What happens when a Korean-Canadian chef collaborates with an American Southern barbecue expert? They end up with their own kind of fusion – in this case, it’s an Asian smokehouse, Liberty Exchange Singapore.
Yong Soo-do, former chef of Korean restaurant Bib n Hops and Japanese grill restaurant Silencio in Hong Kong, and Chris Tuthill, previously with Smoke & Barrels in the city’s Central district, both now work for the Liberty Group. Yong is a chef consultant and Tuthill took over as executive chef at Liberty Exchange in Central in mid-2022.
“I got really hooked recently on open fire cooking,” Yong says. “Chris, an Albuquerque, New Mexico native, specialises in smokers, with a lot of Southern American and Texas influence. I have Japanese, Korean and Chinese influences in my cooking, so we decided, why don’t we just mix it all together?”
Liberty Exchange Singapore soft-opened this October in the Link Mall of the Marina Bay Financial Centre – near Singapore’s Marina Bay hotel.
The unlikely duo are no strangers, though. Yong and Tuthill were colleagues and friends long before becoming collaborators.
“When I had U-Hang, my second restaurant in Hong Kong [in the early 2010s], Chris kind of helped part-time for a while,” Yong says. “A friend introduced me to him.
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“He’s worked in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco. He was doing his own thing for a while and then last year, we got in touch again.
“I reached out to him. At first I was just looking for a chef to take over Liberty Exchange. I was the group’s consulting chef so they asked me to help them find someone to be head chef.
“But once Chris started, I thought it was a bit of a waste of his talent to just do American bar food, so I explained I wanted to do an Asian smokehouse and possibly opening something interesting later in Singapore. He thought it was a cool idea, so he came on board.”
Yong and Tuthill have had no shortage of ideas for the Singapore opening.
The use of smoke to impart flavour is not new in Asian culture, but it’s often limited to concepts like tea-smoking poultry or fish. Yong and Tuthill have been throwing almost everything into their smoker to see what sticks.
“We will have an open fire grill, using cherry wood and charcoal as well as binchotan (charcoal) from Japan,” Yong says. “All the steaks, seafood and vegetables will be grilled over an open flame.
“We’ll also do char siu pork belly with a maple syrup glaze with molasses, Korean kalbi whole rib, marinated and smoked, which will be very interesting and different to grilling.
“Our brisket is rubbed with black pepper and smoked for six, seven hours. We have Vietnamese-style sausages, and our Chinese soy chicken will go through the smoker as well.
“I’m also going to try smoked beef rendang, beef tartare with a smoked oyster aioli, sambal prawn pasta, Caesar salad with smoked ikura (salmon roe), corn tempura, and XO lobster with Scamorza cheese, so it’s all mixed with Asian elements. It also won’t be fine dining, just structured and refined.”
They also promise it will be something different to Singapore’s acclaimed barbecue fine-dining restaurant Burnt Ends, currently ranked number 24 on the Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list.
Both Yong and Tuthill are in Singapore to gear up for the opening and assisting with operations, but they won’t be relocating there. Another head chef, Winky Chong, formerly of Hong Kong, will be the regular head chef.
Like Hong Kong’s Liberty Exchange, it is in an enviably large venue in the financial district.
Actually, I think Singaporeans have more spending power for food than Hong Kong because there are not as many entertainment options there
They have incorporated a coffee shop in the front and a cookie store at the back. The restaurant will include an open kitchen and have seating for 180 guests.
What they won’t have is a Southern-style traditional wood smoker. Instead, Liberty Singapore will have to settle for something more efficient, consistent and electrical, with a temperature control, that can cold- and hot-smoke food.
“I want an authentic smoker, but, you know, it’s inside an office building so we cannot create such massive amounts of smoke,” Yong says.
Hong Kong diners will have to wait a while to try his and Tuthill’s version of cross-cultural barbecuing.
The idea of testing out the new recipes and concept in Singapore reflects the country’s growing gastronomic reputation. Yong thinks the Southeast Asian city state is at the point of challenging Hong Kong for gastro-supremacy.
“Actually, I think Singaporeans have more spending power for food than Hong Kong because there are not as many entertainment options there. I notice people just love to eat out, and check out new stuff. Trends change quite rapidly in Singapore.”
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If the Singapore experiment is a success, then the entire Asian smokehouse idea might be brought back into Hong Kong when the IFC’s Liberty Exchange gets its own relaunch late this year or early next.
“We still need to play around with more food concepts once we get the place open in Singapore,” Yong says. “Then later, we’ll try to do some four-hands events here as well.
“We’ve already got some chefs agreeing to come over, like Craig Wong from Canada. He does Chinese-Jamaican food which seems like a good fit.”
“I think it’s gonna be fun.”