Mag's Wine Kitchen

Mag's Wine Kitchen Restaurant Review:

In 1996, Singaporean Magdalene Tang was a stock trader with a oenophile's heart who was forced into the kitchen of the wine bar she owned when the chef didn’t show up on opening night. All these years later, Tang can still be found helming the stoves that turn out French dishes just a few short blocks from the city's soaring financial towers. Along the way, she has attracted a loyal if under-the-radar following among bold face name chefs who pass through the tiny Asian nation. Cellars upstairs and downstairs together hold more than 1,000 bottles, or 250 labels, of mostly Rhônes, Bordeaux and Burgundy. If you're on an expense account, consider opening the Château Margaux 1959 or Château Haut Brion 1959. Otherwise, Tang rotates three white and three red house wines often, based on grape type and not by country. The chalkboard lists around a dozen dishes on the two- or three-course menus. Hiramasa kingfish ceviche with yuzu in place of the expected lemon plus cucumber, baby radish, coriander and edible flowers might precede pan-roasted Boston lobster risotto with asparagus cooked in vegetable stock and white wine, followed by the chocolate fondant that really does flow like lava. Private parties book the elegant upstairs dining room adjacent to a wine cellar stocked with Tang's most recent purchases.