Restaurant Review - SuperTree by IndoChine

Restaurant Review - SuperTree by IndoChine

18 Marina Gardens Drive
Gardens by the Bay, #03-01
Singapore 018953

 +65 6694 8489

One of Michael Ma's latest addition to the IndoChine group of restaurants, hotels and clubs is located in the heart of Singapore's Gardens by the Bay. Placatively named SuperTree, the restaurant cum rooftop bar sits atop the biggest artificial tree in Gardens by the Bay. Visiting at night is particularly impressing, as the trees are lit up in serene colours and the SuperTree stands out against the impressive sight of Marina Bay Sands in the background.

Mink Tan, the interior designer for the SuperTree also designed various popular clubs in Singapore. Unfortunately, and in my personal opinion, the interior design is indeed more apt for a night club (and rather one from the 70s) rather than a treetop restaurant, with cow hides on the floor, cow-themed bar stools and a bubble chair hanging from the ceiling. Even the elevator up to the restaurant is a homage to the disco era, with a marine theme and white jellyfish painted on the walls, and including a broken vent with duct tape hanging from the ceiling. Inside the restaurant, I recommend a table away from the glaring colored lights hanging behind the bar, as they reflect in the glass windows, preventing you from enjoying the view. The restaurant in the SuperTree opened just 7 months ago, yet much of the interior already looks worn and chipped (more duct tape at the corner of the bar, badly scratched cutlery, worn-out menus) As you can see from the pictures, the table deco also follows the 70s theme, and unfortunately the table cloth does not get changed after every meal, so there are splotches. 

You might gather correctly that my first impression of IndoChine's SuperTree was not very favourable. Fortunately, however, SupreTree has a few aces up its sleeve that more than make up for its drawbacks.

First, the food. We were a small party, but we ordered quite a lot of food and two bottles of wine. We started out with the SuperTree Platter. This platter is made up four of each Bó La Lot (Grilled beef in wild betel leaves), Nem Khao Hor (Rice paper hand rolls with minced chicken and roasted organic brown rice), Gói Cuôn (Vietnamese fresh rice paper rolls with tiger prawn), Lychee Beignets with kurobuta pork loin and bacon, as well as Nem Re So (Vietnamese scallop rolls in crispy sliver threadskin). This starter was nothing short of delicious, with all items tasting fabulously.

The Chef’s Special Chargrilled Fresh Squid might have been good, but it arrived at our table lukewarm, and after a few minutes on the table it was cold, so that I did not try more than 2 pieces, which tasted decently.

We had two salads at Supertree, namely the Tam Som – Traditional Papaya Salad with shredded green papaya, dried shrimp, long beans, chilli, carrots, cherry tomatoes, lime juice & peanuts, dressed with a traditional Laotian sauce as well as the Gói Buòi Saigon – Pomelo Prawn Salad of Saigon, with freshly poached tiger prawns, pomelo, dried shrimp, chilli & carrot tossed with the IndoChine house dressing. On the latter, our friendly waitress rightfully advised us that it would taste rather intensely of fish. Both salads were quite decent and notably made with fresh ingredients.

Of the Tom Yam Lobster Broth with wild Asian herbs, tomatoes & lobster meat we had both the creamy and the clear versions at our table. The Tom Yam was not very spicy and very full-flavored, with a fresh aftertaste, making the broth very savoury. Maybe because of the overpowering explosion of Tom-Yam flavour, the lobster did not really shine.

The Thit Bo Luc Lac – Prime Black Pepper Beef sautéed in herbs, spices & melted butter was served on a bed of sliced onions & tomatoes, accompanied by a sour-sweet dip.The "basket of daily selected garden greens for traditional wrapping" was nothing more than regular lettuce leaves, but the beef itself was alright.

Another highly-recommended signature dish at the SuperTree restaurant is steamed black cod with a sauce of lemon juice, garlic, coriander & chilli, topped a poached tiger prawn. While the cod and prawn were decent, I would not call it a signature dish, as it did not outperform some of the other dishes we tried that night. Instead, I recommend trying the pan-seared red drum fish with poached pear, tamarind dressing, and cashew nuts, as this was more intense in flavor and definitely one of the better dishes at SuperTree.

IndoChine's lightly fried rice with chicken & prawns is spiced with special herbs & a home-made sauce,
and was also quite yummy, accompanying our other dishes nicely.

Second big pro for Indochine's Supertree are the outdoor seating areas. Due to the fact that seating is 360 degrees around the tree, the outdoor seating areas provide a modicum of privacy and do not appear crowded even when a number of patrons are seated. In fact, as far as I could tell that night, not a single person was sitting in the outdoor area of the restaurant, which is actually ideal, as you get a breeze, a great view and you can hear the sounds from the Gardens by the Bay in a loft setting.

I recommend to have a drink at the revolving rooftop bar after your dinner at SuperTree (hopefully it will revolve again, as it was out of order when we were visiting). The design of the tree makes you feel like you are sitting on a floating platform, and the 360 degree view is impressive. A particular highlight is sunset atop the SuperTree, with the sun slipping behind the horizon and its last rays glinting off the ships in the bay.

Overall, I'd say very good food and the surrounding Gardens by the Bay offset SuperTree's interior design and make for a nice evening in an unusual surrounding.

4/5 Stars