808 Eating House @ Joo Chiat Road - Accessible Style Of Inventive Contemporary Southeast Asian Cuisine

A new kid on the block in Joo Chiat enclave is 808 Eating House. The casual eatery by young chef Eugene Chee has conceptualised a menu inspired by Southeast Asian cuisine and regional produce. Chef Eugene wants to move away from the traditional fine dining atmosphere and create a livelier and more local vibe, fuelled by inventive and satisfying dishes prepared with finesse and thoughtfully-sourced local or regional quality ingredients.

Chicken and Egg 3.5/5

We started with some snacks - Chicken and Egg ($4) and Pickled Quail Eggs ($6). The Chicken and Egg is one of the dishes Chef Eugene frequently made during his stint at Bar Crenn while the Pickled Quail Eggs is a crowd favourite during a pop-up collaboration with Chooby Pizza. It felt like Chef Eugene was bringing us into his culinary world, the journey that brought him to where he is today.

Pickled Quail Eggs 4.2/5

The Chicken and Egg is a layered chicken fat chawanmushi with creme fraiche and a generous topping of finely-chopped chives. However, my favourite is the Pickled Quail Egg, which surprised me with its tartness and sweetness from the black vinegar.

Duck Fat Financiers 4/5

Everyone at the table paused momentarily when the Duck Fat Financiers ($10) was served. I was wondering whether this is a savoury or dessert dish. It is interesting to pair the buttery duck fat with a creamy and flavourful chicken liver mousse. The combination may sound weird, but it works for me.

Crispy Baby Squid 4.5/5

The Crispy Baby Squid ($16) is highly addictive, coated in a thin layer of potato starch and deep-fried to golden brown. They are enhanced with a shichimi togarashi sprinkle and are best enjoyed with the squid ink aioli dip.

You Mai Chai 3/5

The You Mai Chai ($12) is served as a salad, tossed in pandan oil, honey and mustard dressing, and topped with prawn and coconut flakes. I am not used to having the greens as a salad. I still prefer to have it stir-fried.

Sweet XL Clams 4.2/5

One of my favourite dishes for the night is the Sweet XL Clams ($24), topped with egg floss. The clams were huge, plump and juicy, swimming in a fragrant and delicious Hua Tiao broth, perking the enjoyment.

Buah Keluak Pork Belly 4/5

A change from the usual buah keluak chicken is the Buah Keluak Pork Belly ($26) paired with achar at the side. The tender pork belly is topped with coconut serundeng and ginger flower, elevating the taste profile. The accompanying achar is a welcoming side to balance the pork belly's richness.

Barramundi 3.5/5

The Barramundi ($28) was cooked beautifully with perfectly seared crispy skin, perched on a lightly-spiced garam masala pumpkin puree. While I enjoyed the fish, I wouldn't say I liked the use of Indian spices in the dish. The idea is good, but more tweak is needed to bring the dish together.

Cold Bee Hoon 4/5

If you need your carbo, the Cold Bee Hoon ($6) will fill you up. The rice vermicelli is packed with flavours from the ebi sakura, shallot oil and chives, worked beautifully together.

Ice Cream Sandwich 4.2/5

The desserts at 808 Eating House are also crafted with a focus on local and regional flavours. The Ice Cream Sandwich ($12), a local childhood treat, comes in a modern take of black sesame parfait sandwiched between two wafer biscuits, topped with coconut caramel, mushroom crumble and mint.

Peanut In A Cup 3/5

The idea behind Peanut In A Cup ($5) is akin to savouring a bowl of local peanut soup. First, concentrated peanut milk is rendered by steeping roasted peanuts in warm milk. Then, it is poured into a glass of muscovado syrup at the base. Please give it a good swirl to enjoy the creamy texture and rich flavour.

Overall I find 808 Eating House has a lot of potential. I get what the chef is trying to do. It is creative, but more work and tweaks are needed to combine the concept and flavours. Saying so, I do look forward to their next menu.

Note: This is an invited tasting.


808 Eating House
153 Joo Chiat Road
Singapore 427431
Tel: +65 89468089
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Nearest MRT: Dakota (CC Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Thu: 6pm - 11pm
Fri-Sun: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 11pm

Direction:
1) Alight at Dakota MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at block 99 (Stop ID 81181). Take bus 33. Alight 5 stops later. Walk across the open-air carpark. Walk to destination. Journey time about 12 minutes. [Map]

Morsels @ Dempsey Hill - Celebrates 10th Anniversary With A New Spring Menu

Morsels at Dempsey Hill celebrates its 10th anniversary with a renewed concept. Moving away from its small plates sharing menu concept, Morsels 2.0 offers a new fixed course tasting menu concept to showcase the season's best produces with Chef Petrina's fermented sauces.

Season Oyster 4.2/5

We had the 9-course Full Tasting Menu ($188++), starting with four snack items. Interestingly, Chef Petrina incorporates East and West influences into each snack. We kickstarted with the fresh Season Oyster (French + Japanese) paired with citron green tea kombucha vinaigrette and olive gel, brightening the taste profile of the shellfish.

Sanchoku Corned Beef Cream 4/5

Next is the Sanchoku Corned Beef Cream (British + Indian) that is presented in the form of a Pani Puri. The blended Sanchoku beef d-rump is mixed with crunchy cornichon stuffed inside a crispy pani puri shell. Bite into it and get an explosion of flavours.

Zucchini Pancake 4/5

The bite-size Zucchini Pancake (Korean + Spanish) coated in egg batter is pan-fried till golden brown and topped with ricotta cheese, red bell pepper and boquerones. I felt the soul of the dish come from the marinated anchovy fish, accentuating the whole dish.

Mushroom Garum Broth 3.8/5

Lastly is the Mushroom Garum Broth (Chinese + Indian), packed with the essence from the smoked willow tree mushrooms and blaze mushrooms, topped with burnt banana leaf oil. It even comes with a crispy light puffed pastry twist dusted with oregano, thyme and onion powder.

After the snacks, we had the bread course, in which a warm and fluffy Brioche is served together with seaweed herb butter.

Cured Stolt Farm Turbot Carpaccio 4.2/5

We moved on to the entree, starting with the Cured Stolt Farm Turbot Carpaccio. The sustainably sourced turbot is aged for 3-5 days, then thinly sliced and dressed in smoked zucchini dashi to enjoy the turbot. It is paired with crunchy ice plant, cucumber and crispy rice puff for texture, enhanced with 8 Gems caviar for popping brininess.

Toriyama A4 Japanese Wagyu Eye Round Tataki 4.2/5

Next is the Toriyama A4 Japanese Wagyu Eye Round Tataki paired with a spring salad. The wagyu eye round is cured overnight in Morsels's two years old corn miso and finished in the hibachi for a pleasant smokiness while retaining the tender and juiciness. Round up the enjoyment with the thick creamy sabayon and cured eye yolk.

Chinese Celery Tortellini 4/5

Another beautiful dish is the Chinese Celery Tortellini. The delectable texture of the pasta dough is stuffed with wild mushrooms and potato duxelles, served in a vibrant green pea sauce and preserved lemon foam. Lastly, the morsel is topped with charred fermented asparagus for texture.

Jeju Abalone & Sakura Chicken 3/5

The Jeju Abalone & Sakura Chicken is a rice dish. The bouncy abalone and tender chicken rested on a bed of multigrain risotto flavoured with Morsels's four year old doenjiang. I enjoyed the risotto texture comprising Koshihikari Japanese rice, Calrose Californian short grain rice, Cambodian brown rice, and barley. It felt like travelling to Jeju island with the beetroot stock surrounding the dish, poured at the tableside. However, there was a lack of sharpness in the flavour, and it was too earthy for my preference.

Fjord Trout 4/5

Still from the ocean, we had the Fjord Trout that is lightly cured and smoked, complemented by a delicious soy dashi stock, rhubarb compote and edamame cereal. Though cooked using Western techniques, each bite has flavours resembling our local fish soup.

Primrose Farm Pork Tenderloin 4.2/5

I have already lost count of the number of dishes I had, and we are just moving to the mains. For mains, there is a choice of Primrose Farm Pork Tenderloin or Rougie Magret Duck. The sous vide Primrose Farm Pork Tenderloin was tender and succulent, enlivened by the accompanying kumquat red pepper kosho. The other components on the plate are potato pave and grilled baby gem.

Rougie Margret Duck 4.2/5

The other main is the Rougie Margret Duck presented in Western and Asian styles. The grilled duck breast grilled and glazed with ume bbq sauce is tender and comes with a hint of smokiness and sweetness. For the Asian style, it is served as a Japanese duck tsukune.

Palate Cleanser

After all the savoury dishes, we had a cup of refreshing beverage comprising a mixture of lemongrass, pear juice and yuzu juice as a palate cleanser.

Apple 4/5

Moving to desserts, we started with the Rice Whipped Panna Cotta, which is topped with sago and diced apple. The dessert, served chilled with shiso granita and apple lemon balm kombucha, provided the acidity for a light and refreshing finish.

Ang Butter 3.8/5

Morsels's version of Any Butter comes in the form of a polenta cake crowned with Amalfi lemon cream, sitting atop a bed of sweet red bean paste, paired with rosemary namelaka and kinako sable. It is richer in flavour than the first dessert, but the combination worked beautifully.

Petit Fours

Wrapping up the 9-course meal is the Petit Fours comprising of choux, nougat, and pear sour cherry pate de fruit.

Note: This is an invited tasting


Morsels
25 Dempsey Road
#01-04
Singapore 249670
Tel: +65 62663822
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Nearest MRT: Napier (TE Line)

Opening Hours:
Tue-Sat: 12pm - 3pm, 6pm - 10pm
Sun: 1130am - 3pm
(Closed on Sun dinner and Mon Full Day)

Direction: 
1) Alight at Napier MRT station. Take Exit 2. Walk to bus stop at Opposite Botanic Gardens (Stop ID 13011). Take bus number 7, 75, 77, 105, 106, 123 and 174. Alight 2 stops later. Take the flight of stairs up to Dempsey Hill. At Dempsey Road, turn left and walk to the open-air carpark in front of block 25. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]