The Place Located at Dempsey, Air (which stands for Awareness, Impact and Responsibility) is a new restaurant and multi-space concept which occupies a sprawling 40,000-sq-ft barracks complex that used to serve as a clubhouse for civil servants. The two-storey building houses the Restaurant, Research Space and Cooking Club, where the restaurant is helmed by Chef Matthew Orlando, founder of Amass in Copenhagen, where Chef Matthew was also previously in the team of Noma in Copenhagen and Per Se in New York City.  

The dining space on level one is relaxed and casual with a view of either the lush greenery for the regular tables, or the open kitchen if you are seated at the counter seats. The second floor is a more intimate 45-seat dining area overlooking the lawn. 

The Food There is no particular cuisine which defines Air, just “good food” as what the team shared with me. You can opt to have dishes from the ala carte menu, or go for the 5-course + dessert Chef’s Choice (S$88++ per person) menu where the latter option is more value for money in my opinion. The only gripe is the whole table must order the same Chef’s Choice menu. 

I went for the Chef’s Choice menu and started with the Fermented Cassava Flatbread with Whipped Mushroom “XO” Butter. I love the freshly baked and warm bread which goes with a unique mushroom flavoured butter. 

The next starter I had was the Whole Fish Ceviche with Green Mango and Kenari Nut Milk, a light and refreshing option to whet the palate. 

An addictive starter on the menu, the Crispy Oyster Mushrooms with Sarawak Pepper Emulsion and Pickled Chilies is one of my favourites on the menu. I am a big mushroom lover and there is nothing not to love about fried mushrooms, and this version has that tinge of aromatic spices to enhance its flavours. 

For mains, I highly recommend going for the Roselle Glazed Duck Breast, where the duck is grilled over charcoal and lacquered with a sticky roselle glaze. Other than the flavourful duck meat, I enjoyed the accompanying cashew cream and smoked chilli oil. 

The other main course I tried was the Sweet and Sour Roasted Sea Bass with Eggplant and Galangal Hollandaise where the fish spots a crispy skin in a delicious Hollandaise sauce.   

For dessert, I decided to try something interesting, The Whole Papaya. Pieces of fresh papaya are swathed in papaya seed cream made by lactic-fermenting papaya seeds and grinding them to a fine powder where the papaya skins are also lactic-fermented, blended into syrup, frozen and blitzed to form the accompanying frozen papaya skin granite. Overall, this is one dessert which you either love or hate, and as someone who loves papaya as a fruit, it is an interesting way to present it as a dessert, which is not common as well. 

Rants The ala carte dishes are priced much higher if I were to compare it to the Chef’s Choice Menu. Take the Roselle Glazed Duck Breast at S$48 and the Crispy Oyster Mushrooms at S$30 for example, though granted, I am sure the portion of the Chef’s Choice menu is smaller than the ala carte portion.

Will I Return Again? The space of Air is lovely, and the restaurant injects a new lease of life to the dining scene in Dempsey, which in recent years, has not been particularly exciting in my opinion. If you are looking for a good value chef’s menu to try in a fine-casual setting, this is one to note down.

This was an invited tasting, though all opinions expressed are our own.

TheRantingPanda says:
Taste bud: 4/5
Hole in the pocket: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Overall Experience: 4/5

Air 
25B Dempsey Road 
Singapore 249670 
Tel: +65 8228 1528 

Opening Hours 
Wednesday to Sunday: 5:30pm to 11pm 

Ranted by The Ranter