Open Farm Community (OFC), a dining concept by Spa Esprit Group—in collaboration with Edible Garden City and Chef Ryan Clift, the gastronomy doyen behind ultra-progressive Tippling Club—continues its efforts to champion farm-fresh dining with a revamped menu that pays homage to local produce and flavours.
A concept unlike any you can find in Singapore, OFC is an urban amalgamation of restaurant, outdoor farm and boutique cafe rooted in the heart of the city. Its latest update celebrates all things local with 10 new dishes that draw inspiration from the diverse and distinct DNA of Singaporean’s favourite flavours, while staying true to OFC’s longstanding philosophy of consuming food as close to its source as possible.
The result? A seasonal, innovative and honest culinary experience that is created using fresh ingredients that are up to 90 per cent sourced from farms in and around Singapore—including OFC’s very own agricultural landscape—and within a 400km radius within the region.
Their edible garden, suitable for family activities as well.
The blue pea flower is edible and they use for food colouring and dessert.
Big on local
Standout starters include a Steak tartar marinated with ginger chilli (S$26++) that will please the most purist of local palettes, elevated with a spring onion and coriander puree and an organic egg yolk. Spice zealots can also look forward to the Tempura Jurong frog legs (S$26++) steeped in a pleasantly piquant root vegetable curry and OFC garden curry leaves. Served alongside a bed of pita, the dish draws inspiration from the traditional Malay style chicken curry with a fleshier bite.
Vegetables / Sides
Local snake bean, abalone mushroom, fermented sugar cane dressing – $17
Starters
Garden pea soup, garden knife beans, jamon, sugar snap peas, pita brea – $22
Steak tartar marinated with ginger chili, spring onion & coriander puree, garlic crouton, organic egg yolk – $26
This is one of my favourite as the steak itself is very flavorful, you gotta mix the egg yolk into the steak and enjoy it with the garlic crouton.
Crispy Jurong frog legs, root vegetables & lemak inspired curry, garden curry leaves – $26
Another favourite from their new starter menu. Once you try it, hardly able to realize that it’s made from frog leg. It’s actually taste resemble like “chicken wing” but this one is more tender and more meaty.
Roasted king prawns, garden herb gremolata, compressed spring onion – $28
The the king prawns are very fresh and sweet, goes well with the herbs, so flavorful.
The restaurant ambience..
And from their Garden Grown homemade cocktail, i tried their Rain and Roses. It has a hint of sourness and it’s quite fragrance.
Pasta
Garden holy basil gnocchi, pickled okra, lemon grass dressing – $26
New to its selection of house-made pastas that are made fresh daily is the OFC garden holy basil gnocchi with pickled okra, tossed in a uniquely umami lemongrass dressing.
Mains
Red grouper burger, chunky tartar sauce, pickled cucumber, local green salad – $30
Ocean-fresh flavours play a big part in the new mains. The OFC Fish Burger features a firm, fork-friendly red grouper pattie nestled between a pair of toasted squid ink buns. Its mild, unique flavours come to play with a chunky tartar sauce and pickled OFC cucumber.
Roasted red snapper, calamansi & sesame cucumber salad, garden roselle & hibiscus ketchup, pickled cucumber – $32
Sure to please any gourmand is the Roasted pink red snapper that sits above a spread of OFC’s own roselle and hibiscus ketchup, pickled cucumbers and a calamansi and sesame cucumber salad.
BBQ half chicken, sweet corn ragout, potato fondant, mustard frill salad – $36
The BBQ chicken are well marinated and goes well with the potato fondant.
OFC’s love for local doesn’t end there. Its new set lunch menu, Lunch with the Locals, boasts a 100 percent locally-sourced selection with mouth-watering options such as a Sambal kangkong risotto doused in a lemak curry foam with crispy kangkong leaves and Local quail breast and crispy confit leg with grilled spring onion balsamic and glazed to passionfruit perfection. Lunch with the Locals offers two-courses at S$35++; three-courses at S$42++; and four-courses at S$52++, with an option for a S$10++ top up for a glass of organic wine. For a fully immersive experience that stretches beyond the dining table, educational events and activities for the whole family such as urban farming workshops, farmers’ markets, lawn bowling and outdoor
The open kitchen concept…
Desserts
Pandan & banana custard, ginger biscuit, lemon grass sago, sugar cane sorbet – $18
Satiate your sweet tooth with a deservingly rich Pandan and banana custard with ginger biscuit, served with a dollop of sugarcane sorbet, freeze-dried bananas and a vibrant medley of garden flowers.
What i found after tasting their new menus, Open Farm Community has a unique flavour, every dishes is burst with local exotic fragrance which somehow reminds me of traditional/ authentic foods but served in modern presentation. I would love to explore more of their unique dishes.
Open Farm Community
Address: 130E Minden Road, Singapore 208819
Opening Hours: Restaurant: Mon – Fri: 12pm – 4pm/6pm – 10pm. Sat – Sun/PH: 11am – 4pm/6pm – 10pm
Call +65 6471 0306 for reservations or log onto www.openfarmcommunity.com for more information.
Like Open Farm Community on Facebook: www.facebook.com/openfarmcommunity
Follow Open Farm Community on Instagram: www.instagram.com/openfarmcommunity
“It has always been our intention at Open Farm Community to show Singaporeans that local produce can be used to create amazing dishes that can hold their own,” says Cynthia Chua, Founder and Managing Director of Spa Esprit Group. “With the menu’s latest reiteration, we hope to up the ante in our pursuit of eating local with familiar flavours and fresh ingredients that are close to home.”
Stock up on your trusty supply of freshly farmed produce straight from our little red dot, as Open Farm Community (OFC) rounds up its favourite local farmers, producers, makers and bakers on Saturday, 4 March 2017 and Sunday, 5 March 2017 from 11.00am to 5.00pm for the first Social Market of 2017.
Now in it’s 8th edition, the upcoming Social Market will allow market-goers to experience new flavours that have flourished in OFC’s edible garden, as well as a curated line-up of over 30 passionate vendors who will be peddling their wares at the market – including house plants perfect for a spot on your windowsill; sweet and sticky honey; organic, honest skincare; natural scented candles; and jars of homemade jam.
Satiate your munchies at the OFC booth, where fresh juices and farm-fresh bites will be on the menu, including a live grill station where fresh produce purchased from our vendors can be grilled on the spot, complemented with sauces and dips created by OFC’s kitchen.
More than just a day of feasting, the market grounds will also play host to communal activities for both young and old, including yoga classesheld on the outdoor lawn; an Open Air Cinema sunset screening of ‘My Dharma’ – a collaborative documentary by Dharma Bums and Italian filmmaker, Alessandro Sigismondi; and nifty gardening workshops by Edible Garden City that aims to bring the “Grow Your Own Food” movement closer to home.
Event details below:
OFC Social Market #8
Date: Saturday & Sunday, 4 & 5 March 2017
Time: 11.00am to 5.00pm (Open Air Cinema from 7.00pm onwards)
Venue: Open Farm Community, 130E Minden Road, Singapore 248819
Admission: Free
Transportation: Cycle over to 130E Minden Road, or take buses 7, 75, 77, 105, 106, 123, or 174
Parking: Off Minden Road, Botanic Gardens, along Dempsey Road and Loewen Road
Event link: http://bit.ly/ofcsocialmarket8