SINGAPORE (Oct 8): Eighteen years ago, as university students in Australia, Melvin Yeo and Elaine Lim (main image, right) had an unforgettable experience at Claypots St Kilda. The seafood bar, founded by Turkish-born Australian Renan Goksin, was the first of what is today a popular restaurant chain Down Under. Now, Yeo and Lim are attempting to recreate that experience in the central business district of Singapore.
Claypots Full Circle is a Mediterranean-Asian seafood restaurant and bar on Amoy Street. The restaurant gets its name from the fact that Goksin was actually inspired by his food experiences in Southeast Asia — including in Singapore — to set up Claypots St Kilda. Lim and Yeo collaborated with Goksin on the concept, which features original Claypots dishes such as Shellfish Stir-Fry (market price) and Moroccan Claypot ($26) but also has some Singapore exclusives such as Okra Tossed with Dried Shrimp ($7) and Cheese Saganaki ($15).
Like Claypots St Kilda, Claypots Full Circle has a cosy ambience to it. The restaurant sports warm, yellow lighting, mismatched chairs and a mix of seating arrangements. Where the two restaurants differ is in the taste profile. Claypots Full Circle has a distinctly local spin to its food. The okra, for instance, tastes straight out of a local zi char stall, with a full wok hei flavour. Its Fish of the Day (market price) comes with chermoula, a marinade and relish typically found in Algerian, Libyan, Moroccan and Tunisian cooking. But it is served whole — head, tail and skin intact — the way it would be at most local restaurants.
