Masterminded by @kenloon, @magicsquare.sg in 2018 was a radical venture. The year-long hothouse for the three young chefs he had chosen, proved a breath of fresh air for Singapore’s dining scene. While the trio - Abel Su, Desmond Shen and Marcus Leow, got properly schooled in what it takes to run a successful restaurant, many (me included) were all too happy to pay for the privilege of being their “guinea pigs” month after month. Fast forward to September 2021. After almost three years, Magic Square 2.0 has re-emerged, as a bigger and much slicker machine. Located barely a hundred metres from their original location, one look at this place and you know they mean business. And it is only the beginning, because plans are afoot to re-invest in building facilities to support food processes (fermentation, R&D etc.) all around the restaurant. Chefs Eugene (@abangkau), @jonathan_gan, @lawjiajun and Gail (@hungryatmidnight) were cherry-picked by Ken for this second edition. But the flagging-off honours belongs to alumni and mentoring Chef, Marcus Leow (@markerpenn), who is also @nakedfinn’s Head of R&D. His 9-course menu which runs from September (reserved for family and friends) to end of this October is priced at $168++ per pax (subsequent months’ will be $98++). Reservations will be purely via an online ticketing system that’s due to launch soon, so I suggest stalking @magicsquare.sg for updates. Thanks to Ken’s invitation, I booked 4 seats (they only do counter seating) and got to embark on a most exciting culinary adventure last Friday. It was almost emotional to see how much Chef Marcus has grown in every way. Talent honed with passion and dedication over time, can indeed be formidable. Here is his menu: 1. Snacks - All three dazzled. The Aori Ika (bigfin reef squid) on rice cracker with octopus stock was so creamy due to multiple tiny cuts. My fave was the choux puff made with laksa crust sandwiching confit Indian Halibut, shaved ginger flower and black pepper. The third bite, a sugar snap pea and savoury kaya tartlet, was familiar to those of us who’d visited the first #MagicSquareSg. ⬇️Continued in Comments⬇️

Asam pedas in 10 minutes is only possible with MAGGI®️ Sambal Tumis Paste. The taste is as authentic as how it would be if you were to cook it from scratch. Don’t take my word for it. You should totally give this a go. You can use any protein of your choice but salmon chunks and prawns are the fastest to cook thus you will only need 10 mins tops. Please try it out and let me know! To add more oomph, be generous with the laksa leaves and the torched ginger flower. This will add a burst of freshness to your Asam pedas. That squeeze of lime once you turn off the fire really ties the dish together. Enjoy the authentic taste of this dish minus all the hard work! This is #myMaggi, try yours today! @maggi_sg MAGGI®️ ASAM PEDAS SALMON Ingredients: 3 packets MAGGI®️ Sambal Tumis Paste 1 inch Galangal 1 and a 1/2 cup Laksa leaves 1 teaspoon Black pepper 2 teaspoons Asam paste 1 Lime Water 400g Salmon chunks 1 Torched ginger Salt and sugar to taste Steps: 1. In a wok, add MAGGI®️ Sambal Tumis Paste with galangal,black pepper, and sauté for a minute or two. 2. Add water, asam paste, salmon chunks and the other herbs, and let it come to a boil. 3. Season with salt and sugar. 4. Once the salmon chunks are cooked, squeeze some lime juice. 5. Serve with rice.

Antu laksa kuarlah Saya guna resepi ni Resepi Laksa Penang Bahan-bahan kuah Ikan kembung 2 kilo (rebus guna periuk tekanan 1 jam) Bahan-bahan kisar 6 biji bawang besar Belacan seinci Cili kering anggaran satu genggam (gunting dan rebus) Ikan bilis segenggam( untuk kuah yang kick) Bahan-bahan perasa Daun kesum 2 genggam 5 kuntum bunga kantan 6keping asam keping Kaedah Kisar ikan yang telah direbus dengan periuk tekanan. ( ikan akan hancur keseluruhannya, jadi tidak perlu asingkan tulang dan isi). Masukkan dalam periuk bersama air rebusan tadi. Kemudian tambahkan bahan-bahan yang telah dikisar dan masukkan bahan-bahan perasa lain. Rebus semua bahan hingga mengelegak, tambah air agar ia lebih cair untuk dibuat kuah. Tambahkan garam dan serbuk perasa secukupnya. Bahan-bahan laksa Sebungkus laksa kering (rebus hingga empuk) Atau guna sebungkus laksa basah (celur dahulu sebelum makan) Bahan-bahan ulam dan lauk sampingan (anggaran mengikut jumlah tetamu) Daun salad iceberg (basuh dan hiris ) Timun sebatang (kupas kulit dan potong cincang) Bawang besar (hiris halus: Cili api (potong bulat dan kecil) Limau kasturi (belah dua) Telur rebus (kopek dan belah dua) Cara-cara menyediakan laksa. Letakkan laksa yang sedia direbus dan ditos tadi didalam pinggan pilihan anda. Tambahkan kuah laksa yang telah siap dimasak. Hiasi dengan bahan-bahan ulam dan lauk sampingan tadi. Siap untuk dihidang. Selamat mencuba Mai olah mengikut citarasa #resepisedap