Durian ice cream with caviar. On paper, it feels gauche, an unnecessarily luxurious way to elevate an otherwise straightforward and common dessert. Take a bite, though, and the caviar coaxes out the savoury elements of the durian, balanced by the fruit’s natural sweetness and highlighted by the roe’s clean salinity, all with a pleasing textural contrast. Suddenly, a faintly ridiculous dessert makes perfect sense.
This playful juxtaposition has been a signature of Whey, Sheung Wan’s celebrated contemporary Singaporean restaurant, since opening under chef Barry Quek in 2021. The Alain Ducasse-trained chef has excelled at delivering classic Singaporean hawker-centre flavours with creativity via modern French techniques.
After five years at the helm, founder chef Quek is looking to train a new generation. In that spirit, fellow Singaporean Keith Teo, formerly of Sol, has been appointed head chef and will take the reins of the day-to-day operations.
With Quek still deeply involved at Whey, Teo knows he must strike a delicate balance. “I think the hardest part of the job will be trying to find a line between what customers want and what Barry also wants,” he says.
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