Nestled in the CBD amid the shining spires of commerce and glass, there in a 1920s heritage building is Rosemead. The restaurant broke open a dam of memories of my time spent in the Golden State. It’s the inviting openness and congeniality. The country home-styled eatery, where patrons can settle—not sit—in chairs and a dining experience, is more of a communal occurrence. Luxuriate in the neutral, earthy hues of the room, where an open-hearth kitchen further breaks down the walls that separate the people who prepare your food and the ones eating it.
Now the menu leads with using sustainable ingredients, sourced from local producers including Ah Hua Kelong and Edible Garden City as well as regional ones, as much as it can. You have omni-seasonal courses that are segmented into ‘Chilled’, ‘Vegetables and Grains’ and ‘Cooked Over Orange and Lychee Wood Embers’.
Chilled caters to seafood like the Mangrove Crab Tartine (SGD32) and the Hama Hama Oyster (SGD27 for trey); like the title Vegetables and Grains, this section focuses on ingredients from the earth—BlueAcres Farm Lettuces (SGD23) with a benne seed vinaigrette drizzle, and a sprinkle of flowers and herbs from Edible City Gardens.
The wordy Cooked Over Orange and Lychee Wood Embers uses an open fire to give us offerings like the Slow Cooked Wagyu Short Rib (SGD65)—grass-fed Wagyu beef from First Light farms in New Zealand; 48 hours of braising, then accompanied by black truffle and bone marrow emulsion.
And because this is a Jigger & Pony Group joint, libations are a serious matter with a wine list of 170 labels and cocktails like the signature Trigona Honey Bellini (SGD28) that uses trigona honey puree harvested from bees in Malaysia, kinkan and Jansz Premium Cuvée sparkling wine.
Hailing from California, Rosemead’s chef David Tang and general manager James Moon want to imbue the restaurant with that homey feeling. Tang says, “I’m just trying to feed people and build community.” It’s an approach that stems from a very simple want: if you build (and foster) it, they will come.
Rosemead is located at 19 Cecil Street, Singapore 049704.
