Sushi Muni: fresh and flirty

the better bisque, FMT, a paywall pushed back

pepper-crusted ribeye is the correct thing to order at Atout

Food of the week:

This week, brunch has been a bore and hawker food and sushi take centre stage. Was hyped to try the Matcha at Echo at the new hip Kada, but was let down by its banal milkiness. A seemingly-harmless croque monsieur at Merci Marcel was equally disappointing– far from even the chain standards of places like Paul, where at least filling exists and the bread isn’t a workout to chew. Still, I can’t be too mad at the maddening rich savouriness of Bedok 85’s mee pok, perfect with a gentle sweetness too. And then there’s the wet milk cake at Dirty Supper with every pore saturated with sweet milk and melting smoked ice cream, and the richest lobster bisque of your life at Atout, dripping thick and heady, and their equally impressive black pepper-crusted ribeye, and it must be the ribeye ok over any other cut, luxuriating in a golden smooch of brandy sauce.

today’s review: Singapore’s new but humble omakase launch at International Plaza (special thanks to Charlotte Kwok for the invite!)

Science of the week:

Was at Amili’s CME talk over the weekend, where doctors of all stripes– clinicians, naturopaths, you name it– gathered for an update from our founders on the latest gut microbiome research. The spotlight was on our FMT (faecal microbiota transplant– yum!) and the seriously game-changing shift to an oral capsule method; a huge leap from the tradition of sedation and a clinical setting. Now, it’s as simple as swallowing a few pills and stomaching it. It was great connecting with like-minded individuals who are finally seeing the gut as the epicentre of health, and how a little 16S sequencing can unlock some special insights.

Feeling privileged to know such pioneering people in the gut health space here at Amili

Insight of the week:

It’s a continuation of Origin again, where David Christian outlined the three acts of the Anthropocene (humans becoming the dominant force in shaping the Earth’s systems). First, the Industrial Revolution, where large-scale land use and fossil fuel combustion reshaped Earth's systems. Then came World War II and the boom in its wake, marking the moment when human activity drove climate change and mass extinctions on an unprecedented scale! Now, we stand in the third act: a shift toward sustainability, the influx of AI, yet shadowed by the looming threat of ecological and societal collapse. Whether this ends in tragedy or redemption depends entirely on how we choose to navigate it I guess.

Recipe of the week:

back in my heavy VSCO-ed photo days

Making cookies with my cousin over the festive period reminded me how much joy a simply recipe can bring. So here I present ease mixed with grace in the form of simple molasses cookies, from not-too-old archives! These are accidentally vegan, so you can use egg instead of applesauce in the recipe if so desired.

Chewy Molasses Cookies (makes 8-10 medium cookies)

Ingredients

50g almond flour

60g cornstarch

pinch of salt

120g almond butter, store-bought or homemade

120g applesauce

50g sugar

1 tsp ground ginger (optional)

1 tsp cinnamon (not optional)

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp lemon juice+1 tsp vanilla extract

3 tbsp sugar (I used coconut, but you can use white/brown)

Optional icing: 1 tsp lemon juice+ 5 tbsp icing sugar

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180C (350F). Line two baking trays with parchment paper. Tip all the ingredients in a bowl and whisk everything together with an electric mixer or a fork. Break off large chunks of the dough, roll into balls and place on the parchment paper. Press down lightly so that and bake in the preheated oven for 15-18 minutes. Once done, leave to rest on the counter to cool; they should be quite soft to touch, but don’t do that too much else they’ll just crumble and fall apart. Make the icing and drizzle onto the cookies.