You may already know Josh Niland – the chef, fish butcher, cookbook author and sustainability advocate who's loved by the culinary world for his expertise in making the most of every part of a fish. Now, he's brought his magic to Singapore with Fysh – a fish steakhouse that will have you swapping out New York Strips for hunks of tuna served up on a platter.
Housed in the luxurious Singapore Edition, Fysh is the hotel’s main all-day dining destination where you can have yellowfin tuna cheeseburgers and Swordfish Schnitzels at lunch surrounded by lush greenery in a restaurant bathed in swaths of natural light. But come dinner, whole sirloins and ribeyes are carried out on trays to your table before they’re expertly grilled by the kitchen. The result? A blue rare centre on the 400-gram dry-aged yellowfin tuna ribeye ($140) and a ridiculously tasty 450-gram swordfish sirloin on the bone ($98) that we would highly recommend.
For those seeking more familiar flavours, the quail charcoal-grilled game farm quail ($18) with macadamia satay and burnt lime is a solid choice, and the Fysh egg tart ($16) with trout roe and sour onions is a delightful treat.
There’s also the option of skipping the a la carte option and going for Fysh’s latest dinner tasting menu ($178). The menu echoes the experience at the original Sydney flagship, presenting a medley of seafood, meat and vegetable dishes. A dry-aged yellowfin tuna tartare crumpet, scallop and scale tart, and a spanner crab custard kickstart the journey.
It’s here where the line between the land and sea starts to blur, with items like the crispy fried chicken oyster, and the roast duck with Java Brown clams and fish noodles. The latter is served with Niland’s iconic fish bone ‘noodles’, prepared by boiling down cod bones to form a springy texture reminiscent of egg noodles. It’s delicious in its own right, but fans of Niland’s unconventional techniques will reel in delight at this showcase of fish alchemy at its finest.
The highlight of the tasting menu is the Mooloolaba yellowfin tuna wellington – a spin on the classic steakhouse staple of beef wellington. The buttery fragrance of puff pastry greets your nose as soon as the wellington is wheeled out. Each slice is tinged a pale pink that slowly sunsets into a gorgeous reddish centre. And thanks to the naturally softer consistency of fish, the tuna is perfectly fork-tender.
Niland’s scale-to-tail philosophy trickles down to the dessert section, which sees fish eye weaved into desserts from ice creams to madeleines and canelés. Yes, you read that right, fish eye. It might sound unappetising, but the desserts make use of the vitreous humour of the fish eye to mimic egg whites. It isn’t offensively fishy, and once incorporated into the desserts, any initial hesitation quickly fades away.
Cap off your visit with a Fysh martini ($26), a concoction of Botanist Gin, Murray Cod Fat, and Fino Sherry Dry Vermouth – it’s stiff, smooth, and just the right amount of fishiness for that extra edge.