Ce Soir looks to flowers for a dining experience of flavours, freshness and fantasy - From the team behind Le Jardin, Cafe de Nicole’s Flower and Under Der Linden

Ce Soir opens its doors at Portsdown, welcoming all into a flowery abode where fine florals and Haute French cuisine reside. Inspired by all things floral and botanical, Ce Soir brings the exact precision of French culinary techniques with a side of breathtaking floral interiors, each bloom sourced internationally. 

The new fine dining enclave is the brainchild of serial restaurateur Nicole Chen, founder of Le Jardin, Café de Nicole’s Flower, and Under Der Linden, and Chef Koh Han Jie, who cut his teeth at Les Amis after training in France. Both bring their accolades in design and F&B for a dining experience of flavors, freshness, and fantasy for a taste beyond the ordinary at Ce Soir.

THE TEAM

Founder Nicole Chen keeps her passions as fluid as the growth of flowers. A trained dancer, fashion designer, and certified floral designer, she first put together all her loves into the materialization of her bridal gown boutique at Arab Street in 2012. It allowed her to exercise all her passions in art, design, and floristry, dipping into the intricacies of each discipline first-hand. 

Being a foodie and growing up in a family heavily involved in F&B, it was only a matter of time before the two sides of her crossed paths to present the next chapter of her business journey. Applying her eye for design and love for food, she launched Café de Nicole’s Flower in 2018, followed by Le Jardin in 2021 and Under Der Linden in the same year. This year, she is proud to team up with Chef Koh Han Jie to present Ce Soir, a restaurant rooted in the beauty of flowers in full bloom, translated into a menu of French artisanal techniques perfected by ingredients sourced from all over the world. 

In the kitchen, Head Chef Koh Han Jie creates a menu that is as delicate and beautiful on the palate as the symphony of fresh flowers in bloom. He forged his culinary journey within the kitchens of local and international Michelin-starred establishments. He graduated from the notable Institute Paul Bocuse culinary arts program where he spent his four-month long internship working alongside internationally-renowned Chef Anne-Sophie Pic at the iconic 3 Michelin-starred restaurants, Maison Pic, giving him a deeper insight into French cooking. He then joined the 2 Michelin-starred Les Amis as a Chef De Partie, working his way up to a Junior Sous Chef, further cementing his growing expertise in French cuisine. 

In 2018, Chef Koh set new standards as the first-ever Singaporean to clinch the distinctive title of world champion at the annual Young Talent Escoffier competition. Chef Koh was part of the Singapore National Culinary Team that competed in Expogast 2018 for the Culinary World Cup, winning 2nd place in the competition for Singapore.  Inspired by natural flavors and the turning of the seasons, Chef Koh seeks to uncover and rediscover tastes within the natural blooms of flowers by making use of every petal. Creative, inventive, and original, each item on the menu is personally designed and dreamed to life by Chef Koh, whispering reality into even the most ethereal of fantasies. 

Seeing to the sweet accompaniments is Head Pastry Chef Suanne Eng, who graduated from L’École Nationale Supérieure de la Pâtisserie, a pastry focused school by Alain Ducasse and Yves Thuriès in a small town in France. Upon graduation, she headed to find work in the revered pâtisseries in Paris, working under the supervision of renowned pastry chefs Julien Alvarez and Guillaume Mabilleau. She then returned to Singapore to the hallowed halls of 3 Michelin-starred restaurants Joël Robuchon and subsequently paved her own way through five-star hotels St. Regis Singapore and Shangri-La Singapore. Chef Suanne is a true chemist of her own design, bringing unique flavors to life in all manners of pastry, bread, and desserts. Her artistry is in a class of its own, often distinctive in flavor and classically refined, just as she intends to surprise with every dessert on the menu.

 

THE MENU 

Ce Soir’s floral culinary symphony meets the world in lunch and dinner menus that traverse the land to sea. Each draws inspiration from the artistry of flowers with delicate flavors and stunning presentation, all wrapped up with elegant service by a team who wants nothing more than to have every guest who arrives leave as kin. 

The Lustre Menu ($98 for four courses) brings treasures of the sea like Hand-Dived Scallops from Norway, enriched in creaminess with a garnishing of purple and green seaweed from Osaka and sweetened with sea grapes in seaweed butter. There is also the Hamachi of cured Japanese Amberjack, lightly cured for extra body and depth before being rolled into a delicate rose alongside black radish to lift flavors. The best of the terroir comes in mains like Yukimuro Snow-aged A4 Full Blood Wagyu, grilled over Binchotan charcoal to melt on the tongue with the perfect balance of lean and fat, further bolstered by artichoke puree, grilled baby artichoke, cordyceps mushroom, and pomme souffle. 

The Iridescent Menu ($198) brings more options including Mozambique Langoustines, fresh from the oceans of Madagascar, South Africa, poached to pillowy tenderness with a vin jaune sauce of red wine from the Jura region of France.  Miss not the Rawaru Blue Cod, crispy scaled blue cod from New Zealand drizzled with a delectable foam sauce of mussel stock and light fish fumet. For mains, the Challandais Duck has a whole duck roasted with the bone in the carcass to retain all of its best jus but served only by the prime breast meat for the best enjoyment. After a palate cleanser of shiso sorbet, a house-made palate cleanser of white peach granita, round things off on a sweet end with prickly pear that lends a zing of tartness with macerated strawberries, served on a round almond sable pastry and topped with almond crumble for extra bite.

Address: 5B Portsdown Rd, Singapore 139311

Website: https://cesoir.com.sg/