Tuesday, March 12, 2019

Dearborn Supper Club @ Chai Chee Street - Private Dining Focusing On Greens, Grains And Seafood

DearBorn8

Our private dining adventure brought us to Dearborn Supper Club in the East which has like 5 months of waiting list. We are quite lucky to score a session at the start of the year in January if not we will have to wait until June. Dearborn Supper Club is hosted by Chef Christopher Kong who has worked at Waku Chin and Guy Savoy, offering fine-modern American cuisine in a casual setting that focus on grains, greens and seafood at his cosy five room flat.

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A selections of Gin and Tonic welcome us before we proceeded to our dinner. It is definitely a warm reception from the host.

DearBorn10
Chickpeas with Lemon 4/5 and Carrot Tartare 4.2/5

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Local Snapper Riclette 4/5

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Edamame Hummus 4.2/5

With started with some bite-size amuse bouche. We have the Chickpea with Lemon, Carrot Tartare, Local Snapper Riclette and Edamame Hummus. I like the zest with the chickpea which is kind of a surprise combination to elevate the flavour. The edamame hummus is also a unique take of combining middle east and Japanese flavours that is well received by the dining group.

DearBorn13
Hokkaido Scallops 4/5

Our first course is the Hokkaido Scallops that is paired with green apple, horse radish, celery and apple vinaigrette. The refreshing pairings allows the sweetness of the scallop to stand out in the dish. A clean and pleasing dish to kick start the dinner.

DearBorn20
Agnolotti Pasta 4.2/5

Chef Christopher's dad used to run an Italian restaurant in Washington. Hence the Agnolotti Pasta is like remembering his root. The vegetarian pasta consists of elements like sunflower seeds, pea and pecorino cheese. These parcels of delight probably just got me converted to be a vegetarian. Well maybe just for the night.

DearBorn22
Eggplant 3.8/5

The Eggplant is char-grilled and topped with tomato relish, jalapeno relish, quinoa and dressed in a chicken mayo jus. Eggplant can be quite one dimensional in taste but dearborn has smartly created firework in the dish with the pairings.

DearBorn24
Squid Ink Fried Rice 4.5/5

The Squid Ink Fried Rice is done paella style, giving the short brown organic rice a crispy texture at the edges. One can find seafood such as squid and prawns in the fried rice, as well as anchovy for that lift in flavour. A very delicious and comforting dish that has more Asian and Spanish influences.

DearBorn27
Sourdough 4.5/5

DearBorn31

For the next course, we are called upon the kitchen table where Chef Christopher brought out 2 loaves of Sourdough. A weird flow of serving as bread is usually served at the beginning of dinner but once Chef Christopher cut into the sourdough, everyone just could not stop spreading the homemade butter onto their slices of bread. The time also allows us to have more interaction with the chef who has been busy cooking all night, which I really appreciate to complete the whole private dining experience.

DearBorn34
Grilled Cauliflower Steak 4.5/5

For our main course, we have the Grilled Cauliflower Steak topped with pickled cauliflower and olives. Noteworthy is the eggyolk and sherry sauce that complements the cauliflower steak excellently. Even though there was no meat through out the dinner, at this point I was already feeling full. Some of us could not even finish the dish.

DearBorn38
Seaweed Madeleine 5/5

The beautiful aroma of the Seaweed Madeleine was already making me drool when it is being baked in the oven. Served fresh and hot, these moist and fluffy seaweed madeleine had us asking for more but there is only one piece per person. I was told that Chef Christopher has made yuzu madeleine and pepper madeleine. We actually challenged him to make uni madeleine.

DearBorn39
Coconut Ice Cream 4/5

Our dessert is all about coconut. The Coconut Ice Cream has a coconut meringue roof with edible white pandan flowers. On the base of plate is coconut crumbles for texture. There is also a bit of lime zest to balance the sweetness. A refreshing dessert that is not overly sweet, well balanced and of course coconuty.

DearBorn45
Fortune Cookies 3.5/5

Last but not least, instead of the petite fours to go along with our coffee or tea, we are offered homemade Fortune Cookies in Chinese noodle takeaway box. We even get to take home a bottle of homemade granola. The private dining dinner cost us $128 per pax for 6-course but actually we have more than 6 courses. Also I noted that the have increased the price to $138 now. Private dinner is really getting more and more expensive.


Dearborn Supper Club
Blk 51 Chai Chee Street
Singapore 460051
Website
Nearest MRT: Kembangan (EW Line), Bedok (EW Line)

Direction:
1) Alight at Bedok MRT station. Take Exit B. Walk to Bedok Bus Interchange (Stop ID 84009). Take bus number 26. Alight 2 stops later. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 8 minutes. [Map]

2) Alight at Bedok MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at Bedok MRT Station (Stop ID 84039). Take bus number 222. Alight 3 stops later. Cross the road. Walk to destination. Journey time about 10 minutes. [Map]

3) Alight at Kembangan MRT station. Take Exit A. Walk to bus stop at Kembangan MRT station (Stop ID 83062). Take bus number 26. Alight 6 stops later. Walk to destination. Journey time about 15 minutes. [Map]

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Beauty In The Pot @ VivoCity - Finally A Nearer Outlet For The Westies

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Taking over the space which used to occupy Paradise Dynasty at VivoCity is Beauty In The Pot. For those not familiar with the mall, it is located above Golden Village Cinema or besides the new public library at VivoCity. This is by far their latest outlet among the three Beauty In The Pot concept by the Paradise Group.

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Like the other outlets, the restaurant offers a variety of soup bases such as the Signature Beauty Collagen Broth, Signature Spicy Nourishing Soup, Herbal Drunken Chicken Broth, Cooling Coconut Broth, Tomato Broth and Mushroom Broth. Depending on the choice of broths, it comes in single pot, dual or quad pots.

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I like my meats for hotpot and I like the choices on Beauty In The Pot's menu. For Pork, they have selection such as US Kurobuta Pork, Nagano Pork Belly and Nagano Pork Collar. As for the beef, there are US Angus Prime Short Ribs, US Wagyu Ribeye and Beef Tripe.

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One of my must order item at Beauty In The Pot is the thickly sliced Red Grouper served on a bed of ice. It is understand that they are freshly delivered from the fish market daily.

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A definitely must order for me is the Fried Beancurd Skin. It is supposed to be only cook for 1 to 3 seconds, so one just gets the bite of crispiness while allowing the beancurd skin to soak up the broth. I personally prefer it to be slightly longer, allowing it to soak up everything.

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If you are spoilt of choices and do not know what to order, just go for the different platter selections. Once you know what you like, you can order the specific item in your second round or next visit.

However I have a small complains. I am a bit upset that Beauty In The Pot is charging for the sauces per pax. Come on who eats steamboat without sauces. I have met some staff that didn't even explain to the customers but just put the charges at the end of the dinner in the bill.


Beauty In The Pot
VivoCity
1 Harbourfront Walk
#03-08A
Singapore 098585
Tel: +65 62550758
Facebook
Website
Nearest MRT: Harbourfront (CC Line, NE Line)

Opening Hours:
Daily: 1130am - 6am

Direction: 
1) Alight at Harbourfront MRT station. Take Exit C or E. Walk to destination. Journey time about 3 minutes. [Map]