Artichoke Adventure!
How many of you guys watched Masterchef and always wanted to try a dish from there, well you actually can! With Bjorn Shen (Masterchef Singapore Celebrity Chef Judge) at the helm of Artichoke, getting fun middle-eastern inspired fusion food can never be more interesting! Artichoke is an extension of Bjorn’s slapstick personality; inspired by his favourite movie, You Don't Mess with the Zohan. Authentic middle-eastern flavours combined with Bjorn's ingenious creativity, you'll certainly get an interesting unorthodox middle-eastern theme culinary experience!
Bjorn is chefowner of Artichoke, and author of the Artichoke cookbook. Notorious for his rebellious personality and outlandish style of cooking, Bjorn has earned significant industry recognition over the years. Outside of starting food brands Artichoke, Bird Bird and Neh Neh Pop, Bjorn wrote a monthly column titled ‘Bjorn Says’ for Time Out magazine, lectured at the Culinary Institute of America, and actively consults on menus for restaurant openings. Industry accolades that he has accumulated over the years include ‘Chef of the Year 2013’ SC Global, ‘Rising Chef of The Year 2015’ finalist World Gourmet Summit, ‘Best Local Chef 2016’ SG Readers’ Choice Awards, and ‘WGS Best 20 Chefs 2016’ World Gourmet Summit. Bjorn is also frequently on television, having most recently featured as a judge on MasterChef Singapore on Mediacorp’s Channel 5, and also on programmes such as MasterChef Asia and Secret Eats, and in lead roles on Eat List Star Season 2 and The Ultimate Brocation.
I was invited to be part of the media testing group to try some of Artichoke's signature dishes and to also experience Bjorn's infectious energy & charisma! We had a plethora of dishes ranging from an appetizer that is not even on the menu yet, to their best sellers, their pizzas & their full range of sweet dessert treats!!!
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| Fresh Home-made Lemonade |
The appetizer we had was a very special one as it was not even on the actual menu and we were the first few people to taste this incredible appetizer. It was called "Devils on horseback" and it was made from dried apricot, labneh, mint & almond that was wrap with wagyu ham. I personally want it to be in the menu permanently as it was really unlike any other food item I have tasted before & the sweet & salty flavours together with the slightly crunchy texture blended very well with each other.
As Artichoke gathers it's inspiration from the middle-east, most of its dishes have a twist of it here and there and the "Mezze platter" which features a few of this week's best vegetable dishes and they are "Burnt miso hummus" (chickpeas blended with miso, torched, topped with dried blackcurrant and walnuts) "Babaganoush" (smoked eggplant, pomegranate teriyaki sauce, pomegranate and sesame seeds), "Samphire" (sea asparagus, labneh, shallots), "Falafel" (breadcrumb crusted quinoa balls), "Jerusalem salad" (crumbled falafel, tofu tahini, mango amba) & traditional Turkish toast.
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| Mezze platter on the bottom left |
Next in the line-up is the salad, but it ain't no ordinary salad, it's a fried cauliflower salad! It is made from fried cauliflower, 5-min egg, miso hummus, labneh, Israeli salad, tahini, skhug and mango amba served with a side of toast. So is probably not the best choice for you health-nuts but it is certainly one of the tastiest salad I have ever tried as we all know anything fried taste good automatically.
Up next, we have the "Shakshouka"- two eggs simmered in tomato sauce, green harissa, and halloumi cheese, Turkish toast; available with a roasted lamb variant instead of halloumi. This dish originated from Tunisia but it is a very popular dish served throughout the Middle East.
Now it's time for the pizzas! We got to taste two types of pizza which are the "Green Machine" pizza (burrata, pistachio pesto, abalone mushrooms, fresh herbs) & the "Cheeseburger Lahmacun" pizza (smashed beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions, sesame seeds). I was surprised at which pizza I preferred as I liked the Green Machine pizza more than the Cheeseburger, this is because I am one who would pick meat over vegetables any day. The pizzas here are not the best I have eaten but I am impressed with the flavours of the green machine as it tasted very fresh with the pleasant aroma of the pistachio pesto coming out. The Cheeseburger Lahmacun was very average with just the toppings tasting of beef patties & pickles but it was interesting how a pizza can taste so much like a burger!
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| "Green Machine" pizza |
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| "Cheeseburger Lahmacun" pizza |
Last but certainly not least is the Artichoke Fried Chicken (za’atar honey, spiced crinkle chips, pickles, garlic toum). Now, this is hands down one of the best fried chicken I have ever tasted. Imagine perfectly fried chicken drizzled with aromatic za'atar honey set upon a heavenly bed of crushed garlic sauce. The sweetness of the honey blends well with the spices used and when dipped together with the garlic toum, you'll get an experience like no other. Depths of flavours & textures will make you go for another bite and soon enough you'll need another plate!
Now for the desserts, we got to try their full range of desserts they have to offer which are soft served ice-cream made with burnt honey & sea salt, Date pudding (smoked milk custard, cashew caramel, coffee jelly, sea salt) & Malabi Split (coconut vanilla pudding, strawberry ice, pink peppercorn). All three desserts have a very unique and interesting taste profile but my personal favourite would be the Date pudding as I felt the flavours blended well with each other and the texture was the most palatable. The ice-cream was both sweet and a little bitter because of the caramelised honey but was too sweet to my liking. The Malabi split would be a favourite if you are a big fan of coconut & strawberry. As those are the two main flavours, the Malabi split gives out a tropical vibe. The pink peppercorns enhance the taste by providing a hint of sweetness & pepperiness to the Malabi split. The date pudding has a great balance between sweet, salty & bitter and the texture is really good too as the custard is nice and fluffy, the cashew caramel is crunchy and chewy, making this my favourite dessert.
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| Clockwise from top: Soft served ice-cream, Date pudding & Malabi Split |
Once again, thanks to the kind folks at Artichoke & Bjorn Shen for having me over to taste their food & experiencing the warm and friendly culture of Artichoke! As quoted by Bjorn himself while chatting about keeping relevant in the F&B industry "You cannot follow the trend, you must set the trend, You create demand."
Artichoke
Address: 161 Middle Road, Singapore 188978
Opening hours: Tuesdays- Sundays (Happy hour 1600- 1900) (Dinner 1800- 2230) (Weekends Brunch 1130- 1530)
Phone: +65 6336 6949
Website: www.bjornshen.com/artichoke
Email: hello@artichoke.com.sg
Facebook: www.facebook.come/artichokesg
Instagram: @artichoke_sg
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