The Rundown
A collab between American chef Vinny Lauria and Hong Kong’s Young Master Brewery, The Guild is the place we’d want to visit while on a fun foodie date, or for a languid evening of good food and excellent beer with friends.
The Vibe
Just across the road from Potato Head, this fun spot's all about kicking back with your favourite people over good food and craft beers, amidst a soundtrack of good old rock and roll. The bar takes centre stage in an elegant dining room awash with warm lighting and accented with dark wood. We popped by on a rainy Sunday night and even though the space was relatively quiet (they’re still in their soft launch phase), the staff were cheery with lots of great food and drink recommendations, the chef was chatty, and boy was the cooking inspired. It’s the kind of place we’d imagine visiting on a fun foodie date, or for a languid evening of food and beer with friends.
What’s Good
After 10 years working in Hong Kong, where he’s known for championing local produce, American chef Vinny Lauria now helms the kitchen at The Guild, turning out some really inspiring plates. He certainly has no lack of guts and creativity, as seen from small plate options like Brawn Terrine ($12) and “Marrow” Bruschetta ($22) made using hashima. Our vote though goes to the Prawn Crudo ($10). A portion sees two plump tiger prawns, served two ways: raw and slicked in a punchy fermented black bean vinaigrette, while the heads are cooked Typhoon Shelter style — deep-fried, with copious amounts of of garlic, chilli and scallions.
This should well whet your appetite for mains. The Butter Roasted Chicken ($25), featuring Toh Thye San’s hormone and antibiotic-free chickens, is a classic that plays it somewhat safe compared to his creative starters, and we hear that the Salisbury Rubbed Skirt Steak ($32) is pretty good too; Burppler Cheong Wee Lua actually described it to be his “favourite steak, period”. What really won us over though was the Mac N’ Cheese ($18) — packed with umami and topped with a house cured egg yolk that gave a lovely roundedness to the whole dish. We’ll gladly enjoy it neat, but you could always add on char siu bacon for $6. Beautifully seasoned to a sweet and savoury balance, and sporting a lovely char, the bacon adds welcome texture to the creamy pasta, although we weren’t fans of the tough bits of cartilage in the lean meat cut. Chef Vinny was very receptive to our feedback and we look forward to seeing how he reworks the dish. The team also shared that they’re putting their finishing touches on a Buah Keluak Fried Ice cream — that’s another thing we cannot wait to try.
As for drinks, the craft beers here, many from Hong Kong’s well respected Young Master Brewery, are not to be missed. There are 10 selections from the brewery on tap (some are not yet available during the soft launch), along with another nine curated from other breweries including New Zealand’s 8 Wired Brewing Co. and Oregon’s Rouge Ales. Our personal favourite is Young Master Brewery’s Rye on Wood (from $8 for 200ml), which had lovely malty notes and a delicate sweetness. If you’re up for a fun night, consider their Boiler Makers (from $21), which sees beer served with a liquor chaser to elevate and bring forth its tasting notes. Pro tip: Don’t dump the chaser into your beer; you’re meant to alternate sips of both.
Read what the Burpple community is saying about The Guild here, and check out our top 10 list here for more inspiration on dining in the Keong Saik and Duxton ‘hood.
