Belimbing, the New-Gen Singaporean restaurant by The Coconut Club team and helmed by Chef Marcus Leow, has introduced a refreshed menu this September that builds on the restaurant’s founding ethos — to present Singaporean cuisine in ways that feel both familiar and new. This menu continues that journey, placing greater emphasis on fermentation and sustainability as expressions of Belimbing’s philosophy of whole-ingredient cooking. In Marcus’s hands, what might otherwise be discarded is given new purpose, transformed into depth, character and unexpected flavour.
“Flavour does not begin and end with what is on the plate. It begins with how we treat each ingredient, with patience and intention,” says Marcus. “Fermentation and whole-ingredient cooking are not only about reducing waste. They are about discovering new dimensions of taste and giving ingredients a second life.”
Fermentation as Flavour, Sustainability as Philosophy
The refreshed menu deepens Chef Marcus Leow’s ongoing exploration of Singaporean flavours by weaving in zero-waste practices and fermentation. Fish bones are brewed into soy sauce, clam jus becomes a delicate dashi, citrus peels are fermented into marinades, and coconut husks are roasted and used to infuse a gentle smokiness into the milk that forms the base of curries. Nothing is wasted and every element is given a new purpose.
Fermentation threads naturally through the kitchen, giving local fruits and vegetables unexpected depth. Through pickling, brining and ageing, familiar ingredients are transformed in ways that feel surprising yet intuitive. This approach, rooted in the resourcefulness of Singapore’s culinary heritage and refined with modern technique, is a continuation of Belimbing’s voice — one that celebrates our flavours while imagining how they can evolve today.
The Menu
Belimbing’s refreshed menu continues its mission of reworking comfort into something unexpected, with fermentation and zero-waste practices woven throughout. Each dish is anchored in memory, but expressed in a way that feels alive in the present. New and revitalised highlights include the Claypot Rice, Skate Wing Goreng, Crispy Scale Marble Goby, and Sunchoke Bingka, alongside refreshed expressions of the Aged Shima Aji and Grilled Octopus.
The Claypot Rice is the clearest expression of Marcus’s philosophy of using every part of an ingredient with purpose. Instead of conventional stock, he builds depth from octopus braised with seaweed, drawing on an unusual pairing more often seen in Western cooking. By simmering the octopus with kombu, a thread that runs across the menu, the result is an umami-rich base that feels both sensible and surprising. At the heart of the dish is buah keluak, traditionally matched with robust meats such as pork or beef.
Here, Marcus takes a different path, pairing it with long-braised local squid whose intense, full-bodied juices are strong enough to meet the nut’s earthy character. The result is an unconventional harmony, where both flavours hold their ground yet balance one another. By placing buah keluak within the frame of a familiar claypot rice, Marcus turns a humble comfort into a statement on how Singaporean food can evolve while staying true to its roots.
“I wanted to show that seafood can stand up to buah keluak if you give it time and care. Claypot rice felt like the right canvas for that idea — humble, familiar, but with room to surprise,” says Chef.
The Skate Wing Goreng reflects Marcus’s belief in finding value in the overlooked. In Singapore, skate is most often served as sambal ikan pari, where the smokiness of banana leaves and the heat of sambal help to mask its sometimes muddy flavour. Marcus takes a different approach. By deep frying the skate in goreng pisang batter, he locks in moisture and preserves its natural character without the interference of banana leaf aroma or overpowering sambal.
The flesh is seasoned with laksa mustard and balanced with red pepper ketchup, flavours chosen to enhance rather than conceal. Even the bone of the skate wing is not wasted; it is simmered into a stock that flavours the beans at the base of the dish. What might otherwise have been discarded is instead transformed, and what might once have been hidden is instead given space to be tasted and appreciated.
“I wanted guests to taste the flavour of skate for what it is — clean, delicate and distinct — without covering it up. Deep frying lets us preserve its integrity while giving it texture and lift.”
The Crispy Scale Marble Goby extends this ethos. Cashew and candlenut form the base of a velvety curry, while a seaweed laksa verde brings freshness and brine. The fish itself is used in its entirety: the skin crisped, the flesh tender, and the trimmings repurposed. What might have been discarded becomes central to the dish, embodying chef’s whole-ingredient philosophy.
Dessert arrives as Sunchoke Bingka, a familiar kueh reinvented through fermentation. The base is enriched with the earthy sweetness of sunchoke and paired with a black rice amazake ice cream, which adds a gentle tang and depth. Pear Chantilly brings lightness, while chiku ties the dish back to local memory. The result is a dessert rooted in tradition yet layered with invention, bridging generations through taste.
Belimbing now offers a 3-course lunch menu at $48 and a 5-course dinner menu at $98, designed to highlight the breadth of Chef Marcus Leow’s refreshed creations in a format that encourages sharing and discovery.
