The idea of home was a little blurry for Chef Remy Lefebvre, who spent over two decades shuttling between places like Africa, France, Mexico, Spain, the Middle East, India, Hong Kong, the Caribbean, and finally, Singapore.
Today, you could say that he has found a slice of it with the recent opening of Casa Restaurant, which boasts contemporary woodfire gastronomy in a homely, yet elegant setting. Casa is, in a way, a microcosm of Chef Lefebvre’s journey on a plate, taking inspiration from the various places he was based in at one point.
Here, the season’s choice offerings, whether from the land or from the sea, are the main stars and are transformed through the culinary techniques Chef Lefebvre has picked up on his journeys. For example, the Blue Mussels dish is his take on chawanmushi, where the coconut cream custard is dotted with fresh seafood like blue mussels, smoked eel, seasonal peaches, and Madras curry from India.
At Casa, something as humble as the egg is transformed into the Perfect Egg, where an expertly cooked egg with wobbly whites and a runny yolk is accompanied by wild pepper from Madagascar, Thai basil salsa verde, charcoal-cooked razor clams, and sweet corn. Meanwhile, Chef Lefebvre’s expert handling of fish is seen the Aged Rock Bass dish, which is first aged for seven days in a chiller. Shio koji is then brushed on the skin of the fish lending it flavor and a crisp texture once it’s grilled, and then served with lemon puree, sauce vierge, and sauteed kampot rice with sofrito.