Channel News Asia SINGAPORE: Nestled
in a little-known corner of Labrador Park - an area famous for its
secret tunnels and pre-war relics - there's a new restaurant in the
middle of the park's lush greenery.
From cold tom yum martini to
grilled tuna steak with lime and chili vinaigrette, the owner of Thai
restaurant Tamarind Hill describes its menu to be a combination of
traditional Thai flavours with modern interpretations.
CEO of
Samadhi Retreats, Federico Asaro, said: "We have a foie gras dish with a
mango salad which is very traditional Thai, but the mango salad - the
mango is actually puree, and it sits on top of the foie gras. So it's
very Thai in flavours but yet not."
But what Mr Asaro wants to
sell is not just a meal rather, a dreamy holiday you can take to a green
haven without leaving Singapore's shores.
Tamarind Hill has
several branches in Malaysia, and the one in Singapore is the latest to
open after some five years of planning.
Federico said: "All the
Tamarinds are surrounded by nature. And that's one of the strongest
criteria. We call ourselves rustic, rustic luxe. We provide spaces, and
the concept is not just about food, but it's an overall experience.
"People
will say to me that they don't feel like they're - whether it's in
Kuala Lumpur or in Singapore - we've had many people come through the
door now and say, wow I feel like I'm on holiday somewhere. And it is a
holiday for them because the average person sits in the restaurant for
about three hours."
The natural settings is enough to have urban dwellers believe they've stumbled upon an untouched part of urban Singapore.
Labrador
Park is just a stone's throw away from Singapore's city centre, but at
Tamarind Hill, it feels quite like another world amid the lush greenery.
And
to add a touch of mystery to the place, nobody really knows who built
the house, or why it was built, except that it was once used as the
Malay regiment quarters. It took the owners four months to refurbish the black and white colonial house.
Director
of Samadhi Retreats, Maple Loo Asaro, said: "To me, it's really fate
that we stumbled upon Labrador Park because it's so scarce in Singapore
to find a gem, a gem spot like this that fits right into our philosophy
in the company - surrounded by greens. At heart, we're very much nature
lovers, me and my husband."
The restaurant is peppered with
antiques and accessories - personal trophies for the couple who love
road trips in Southeast Asia.
Staying true to their love for
nature, the restaurant's furnishings are made from recycled wood even if
it costs some 30 per cent more than new wood.
Federico Asaro
said: "We definitely don't want to cut down green spaces just to build
our properties. What we use - recycled woods - these are woods that have
been used to build other structures in the past, such as shop blocks in
Malaysia, a lot of the small towns in Malaysia.
"Eighty years
ago, they were built with wood. Today, they are moving from wood to
bricks. So I have a group of people in Malaysia that go around and buy
up old houses, buy up factories, shop blocks, any kind of wooden
structures. We buy them, we bring them back to Kuala Lumpur.
"I have a team there that then restores the wood, and we use the wood for our construction.
"We
also work with two communities in particular in Malaysia, Orang Asli,
one in Negri Sembilan and another one in Pahang, and so we work with the
Orang Asli or the aboriginal communities in Malaysia to source for
materials such as wood, thatched roofs and other sort of natural
materials, rattan, things like that."
Even if Tamarind Hill is slightly off the beaten track, Mr Asaro isn't too worried about not having enough patrons.
After
all, with only 29 tables spread over 10,000 square feet, the irony is,
quietness is what they hope will draw customers back.
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