{Closed} Salted & Hung – Cured, Smoked, Fermented, you name it, you got it!

{UPDATED 25 September}

Tried Salted & Hung’s lunch set the other day, and was very pleased! As I was making use of a Chope promotion, it was only $25 for a 3-course set, but even without the promotion, and at a $35 for a 3-course lunch, I would say lunch at Salted & Hung is very worth it.

Plating is gorgeous as always and portions very decent indeed. Here are some highlights:

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{Original Post 18 July}

So I went into study mode upon being presented with the menu at Salted & Hung. The structured in me took over as I tried to see patterns amongst the various classifications by which the menu is organized.

• Smoked, Brined, Cured
• Fermented, Fried, Braised
• Grilled, Seared, Charred
• Frozen, Churned, Baked

But, I gave up soon enough. I mean, why ponder over such things when delectable-sounding items like Kangaroo with pickled beetroot, blood orange crème and juniper crumbs were jumping off the menu at you?

As it was a party of four, we ordered a fair bit, so I managed to get a good sense of what Salted & Hung has to offer.

There’s a good mix across fish and meat dishes, so unlike the impression given by its predecessor, the now-defunct 5^th Quarter, which focused on “interesting” parts of the slaughtered animal (think tongue and tripe), Salted & Hung is a lot more accessible for those less adventurous amongst us.

That vibrant, coral-hued Ocean Trout ($18), cured in macadamia nut milk, served with dollops of avocado and drops of pomelo was amongst my favourites.

Another refreshing dish was the Scallop ($20). Wobbly slivers of sweet scallop are made even more zingy with pickled cucumber yuzu and fermented cauliflower.

Contrasting that zesty lightness was the Mackerel ($18) – all smoky and dark, it had additional attitude thanks to the horseradish crème, nori and radish.

Now, I love my uni (sea urchin) but I’ve had quite a few bleah versions where it’s not fresh and the taste is like rotting intestines left at the bottom of the ocean.

(Of course, I have never tasted rotting intestines left at the bottom of the ocean, but I’m imagining that might be a good description for it!)

Well, luckily the creamy uni served atop the Crab ($23) and asparagus, was fresh and tasted nutty, briny, with a tinge of sweetness. Which complemented that sweet crab meat perfectly.

Interestingly enough, the four of us, clearly wusses in the art of eating adventurously, didn’t order any tongue or tripe and the closest we got to being audacious was the Kangaroo ($18).

(I guess that’s also because I was dining with a couple of pescetarian hipsters.)

Well, all the more for hubby and I, and we’ve had kangaroo before (in Australia) and know the best way to have it, is rare or medium rare. Thankfully, Aussie-Italian chef Drew Nocente, was a master of cooking the roo, and we had a lovely dish, chunks of kangaroo tartare enhanced with a blood orange crème and picked beetroot.

I love Lamb ($35) and despite the protestations of the hipsters, we went ahead to order it and were rewarded with another star dish of the night. Just look at those rosy pink insides of the tender cubes of perfectly seared lamb! Served with pistachio paste, smoked eggplant, raw carrots and cabbage shoots, it was my favourite dish of the night.

Now, we were recommended the Chef’s selection of Charcuterie ($28), but unless you’re really craving for charcuterie, save your moolah for other dishes. Nothing terrible about the plate, but I just think that there are many other more exciting dishes up for grabs. Best part was the oxtail rillette.

Accompanying all these were our 2 veggie dishes. I loved the smooth, creamy Black Mash ($10), which is squid ink potato mash, but opinions differed across the table.

Conversely, the hipsters loved the Cauliflower ($14) with burnt butter tahini and piccalilli, but I didn’t care too much for it.

(I instinctively stay away from any hipster trends and well, with cauliflower being hailed as the kale of 2016, no thanks!)

On to desserts. I enjoyed the Peanut Butter Tim Tams ($16) the most. Loved the little dollops of peanut butter ganache and the bergamot gel – it was a fun dish to eat.

The Chocolate Salami ($16), too, was good but hey, give me salted caramel and chocolate, and I’m a happy camper. I guess the apricot puree added a nice touch to the dish too.

Finally, the rather quirky looking Pineapple ($10) dessert – interesting to have the crisp fennel, but that was probably appreciated more from a visual perspective. Taste-wise, it was a “pina colada” coconut and pineapple combo, with a smoky twist to the pineapple.

Overall, even though Salted & Hung promotes the sharing of small plates way of dining, I honestly feel you’re better off hoarding the dishes that you think you’d like for yourself. Somehow, by the time everyone gets a spoonful of the small plates, you just don’t get the feeling like you’ve thoroughly enjoyed your dish.

But that’s just a matter of how you order. There are many winners at Salted & Hung and I’ll be sure to make my way there again, soon! Especially to grab some dinner over Happy Hours!

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Salted & Hung:

Address: 12 Purvis Street, 188591

Contact: +65 6358 3130 or info@saltedandhung.com.sg

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SaltedandHung/

Opening Hours:

Weekdays:

Lunch: 12pm – 2:30pm (Last Order at 2pm)

Dinner: 6pm – 10:30pm (Last order at 10pm)

Saturdays:

Dinner: 6pm – 10:30pm (Last order at 10pm)

CLOSED ON SUNDAYS

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