Restaurant of the Week: PyxieMoss executes root-to-tip cooking without the frills

If you subscribe to the waste-not mentality, then head to PyxieMoss along North Canal Road. The new modern European restaurant is driven by British chef Tim-Ross Watson’s MacGyver approach to food, where oft-discarded parts like carrot peels and coffee grinds are upcycled and turned into delicious fare.

Nose-to-tail here never quite took off, but under the expert hands of Ross-Watson (and a little help from Guns N’ Roses playing on Loud for a few hours in his room), root-to-tip cooking just might. The proof lies in a simple Coffee Lox, where thin slices of Norwegian salmon are cured usung upcycled coffee grinds. A refreshing green apple sorbet and freeze-dried grapefruit balance out the nutty notes in this dish that is a nice change from the typical lox and dill combo.

There’s clever play with vegetarian dishes here too. Carrot Dog, for instance, is a fun take on the popular street food item. Pillow-soft focaccia cushions a char-grilled carrot glazed with gula melaka and crowned with pickled carrots, onions and pineapples. And if there’s one dish to convert meat-lovers, the Seaviche will do it. Diced sea coconut, a tropical fruit commonly found in Chinese desserts, takes the place of cured seafood. The sweet fleshy coconut strips are served with ceviche toppings like cilantro, chilli and onions. On the side, a bag of hickory-smoked corn chips for that extra crunch.

Few will realise the metal and steel interior with its sleek grey colour scheme was once a lurid shade belonging to a former Indian restaurant that occupied the same premises. But peek into the open kitchen at PyxieMoss and you’ll spot one thing Ross-Watson has kept: A tandoor oven which he uses for some of his dishes now. The lamb belly in Mother’s Lamb, for instance, is finished off on the tandoor then paired with juicy carbonated grapes and brioche bits.

PyxieMoss lets in a rowdier bar crowd from 10pm onwards, which is great if you fancy the buzz to go with delicious cocktails (Ginger Julie is a tasty concoction made from Monkey 47 gin and shiso sake). Otherwise, amble in around early evening when the restaurant is a smartly suited space perfect for enjoying moreish bites at great value.

Our take: 3.5/5. Unpretentious food with heart.

PYXIEMOSS

43 North Canal Road

Tel: 6532-2171

www.pyxiemoss.com

Check out our other Restaurants of the Week:  BRACI | YEN YAKINIKU | SAINT PIERRE | TERRA | SHASHLIK