Magic Square first appeared as a pop-up restaurant, where young local chefs took turn to showcase their menus on a rotational basis. Well, their concept is still the same. Just that they have now found a home at Portsdown Road. The friend and I were excited to give them a try and so when they announced the date of their ticketing, we camped and waited and one hour and a half later, I appeared victorious. lol

The restaurant is located at quite a desolated location so don’t reach too early. Else, there is nowhere else to sit and wait

There were 2 seatings available and we went for the latter as we didn’t want to rush down for dinner. And since we were the first to enter, we got to choose which seats we wanted. The friend asked which seats were best for making conversations? I LOL-ed

The drinks menu

And they only serve still or sparkling

Champagne on the house 🙂

Chef Marcus Leow kickstarted the launch and his menu focuses on Peranakan flavours. The dishes were explained as they were presented (though a little too fast) but they will hand you a menu at the end of the course so at least you had some recollection of what you had eaten over the last 2 hours

Aori Ika & Sambal Hijau, Indian Halibut & Laksa Leaf, Kaya & Sweet Pea

Staters. Love the creamy and sweet squid tart. The choux puff with halibut was interesting but the best was the kaya & sweet pea. Not a fan of pea? You really need to try this. It was interestingly good enough to want another piece

Belimbing – Starfruit, Botan Ebi, Fuji Minori Grapes

A very refreshing dish. Served cold, you can taste the laksa leaf oil beautifully mixed with botan ebi and grapes and finished off with some stracciatella cheese was just perfect

Soy – Kanpachi Lardo, Dragon Tooth Cabbage, Tempeh

A dish that brings warmth to the soul. Rich and flavourful cooked with reduced chicken stock and tempeh, with sweetness coming from the cabbage and soy milk custard. It’s definitely something different

Buah Keluak – Brussel Sprouts, Olive Vegetable, Aged Aji

Never quite tasted something like this. Love the combination of the wok fried and dehydrated Brussel sprouts and the addition of Aji for some added flavours

Largehead Hairtail – Green Rempah, Fermented Jalapeño, Rice Noodles

I really enjoyed the fragrance of the green rempah infused with the kway teow. It was so satisfying

John Dory – Jerusalam Artichoke, Nashi, Liver Torchon

Pork – Spiced Butter, Fermented Jackfruit, Japanese Turnip

Unfortunately I find the last 2 proteins less impressive. Perhaps the build up was so strong I had expected much more. But it was at most just okay

Kedondong – Achar, Mandarin, Juniper

We liked the palate cleanser cos it was rather unusual to have a combination of shallots, onion and lemongrass as a palate cleanser. Yet the combination worked. It was refreshing and kept you wanting for more

Corn Salat – Roasted Candlenut, Corn Tea, Corn Husk Butter

No matter how full you gonna be at this stage, you need to finish the dessert

Served as a hot and cold dessert, you have the hot kueh on one side and the cold tea on the other. The corn salat was spectacular. The corn was so smooth I think I can just eat the corn custard by itself

The team is made up of a group of young talents, all under 30, which in my opinion, is very impressive. Conceptualising and cooking like that and working cohesively so that the public can enjoy what they had all put in together – I think this place is definitely worth a return. I’m already excited for the rest of the rotational menus

Magic Square

7 Portsdown Road, Singapore (139298)