FiSK Seafoodbar & Market: Vikings of Your Seafood-Based Diet
Ignore the ‘concept’. Or at least that is what I did when flanked by seafood invasions of all designs when dining at the newly opened FiSK seafood bar & market in Novotel, at Stevens Road. However, if you have the time to spare, a quick swing around the fresh seafood market won’t hurt anybody. In fact, it might push your seafood cravings into hyperdrive as you fathom the various party combinations one could tackle at your next Christmas soiree.
It’s almost distressing to think that Snorre Food, the most respected purveyors of seafood in Singapore and Asia, specialising in mainline quality Norwegian and cold water seafood, would have taken such an excruciatingly long amount of time to lay down their flagship forces. In the means of a restaurant no less. Here at FiSK, it’s all about the seafood. I mean, you could literally rock up clueless about what to order, only to emerge with a visually stunning bejewelled table of gustatory seafood delights booted with the best advice from the expert fishmongers manning the counters. It’s a no-brainer; with a dining and retail concept sprawled out over 4,000 sq ft, FiSK attains nirvana for seafood enthusiasts.
The restaurant occupies a stand-alone egg-shaped glass pod with floor to ceilings windows at the edge of Novotel. There’s a sense of calmness shrouding the dining room, it compels you to walk on tiptoes and cross your legs in feign demureness. Over at the retail section, understated seafaring touches such as fishing hooks, nets and the centrepiece light instalment composed of lobster cages tie in the ‘seafarer to chef’ concept. Effervescent staff take your orders and sparkling water fills your thinly-rimmed glassware. Oak floors are whitewashed to match the blue leather upholstered chairs and banquettes. The music is light-hearted and subtle. You get the vibe. I loved it.
Something to arouse excitement would be the Greenland prawns; presentation isn’t given an outlandish prominence here. But when the produce is that fresh, who really cares? These tiny prawns deliver huge bombs of flavour. After a wee bit of peeling action, diners will be rewarded with roe filled heads and delicate sweet flesh. A remarkable experience that will haunt you for days afterward.
In place of appetisers, get the Smoked Salmon ‘Pulpit Rock’, sour cream imparting an additional luscious quality to the creamy scrambled eggs. Not detracting from the core principle that is seafood dealings here at FiSK, the Norwegian salmon belly is cured with a salt and sugar brine, dried and smoked in-house. You’ll be sure to enjoy an unadulterated taste of the sea in this simply interwoven brunch-esque offering.
FISK takes its inspiration from the cold water seafood of Norway, so there is Smørrebrød: Danish open-faced sandwich consisting of buttered rye bread topped with varied toppings. The rye bread smeared with Røros Smøre organic Norwegian butter was the perfect cradle for the house-smoked mackerel, lumpfish roe and frisée. Sour cream binding the dish together to give a moreish flavour.
Be prepared for the flashes of culinary epiphany: The Creamed Fish and Shellfish Soup might be abdicated to stepchild status where seafood is concerned. However, it is unwise to turn this up. A little soft for some tastes, it takes a vigilant palate to revel in its complex creamy depths. The magical combination of fish stock and shellfish stock made from lobster and langoustine shells is fuelled with cream, the final glug of good olive oil right at the end sealing the delectable deal.
Atlantic Halibut topped with oyster mushroom, snow peas and pickled onions was indulgent without being one-dimensional. The lashings of foie gras red wine jus condensed with gamey flavours to debate the oily fish are uncommonly ambrosial and highly tantalising. Big tick.
Continue on the seafood odyssey even through dessert is with Uni Ice Cream. At $16 for a quenelle of ice cream, I expected it to be a culinary revolution, or one that comes with a back massage (it didn’t). Instead, what arrived is flecked with nori powder, assaulted with tuile shards and Danish Hawthorn berries. The portion is dainty in size but big on savoury flavours. I can’t say I’m a big fan and would strongly implore you to save your pretty penny for the sourdough breaded fried herring instead.
The ode to uphold the provenance of Norwegian seafood and cold water produce is taken to silly heights at FISK. Don’t get me wrong, there are no paths of tokenism here; the commitment to blue revolution, i.e. sustainability, translating to unfailingly fresh ingredients that in turn are spun into gorgeous plates in the hands of talented chefs. The details are good where they matter and the intimacy evoked—a real rarity in this part of town. Be prepared for FiSK, to charm you.
30 Stevens Road #01-01 Singapore 257840, 6732 0711