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Casa, or ‘home’ in Spanish, refers to an abode. Figuratively, it also suggests the end of a journey or the culmination of a quest – a coming around to one’s true essence. So it is with Chef Remy Lefebvre. Because rarely has a man’s personal history so comprehensively and irrevocably shaped his métier. With Casa Restaurant by Remy Lefebvre, Remy creates a contemporary woodfire gastronomic restaurant that articulates his most cherished values, beliefs, and passions – in so doing crystallising his life into a concept, a cuisine, and an abode for himself and his guests.
Up to this point Remy’s life has been one of unremitting restlessness. From his childhood on the Ivory Coast of Africa to his return to his homeland of France, to his peregrinations in Mexico, Spain, the Middle East, India, Hong Kong, the Caribbean and Singapore, Remy has been seeking creative harbour in far-flung places for some two decades. But come June, he can be said to have found himself, and his rock, at Casa.
Such deep affinity for the living Earth stems from Remy’s growing up in Africa weaned on a diet of seafood and tropical fruit with summers spent in Brittany and Normandy in France, foraging for crabs, shrimps, clams and oysters along the coast and picking fruits and nuts in the fields and forests when in season.
His time living amidst unspoilt natural environments and eco-systems also bred in Remy a resolve to preserve these conditions for future generations. So, his larder is stocked full of Nature’s most unadulterated largesse – line-caught fish; responsibly sourced seafood; organic and wild-foraged herbs, vegetables and fruits; traditionally farmed meat; a wide selection of bio-dynamic wines, mostly from Europe.
Located at CHIJMES, Casa is a microcosm of Remy’s journey on a plate and a showcase of his art of cooking with woodfire in the traditional way. Casa celebrates the land and the sea and highlights the season’s choicest offerings. As its name suggests, Casa Restaurant by Remy Lefebvre embraces its guests in a space that feels like a home. A subdued palette of calm blues, ivory and sage green along with surfaces of nuanced natural beauty, soothe and relax visitors as they step through the glass-doored entrance.
The spacious dining hall which seats 35 is free-flowing with views to an open kitchen and cooking islands. The eyes are immediately drawn to a row of arched mirrors which echo the original arched doors in the architecture of CHIJMES. Another interesting feature are the windows inspired by old-style European fenestration. Consisting of multiple rows of swivelling oar-like shutters made of oak laminate, and topped by spoked fanlights, they are quaintly decorative yet very functional.
In design, Casa blends the traditional and contemporary into a harmonious whole. Archways share space with knife-edged partitions of cement, and handmade artisanal ceramic plates are laid on machined tabletops of quartz. Across the teakwood floors, seating is in varied arrangements of plush banquettes with fluted backrests and single chairs in upholstery.
You also get to enjoy the sight of the bustling kitchen centred on the ‘heart’ of Casa’s cooking – the contemporary woodfire grill while you tuck into your dishes. Among the impressive equipment on display are the woodfired Parilla grill with movable racks by Mibrasa, the Mibrasa charcoal oven, and the open woodfire grill. In addition, a fish-aging fridge and a meat-aging fridge keep company with an array of Gaggenau appliances, including an induction hob, a combi-oven, and plate-warmers. Open shelves suspend down from the ceiling to hold plate-ware and crockery, and the walls surrounding the woodfire grills and oven are composed of red brick to present a striking visual focus.
A sequence of open wall shelves, with bottles of beverages in its tiers and incorporating the restaurant’s wine cellars, connect the dining hall to the Living Room. Before and after dinner, guests can enjoy drinks and snacks in the Living Room, which seats up to 18 on lounge sofas, chairs and ottomans. The mood here is of cosy refined relaxation in an elegant setting of steel, wood, leather, and luxurious fabric.
Lighting is carefully choreographed for ambience, and to enhance the overall aesthetic. In particular, the glass pendant lights in various subtle geometric forms hung in clusters or linear arrangements, bring beauty and warmth in an understated, almost unnoticed manner. Through its combination of refined detailing and sensitive use of colour and natural elements, Casa similarly weaves an unconscious spell to create a sense of ease and evoke the welcome of a family home.
At Casa, seafood and vegetables are the stars. Remy’s most formative years as a fine-dining chef were spent working in Spain with gastronomic masters at a time when the country was the epicentre of the ‘vanguard cuisine’ phenomenon. The experience steeped Remy in the Spanish Mediterranean style where fish, seafood and vegetables cooked with herbs and olive oil predominate, just like at Casa.
Remy ages fish and dry-ages beef to intensify flavour and improve texture, and daily presents a meat such as beef, chicken or lamb on a rotation basis, served on the bone. Flavours are clean and distinct yet bold and individual, with dishes cooked from scratch using classical methods over woodfire. His 20 years behind the stove in a diversity of places, tasting, learning and ruminating, has coalesced into a highly individual identity that comes to definitive fruition at Casa.
Remy’s natural curiosity for different cultures and foodways gives him a global sensibility and an inclusive outlook, seen in his unique pairings and seasonings and his embrace of dietary strictures and preferences.
For lunch and dinner, Casa offers the 4- course Discovery menu for $118; the 6- course Experience menu for $198; and the Carte Blanche with 8-courses for $258. A selection of 16 dishes divided into four key sections is available for you to choose from to create each menu. For lunchtime only, the restaurant offers an executive menu, called ‘Trust Me’ – a 3-course at $88. All the above menus are presented with snacks and petit fours.
On weekends, there is a multi-course brunch with champagne at $198++. The courses in this fiesta-style menu are ‘Eat With Fingers’ featuring snacks; ‘Vegetal’ featuring vegetable-focused dishes; ‘To Be Shared’ featuring large-format fish and meat, served with sides and condiments; and ‘Never Ending’ featuring desserts and cheese and sweet snacks.
Beverages can be enjoyed in the forms of ‘Wine arrangement’ in Small and Large selections (4 or 8 selections at $198 or $258), and ‘Mix arrangement’ – offering a mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages in Small and Large selections (4 or 8 selections at $118 / $198).
If you are relaxing with drinks in the Living Room, you can opt for a selection of savoury, sweet snacks and cheese available on a la carte basis; or choose ‘Easy’ which is a chef selection of finger food at $88+.
Address: 30 Victoria Street, CHIJMES, #01-20, Singapore 187996 | Opening Hours: 12pm to 2pm & 6pm to 10:30pm (Wed to Sat), 12pm to 3pm & 6pm to 10:30pm (Sun) | Tel: +65 97228171 | Email: [email protected] | Website: www.casarestaurant.sg
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