Ex-Google Chef Serves Gourmet Vegan French Food From Condo, Assisted By Lawyer Wife
He cooks meat like duck confit, too.
In the 14 years since he started his professional cooking career, Tamil Nadu native Rajagopalan Kumar has worked at well-known restaurants like Bar Boulud in New York, helmed the kitchen of good modern European restaurants like Casa Tartufo, and managed the kitchen at Google’s office in Singapore. It wasn’t a career trajectory he had planned, but when he shopped his resume during a job hunt, the opportunity came calling and he accepted the challenge of setting up the tech giant’s kitchen and café, and planning its operational strategy and menu. After two years there, he’s quite literally settled back home.
All in the name
The Singapore PR came to town 14 years ago to study at culinary school At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy. His venture, Fussy Duck, is one of the latest entrants to Singapore’s ever-burgeoning private dining scene. The name was inspired by a drinking game he used to play called Fuzzy Duck. “The people I served were quite discerning, so that’s how we made the leap to Fussy Duck,” he says of his venture, which he started in March this year.
Atas home cooking
From the chic apartment that he shares with his wife in the Tanjong Rhu area, Raj serves dinners centred around his brand of classical French-style dishes. “Doing a supper club is the best way to test the market,” says the 34-year-old as he pulls a sheet of cookies out of the oven. “I eventually want to go back to the food business, like maybe start a catering company or a restaurant, but the investment would be huge. By doing this, the costs are lower and I get to meet people and find out what they want.
Lovely setting
The couple’s three-bedroom apartment is beautifully appointed in shades of turquoise, teal and brass, with a polished open kitchen that allows guests to watch the action while waiting to be served. Their marble-topped table setting is worthy of a magazine spread, with fresh-cut flowers, polished brass accents and gorgeous gilded crockery.
The missus
Raj’s bubbly Malaysian wife Liew Ying Yi (right), 34, helps him serve when she comes home from her job as a lawyer. “Someone has to make the mortgage,” she says with a laugh. “Cooking is what Raj loves to do most, so I’m happy to support him while he figures out the best way to move forward business-wise.”
How it works
Dinner bookings are available on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, with a minimum seating of six people. The bulk of their customers are made up of friends of friends or people who came across The Fussy Duck or Instagram, and “mainly through word of mouth,” says Ying. Guests can choose from a five-course menu for $99 per person, and a five-course vegan menu for $89 per person. And there is no corkage if you bring your own drinks. The vegan menu features dishes like a sago and quinoa crisp, burnt eggplant tomato tartine, and vichyssoise espuma. We tried a mix of dishes from the vegan and regular menu (see below).
Sago and quinoa crisp (vegan)
The first course is a bright little mouthful comprising a delicate keropok-like wafer made from sago and quinoa, topped with tendrils of pickled cabbage, carrots and green apple. It is a light, refreshing bite that wakes the palate with the salad’s lovely acidic tang.
Vichyssoise espuma (vegan; 8 DAYS Pick!)
Traditionally a cold leek and potato soup, vichyssoise seems like a very old-school addition to the menu. To give it an update, Raj serves it as an espuma (which is the fancy French culinary term for foam), which he pipes from a siphon into cocktail glasses at the table. Beneath the velvety mound is a scrim of caramelised leeks and thin strips of fried potato, which give the vichyssoise a hit of complex sweetness and texture.
Burnt eggplant tomato tartine (vegan)
A thin bar of crisp puff pastry neatly smeared with two spreads: a tomato concasse (fancy French speak for ground or crushed tomatoes) infused with pink peppercorns and French earl grey tea, and burnt eggplant puree. There’s a pleasantly smoky undertone and a whisper of mellow spice from the peppercorns.
Mushroom ravioli with fresh truffles (8 DAYS Pick!)
Our favourite dish of the evening featured firm, silky made-from-scratch pasta enrobing a filling of shiitake and white button mushrooms minced so that there is some meaty bite to them.
Close shave
These delicious parcels are tossed in a light sauce made from chicken stock and parmesan, and then showered with the heady earthiness of freshly shaved truffles.
Duck confit with glazed vegetables and pomme puree
This technically perfect duck confit is succulent and tender within and capped with crisp, beautifully rendered skin. We weren’t too hot about the slightly-too-strong cumin rub on it, though.
Belgian chocolate mousse with Alphonso mango puree
In another demonstration of Raj’s classical French training, this chocolate orb dessert wouldn’t be out of place in an old-school European restaurant. Under the smooth dark chocolate shell is a silky mousse made of 55 percent Belgian chocolate given a vibrant lift with the rich fragrance of Alphonso mango puree.
Bottom line
A good European-style meal in perhaps the most beautiful of settings among all the private dining establishments in Singapore. The menu we tried was more classical French than exciting, but it delivers in taste and technique. Interestingly, we prefer the light and fresh vegan dishes over the meaty ones — so good news if you're avoiding meat. That said, Raj has since incorporated more Indian touches to his food, with dishes like a palak paneer-inspired risotto in his newer menu to reflect his culture and personality. While he cooks quietly in the kitchen, Ying is a sparkling presence in the dining room, chatting easily with guests. Her effervescent brand of hospitality is a large part of the draw here.
The details
To book, visit https://www.facebook.com/fussyducksg/ or SMS 9014-6386.
Photos: Aik Chen/8 DAYS
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