JL Studio, Taichung, 3 stars, 260222

I had a wonderful experience at JL Studio. The ambiance was flawless, and the service was really attentive, yet kind enough that I didn’t feel nervous. And the food. In terms of presentation, some of the dishes looked quite minimal and simple, but flavor-wise, there were lots of things going on, hidden and layered underneath. Each component of the flavor profile was very bold, yet harmonized well.

What I noticed as a pattern is that the majority of the dishes yesterday were a reimagination of existing traditional Singaporean menu items. Therefore, as a guest, you could appreciate and enjoy them even more when you actually noticed what they had done to them, compared to and on top of the original dishes. Of course, that is not an absolute necessity, but rather even more cherries on top.

Another thing I would like to mention is that the reinvention side of the courses actually affected the service positively as well. I noticed genuine excitement, hype, and pride during the explanation of some of the dishes, especially when they were served by chef Jimmy Lim himself. It was joyful to watch them and even greater when you actually dived into it.

I searched their previous seasonal menus, and they did look less simpler compared to what I had. It makes me wonder how they will approach inventing things for the next menu items, and I want to come back to check it out.

Without further ado, the actual menu items served yesterday evening and the comments follow below. I ended up writing it too long.

1. Amberjack and jackfruit wrapped in radish, simmered in a cold served soup that tasted sweet and spicy, with the slightest hint of fruity sourness. I assumed it came from the star fruit in the broth. A droplet of hot sauce was put into the soup in front of me using a spoon, and it gave quite a kick and prevented the dish from being too obvious. The original form of the dish comes from Malaysia, if I am not mistaken, and I was told that it was usually served hot. I imagined its fruity sweetness was the necessary adjustment made in order to transform the originally hot served soup into a cold appetizer. It made me want to try the original dish and compare.
2. Something not written on the menu, “red shrimp,” served with a foam made out of a Chinese green, whose name I misheard, and a black sauce that reminded me of the one usually served with Peking duck under the foam. Also, a bit of refreshment was added on top of the meat, placed carefully so that you could cut the shrimp into pieces with the sauce and without it.
3. Reimagination of a Taiwanese and Singaporean omelette: egg foam served inside the eggshell, with Gillardeau oysters, sea grapes, and tapioca gel inside. The most noticeable aspect of the dish, in my opinion, was that it contained several different textures from each ingredient, evolving from the literal melting/quick dissolving of the cream to the crunchiness of the fresh greens. The bounciness and chewiness at different levels were provided by the oyster meat, sea grapes, and tapioca jelly. So, one could say the texture had its own evolution, going from soft to firm and crunchy, as it seemed to me. Flavor wise, the sea grapes and oysters offered quite an oceanic feel to it, and it paired up great with the egg foam. After all, eggs and seafood are a time-tested combo, even for a Korean person like me (case in point, 해물파전 or 계란찜).
4. “Laksa” with Patagonian toothfish as the main ingredient, using pine nuts instead of coconut, which is used in the traditional menu. The pine nut was used not only in the broth but also as an additional topping. According to chef Jimmy Lim, who brought the dish, it gives a more mellow feel compared to its traditional counterpart. Underneath the visible portion of the sauce, which was presented as foam, there was a whole region of spiciness containing laksa leaves. Simple-looking, but there were lots of things going on behind the curtain. This was my first time trying laksa, and it would have been more fun if I had a reference for it.
5. Another one not written on the menu, a curry pastry, roti. This was my favorite bite of the evening. First, the bread itself was awesome. They made the top half of the pastry into a mille-feuille and fused brioche as the bottom half. I was advised to approach it by cutting the bread vertically so that I could have both textures at the same time. Inside the bread, they put some spicy shrimp paste. And the sauce, it was actually a dish of its own merit. They made a foam out of hot butter and then hid spicy curry ice cream underneath. You got to taste three different sauces -including the actual butter served- with the pastry, but my favorite way was just dunking a chunk of bread deep into the butter/ice cream mixture and then devouring it. Another piece brought by chef Jimmy Lim himself, and as excited as he seemed to be when the dish was served, I had a great time with it.
6. Maine lobster, served with noodles in the middle and a sauce, both made out of purple sweet potatoes from Taiwan. I think this was unfortunately the weakest link among the courses. There was nothing wrong with the execution, but at the same time, nothing unique about it either. Tasty, nonetheless.
7. Main dish, ribeye steak from Hokkaido, four different assortments, and a bowl of rice. My usual go-to order for steak is medium rare, but I chose to go with medium here since that was the chef’s recommendation. I’m glad that I did. From left to right, pickled jicama, local greens, banana leaves with fried banana on top, and a baby firefly squid. Combining all four assortments, the main dish, and a bowl of rice, it makes a traditional Singaporean family gathering meal. The bowl of rice was a combination of three different types of rice, and I am not so sure how they did it, but I could taste a sort of buttery feel. Those three different kinds of rice represent the roots of chef Lim himself, his Taiwanese wife, and the family they created. I approached the steak in a traditional Western way and the others more like how I eat my everyday meal, which is a little bit of rice accompanied by small bites of side dishes. Overall, a very well done piece, but once again, a less creative one along with its predecessor.
8. Palate cleanser, their own recreation of Nasi Lemak, a Malaysian rice dish. My favorite items have always tended to be complete transformations of traditional dishes like this one. And I was introduced to many of that kind this evening, which is a wonderful thing. In the case of this one, it might look simple on the surface, but it contained quite a complexity at its core. They made rice and coconut sorbet and hid pieces tasting like cucumber, dried anchovies, and chilies, all of which shared the same white color. I was advised to mix them all together to fully enjoy it, and I did just that.
9. A set of sweets, with their signature dessert, Yawkun Kopitiam. First of all, I was almost mesmerized by the fact that they made a fully edible one bite dish, including the eggshell. So much so that I forgot to take a photo of its cute presentation, a pottery chicken containing multiple eggs. You were supposed to pick up the cracked egg and put it in your mouth, including the eggshell. I think it is a prime example of a familiar taste done extremely well. Coconut, butter, coffee, cream, and bread all there in one bite was great to have. Again, I like when chefs try something deconstructive when I can grasp the clear purpose of it. The other pieces were white chocolate filled with rose water, sponge cake made out of an Indonesian vegetable, and local seasonal fruits. They were good, but there was a clear star among the group, and unfortunately, they felt more like side pieces.