Midas Food n Travel Blog: E'spuma Lab @POMO, Media Invite

My friend Wendy was invited by Mileage Comms for a Food tasting event at E'spuma Lab located at POMO (7-8mins walk from Dhoby Ghuat MRT). She brought along Pauline and myself for the tasting event.

E'spuma Lab is located at the ground floor and is pretty near to the main entrance. The tiny store spots a clean and chic look with striking yellow color furnishing. Tiny but hard to miss.

E'spuma Lab serves up affordable western fusion set meals cooked with either espuma or sous vide technique, usually found only at fine dining establishments.

Espuma is Spanish for foam or froth, is a culinary technique in which an espuma siphon is used to infuse air into food, extruding through a N2O canister. The introduction of air in food gives it a lighter and smoother texture without changing the physical composition or taste of a dish.

Sous vide is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath or in a temperature-controlled steam environment for longer than normal cooking times at an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking, typically around 55 °C (131 °F) to 60 °C (140 °F) for meats and higher for vegetables. The intention is to cook the food evenly, ensuring that the inside is properly cooked without overcooking the outside, and sealing in the moisture.

After a quick registration at the store entrance, we were given some reading materials describing the culinary concept of E'spuma Lab, and the current menu and price points for the dishes served here.

The food tasting session kick started with a formal introduction to the team behind E'spuma Lab. Mr Andrew Koh, the Marketing & Communications Director at E'spuma Lab, gave us a low down on their unique culinary concept, followed by a short culinary demonstration from Chef Teo Yeow Siang showcasing the espuma cooking technique.

The Chef also explained how the sous vide machine works, and the technology behind creating evenly cooked dishes. We also saw more siphons and used canisters on display at the shop front.

We were then treated to a delicious meal comprising of several signature dishes from E'spuma Lab. First up, Sous Vide Eggs w/ Smoked Norwegian Salmon $3.80, served with crispy salmon skin and ginger soyu. This is a tasting portion, the normal serving has got two eggs and more toppings.

E'spuma surprises us with a perfectly executed and evenly cooked poached egg that is smooth and creamy from inside out. The ginger soyu sauce and the salmon toppings were a flawless union with the egg. Thumbs up!

Curry Chicken w/ E'spuma Potato Foam $6.80, served with mini french baguettes. We were not given baguettes as we will be having more dishes later.

The savory curry chicken cubes blends really well with the potato foam which was velvety, light and creamy, like a cream soup version of the mashed potato. Very yummy indeed.

Sauteed Mushrooms w/ E'spuma Potato Foam $6.80, a vegetarian version of the curry chicken dish. Mushroom was plump and juicy, and the tasty truffle crumbles topping added a nice bite to the dish.

Our main courses, Fragrant Rice w/ Cajun Chicken Leg & E'spuma Curry Sauce, Fragrant Rice w/ Pan Seared Sous Vide Chicken Breast & E'spuma Pesto Sauce and Spaghetti w/ Swedish Meatballs & E'spuma Caramelized Onion Sauce, all priced at $6.80 each.

Fragrant Rice w/ Cajun Chicken Leg & E'spuma Curry Sauce, comes with a whole chicken drumstick with thigh that is steam baked till crispy on the outside but retaining its tenderness inside. Best eaten with the lightly textured curry foam sauce. The fragrant rice looks like nasi biryani but tastes like chicken rice with sweet raisins, which is quite nice actually.

Spaghetti w/ Swedish Meatballs & E'spuma Caramelized Onion Sauce, comes with crispy beef meatballs and aglio olio spaghetti, served with sweet onion foam sauce. The pasta is bland on its own but taste pretty good with the onion sauce. The meatballs were also kinda ordinary until eaten with the sauce. The portion featured here is a tasting portion size.

Fragrant Rice w/ Pan Seared Sous Vide Chicken Breast & E'spuma Pesto Sauce, comes with a chunky sous vide chicken beast that is lightly pan seared to achieve a slightly crispy exterior, served with pesto foam sauce. The chicken breast was evenly cooked throughout and remains moist and tender inside.

Lastly, we had a small serving of dessert/snack each. There is a choice of Spiced Calamari w/ Fries $5.80 or E'spuma Batter D24 Durian Fritters $3.80, in tasting portion.

I had the Durian fritters, which has a light as air crispy coating with warm and creamy durian puree inside. Its a tad sweet for my liking though but a steal at $3.80 for 5pcs. Great for those who has a sweet tooth.

My drink Ice Blended Mango Blaster $2.80, a nice cooling drink to wash down the yummy meal.

We had a wonderful time learning new culinary jargon and tasting uniquely prepared food that is very kind to the wallets. Thank you E'spuma Lab and Mileage Comms for arranging this tasting session. Here are some official photos and full menu from E'spuma Lab to pique your interest.