Teatro Gastroteque might just be the only restaurant in Asia where the kitchen is exhibited like a shopfront display. The open kitchen is visible from the street outside, teasing passers-by with the promise of unrivalled gastronomy inside the quaint and intimate dining room where just twenty-four seats await. With its lively chefs and flamboyant cooking techniques, the animated kitchen makes the name Teatro a particularly fitting one, because this Italian word literally means “theatre”. Chefs dressed in traditional toque hats provide an awe-inspiring display of sizzling pans and the glimmer of flaming lustrous ovens, living up to the restaurants theatrical moniker. The ever-changing menus keep the surprise alive at Teatro, making it especially difficult to pinpoint our favourite dish from the legion of culinary creations sculpted by Executive Chef Mandif Warokka. However, resembling an enchanting ocean garden in both its appearance and its use of fresh flavours, Chef Mandif’s lobster curry is an unforgettable work of art with its innovative and colourful twist on an authentic Indonesian curry. The cerise-red centrepiece of succulent lobster is surrounded by an artful blossom of masterfully prepared vegetables, such as the vibrant carrot purée, a neat package of confit potato and a sprinkling of firm edamame beans. Each lively ingredient rests upon a thick and velvety coconut curry emulsion for that all-important spicy kick.
Chef Mandif Warokka
“The lobster curry is inspired by a memorable dish from my childhood; the prawn curry. Indonesian curry is quite different to other curries in the sense that it uses a myriad of fresh herbs and spices making it more fragrant, light and elegant. Properly made, the curry delivers a nuanced blend of complex spices and ingredients. In my childhood prawn curry, I found that the richness of the curry really brought out the flavour of the prawns. Then when I experimented with lobster, I realised it was even better.
So, we blanch the lobster with salted water and cook the lobster tails in seasoned butter at 58.5°C for 20 minutes. This is very critical that the lobster is cooked for this exact amount of time at this temperature because the result is a beautifully tender texture with just enough resistance in each bite. Perfectly cooked, the flesh shines with a slight opaqueness. The curry itself is made by continuously cooking the lobster head in coconut milk, chilli and a mixture of spices using very gentle heat. It gives the curry a deep character with perfect depth and length, finished with very elegant flavours. It is a quite a lot of work for one simple dish, but I guarantee it is a very memorable gastronomic experience.”
