Diamond Kitchen | 4/5

SINGAPORE — When a longstanding neighbourhood restaurant closes, its replacement has big shoes to fill. Thankfully, Diamond Kitchen — which occupies the space vacated by the now-defunct Kim Moh Restaurant at Laguna Park — more than holds its own.

Opened last November by cousins Josh Chou, 30, and Lambert Chen, 27, the restaurant has a name that reflects its interior, which is decked out in glitzy chandeliers and strings of glass beads hanging from the ceiling. All that dramatic sheen does seem out of place in a humble suburban neighbourhood, so it would be safe to say the allure of this restaurant rests squarely on its food.

The Chinese menu by Chef de Cuisine Kevin Lau is underpinned by a divine superior stock that he brews dailty with ingredients such as chicken bones, dried scallops and salted fish. It is used in dishes like clam bee hoon (S$12), a dish with smooth rice vermicelli and fresh clams, and a superb superior chicken soup (S$18).

Chef Lau is a deft hand at balancing and distilling the flavours of his ingredients so the resulting dishes are refined and comforting. In the clam bee hoon, for instance, there is perfect equilibrium between the delicately briny clams and the flavoursome stock. It’s great that the kitchen is generous with the clams, too. You could eat two with each spoonful of bee hoon and still have some left over when you’ve finished the noodles.

Zi char classics such as champagne pork ribs (S$12) and salted egg squid (S$12) were also stellar, again toeing that line between rusticity and refinement with impressive balance. The tender, boneless morsels of pork were full of deep, piquant and smoky flavours, while the squid was generously coated with the salted egg yolk and deftly fried so it was crisp on the outside and yet fabulously tender within.

There’s also a lovely dish of homemade bean curd in savoury pumpkin sauce (S$12) that once again showcased the merits of Chef Lau’s superior stock and his skill at balancing flavours and textures. The saffron-hued sauce bore only a whisper of sweetness from the pumpkin. The bars of bean curd, which were just on the right side of wobbly, were given a quick fry to yield a light crust that made the sauce stick to them.

The restaurant also offers some premium seafood, including lobster, Sri Lankan crab and live fish from the tanks. Again, the superior stock lent itself well to the garlic lobster (market price). Steamed gently with wolfberries and sauteed garlic, the shellfish was beautifully cooked, although it could have had a little more garlic.

One runs the risk of a homogenous-tasting menu if you use the same base for many dishes, but the fact that almost every dish we tried was distinct and delicious speaks volumes of the chef’s skill and sense of taste. Be warned, though, that the service is often slow. But there is redemption in the happily affordable prices. ANNETTE TAN

Diamond Kitchen

Where: 5000F Marine Parade Road, #01-22/23 Laguna Park

Telephone: 6448 0629

Opening hours: Daily, 11am to 2.30pm; 5.30pm to 11pm