Medicinal Purposes

All chefs love to work with new ingredients, but few have been given the opportunity that has befallen Raphael Gamon. The talented American, who has cooked for the likes of Cher, Madonna and Steven Spielberg, has been taken on as a consultant by Red White & Pure, redwhitepure.com , an innovative spa and restaurant in Singapore. His mission? To give a creative twist to an old-fashioned branch of Chinese cooking known as "tonic cuisine."

For the uninitiated, tonic cuisine comprises dishes prepared primarily for their medicinal value, and it draws on the vast array of herbs and...