Review: Araya – Chilean Fine-Dining Restaurant in Mondrian Singapore Duxton

It’s hard to imagine that Araya, the Chilean restaurant in Mondrian Singapore Duxton, opened just a few months ago in Q4 2023. In that short span of time, it has been making waves in the city’s dining scene with stellar reviews for its South American coastal cuisine.

Araya is located in the dining complex of Mondrian Singapore Duxton that includes Noa Lounge, Suzuki Omakase and Tribal Dining. 

The restaurant, which is helmed by Chefs Francisco Araya and Fernanda Guerrero, has recently launched a new degustation menu, the Costa (S$368) which is a celebration of all things seafood. The idea of a marine-centric menu seems quite apt since Chile boasts a long 6,437km Pacific coastline. 

We started with a trio of snacks – Ama Ebi, Chicha de Pina and Corn Flan. The Ama Ebi in particular possessed a highly umami flavor, with tomato meringue and ama ebi that’s been marinated in tomato water. The starter served as a teaser for the seafood dishes that’s to come. 

The Corn Flan was a nod to Latin American sensibilities, where corn plays a huge part in the local diet. The presentation as a flan gave it a unique curd-like texture that I don’t usually associate with corn. 

The Chicha de Pina on the other hand, was a refreshing drink – an unexpected inclusion in a set menu. Chichas are generally fermented drinks and can be made with a variety of crops. I tried some in Peru when I visited last year, a different kind made with purple corn.

It was followed with Pastry Chef Fernanda’s beguiling bread basket featuring 3 types of rolls – the Marraqueta or Chilean crusty white bread, Chapalele which features sourdough with mashed potatoes incorporated into the fermented dough and Chorizo, a soft brioche roll studded with chopped chorizo. 

The bread was accompanied with butter merken and cochayuyo spread, the latter possessing a saltier and briny profile. 

One of the highlights of Araya’s new Costa menu is the Taigarai, or the Pen Shell. It possesses a look and texture that is indistinguishable from scallops to untrained palates like mine. Here, it is served ceviche style with tigre de leche that is made with aji amarillo. This was such a delight to eat and I enjoyed the mildness of the tigre de leche, both in terms of the tangy ceviche flavor and level of spice. 

The aji amarillo again plays a part in the next dish, the Oca and Caviar, its presentation being akin to the tartare / egg / caviar combination that many European restaurants offer. While the appearance may look deceivingly similar, many of the ingredients differ. In Araya, Chef Francisco uses a base made from oca which is a tuber prevalent in South America. Chutoro or fatty tuna is used for the tartare with N25 oscetra caviar topping and the ensemble is finished off with a twirling crunchy potato.

The Curanto course normally uses abalone but during that particular evening this was replaced with blue lobster. This is quite an interesting dish as it comes with 2 sauces – fresh chorizo sauce and another made with seafood organs. It is then topped with pork cracklings or chicharrones for an added crunch. I am just imagining what it must have tasted like with abalone which doesn’t taste much on its own. With blue lobster, you get a shellfish that is already inherently slightly salty. Due to this, the flavor was a tad overwhelming with lobster while it may have been just right with the more neutral tasting abalone. 

My favorite dish of the evening has got to be the Moqueca. Everything was done right here, from the succulent Japanese channel rockfish “kinki” used, dubbed the wagyu of fishes due to the high fat content; to the coconut milk-based sauce that was just so addictive. The fish had an almost melt-in-your mouth quality.

A bowl of Chancho en Piedra or cantaloupe gazpacho served as an intermission before the next main.

The name of the next main, Aged Ecuadorian Cacao, may seem to suggest that the highlight here is the cacao sauce that has been prepared with around 50 ingredients. While the sauce preparation is undoubtedly taxing and time-consuming, I don’t think the bird, which came succulent and tender, should play second fiddle here. 

The thing about having a talented duo in a place like Araya is that you get the best of both worlds in terms of sweet and savory. The sweet endings are just as stellar and I absolutely adored the Lucuma, served in a curd-like state along with lucuma ice cream as well. This Andean fruit is known to possess the flavor of milk custard with a hint of caramel and butterscotch and the dessert came with exactly that. Those unfamiliar with lucuma could very well be fooled into thinking that it was a butterscotch-themed dessert. 

While petit fours are normally considered an afterthought, I found it to be another highlight at Araya. It is offered on a “get-what-you-want” style with Chef Fernanda coming to us with her carrito de dulces or dessert cart. It came with various flavors of chocolate bonbons, and jellies. 

The chefs behind Araya aim to use a variety of ingredients that are indigenous to South America’s coast and I have to say that dining here is an eye-opening experience with this being my first time to try items such as oca, lucuma or cochayuyo in Singapore. It is high time that a fine-dining South American concept appear in the Lion City and Araya makes for an excellent exemplification.

They also have another Andes (S$298) menu which feature meat-centric mains. I am curious to try that next time.

Araya
83 Neil Road
#01-08 Mondrian Singapore

Opening Hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 6PM to 11PM