Food review: UsQuBa’s revised menu now boasts rich modern European fare

SINGAPORE — When we first visited the brand new UsQuBa at One Fullerton, it was touted as a Scottish restaurant and whisky bar. While there were Scottish diver scallops and the mention of black pudding on the menu, little else seemed to qualify the restaurant as Scottish, except perhaps its impressive range of Scotch whiskies.

Fast forward a month later and UsQuBa has settled on its identity as a modern European grill and whisky bar. In other words, while the whisky and decor are the same, the food is not.

THE VIBE

The sprawling restaurant is lined with full glass windows that flood the dining room with daylight and offer a lovely view of the Marina Bay area. The setting — lots of plump booth seats, wood and glass — feels rather formal and was probably appointed to attract the corporate accounts that populate the neighbouring Central Business District.

WHAT TO ORDER

Its name comes from the Gaelic word “usquqbaugh”, which means “water of life”, or as the Scots know it, “whisky”. And though it no longer calls itself a Scottish restaurant, the menu here holds on to some distinctly British accents. To wit, there is a barley cake made by emulsifying barley with bone marrow, and a classic spiced lamb shepherd’s pie.

The former is served beneath a Mediterranean-style Aberdeen Angus steak tartar (S$25), while the latter comes as part of the Tasting of Lamb set (S$78 for two people) that is completed with a grilled lamb rack, creamy cabbage and mint pesto, and a delicious bowl of roasted snap peas and asparagus.

Group executive chef Guven Uyanik spent much of his early career working at Gordon Ramsay restaurants such as Claridge’s and Maze. He has since gone on to forge his own success, most recently as executive chef of Hong Kong Parkview Hotels and Resorts.

The Ramsay influence, though, has stuck. Uyanik’s food at UsQuBa is distinctly rich yet elegantly flavoured, and firmly rooted in classical French traditions. That means sauces play a large part in his cuisine, evidenced in the earthy porcini sauce that cradles the serving of roasted Yamaguchi baby chicken (S$36). On the same plate are an ample hunk of deftly seared foie gras and a quenelle of incredibly buttery mashed potatoes that promise to send you to your cardiologist. You can almost hear Ramsay saying: “And there you have it — simple, rich, delicious.”

WHAT NEEDS WORK

Where the kitchen falls short is at dessert. Though the reinterpretations of local favourites such as chendol are earnest (his Chendol My Way, S$14, comprises a slice of pandan cake glazed with gula melaka and layered with cream and red beans, a chendol macaron and a scoop of attap seed ice cream), they come off a little clumsy on the plate.

VERDICT

There is much to love about this restaurant, especially if you are the sort that prizes old-school European cuisine, the kind that doesn’t stint on fat and butter. That each dish can also be paired with a glass of rare single cask or single malt whisky, should draw whisky lovers with deep pockets. ANNETTE TAN

UsQuBa Grill & Whisky Bar

Where: #02-03B One Fullerton

Telephone: 87236378

Opening hours: Monday to Thursday 11.30am to midnight; Friday and Saturday 11.30am to 1am; Sunday 11am to 10pm.