This was a media tasting hosted by Racines.
We were invited for a food tasting at Racines. The restaurant sits on the 5th floor of Sofitel Singapore City Centre. It used to serve French cuisine, but the management has since repositioned the space to focus on local Straits cuisine.
The space
It is a big dining hall. Hotel guests have their breakfast buffet here, and from lunch onwards, it switches to à la carte.
We got a window seat. There was a slight drizzle outside, and the view looks over the shophouse rooftops with the hotel pool below. Pleasant enough.
The ambience is decent. I was hoping for something a bit more cosy, but it works well for a business lunch or corporate setting.
The menu
The menu is titled “Home — Flavours from the Heart” and features three signature dishes: Nyonya Assam Curry Snapper, Racines Nasi Goreng, and Cempedak Crème Brûlée 2.0. The manager mentioned that a v2 menu is coming in a couple of months, with more variety on the way.
Drinks
I ordered the Racines Iced White Tea ($8). It is a cold-brewed white tea with lychee purée, elderflower syrup, and fresh lemon juice. On paper it sounds layered, but the taste came through light. I would have preferred it stronger.
Willie had the As Limau As It Gets ($8) — fresh lime juice with lime cordial and syrup. A more straightforward choice.
Keropok (complimentary starter)
Keropok Belinjo served with a sweet chilli dip. What can go wrong with this. Crispy, light, and pairs well with the dip. We finished it quickly.
Nyonya Assam Curry Snapper ($38)
One of the three signature dishes, and my favourite of the lunch. The snapper comes in a tamarind-based assam curry with okra, eggplant, and beancurd puffs.
The snapper was moist, and the curry was flavourful — tangy, with the kind of depth you get from a proper assam base. No bones in the fillet, which I appreciate.
The white layer on top is made from crisp rice paper “scales”. On its own it has no flavour, but when eaten with the curry, it adds a crunchy texture that breaks up the richness of the gravy. Nicely done.
If you only have to try one dish here, go for this.
Stonepot Black Cod ($52)
Another one I would recommend. I was told this is a crowd favourite, which is why it was retained on the new menu.
The cod sits on a bed of charred rice beads (pearl couscous, I think) mixed with slices of lup cheong (Chinese waxed sausage) and topped with a soy glaze. The smokiness from the charred grains and the savoury-sweet lup cheong played nicely against the buttery cod. Very nice.
Racines Ngoh Hiang ($28)
A different take on the usual ngoh hiang. The standard version is usually chunky minced pork wrapped in beancurd skin, but here the texture is finer — more meshed than chunky. It is a five-spice seafood filling rather than pork, and you can taste the yam coming through.
The exterior is flaky instead of the typical fried beancurd-skin wrap. Interesting. Quite nice and good for sharing. Comes with a house-made chilli sauce on the side.
Racines Nasi Goreng ($28)
The second of the three signatures. The dish comes with turmeric chicken, anchovy and peanut rempeyek (a crispy Indonesian cracker), a fried egg, and nyonya achar.
Visually it ticks all the boxes. But I have had better. 6/10 for me — the fried rice did not have wok hei, and overall it could do with more spice. The turmeric chicken was decent though. A foreigner might find this interesting as a one-plate introduction to local flavours, but if you grew up here, the bar is already high.
Cempedak Crème Brûlée 2.0 ($18)
The third signature dish. Presentation is nice — served in a small cast iron dish with sugar art leaves on top.
There are slices of cempedak (a tropical fruit in the same family as jackfruit, smaller and with a stronger aroma) on top. The fruit slices are not sweet, and they counter the richness of the crème brûlée well. The crust was proper — you get that satisfying crack when you tap it with a spoon. Served with coconut gelato on the side.
My personal verdict
Food: 4/5 — the fish dishes are the highlight. Snapper and black cod are both worth ordering. The nasi goreng could be better.
Ambience: 3.5/5 — decent and well-lit, but I was hoping for something a bit cosier. Works well for a business lunch.
Service: 4/5 — service staff did well throughout.
Will I return? Yes, especially for corporate lunches or business settings. The fish dishes alone are worth coming back for.
Located at: Sofitel Singapore City Centre, Level 5 Address: 9 Wallich Street, Singapore 078885
