wed-Sat; Lunch, Saturday
