Private Dining

Overall:
Well first of all it's not really private dining. You just ask for a table like any other restaurant, there's no pressure to find 10 friends and chope the whole place.

Apart from the great first course the food wasn't refined at all, nor where the creativity executed particularly well. Although portion sizes are definitely not something to scoff at, it's course after course of meat. I guess if you're not used to mid tier restaurants then you would really love the food here, seeing how you have generous portions. That seems to be the clientele that day anyway, a lot of people were gushing about the food.

The chef was nice to chat with though. However the place is tiny and really quiet and you're seated way too close to your neighbours. I could hear every word they said and could touch them if I stretch my hand out. It's really uncomfortable being there because everyone knows everyone can hear everyone so people werent chatting away. So it was just an awkward silence half the time for the entire duration, the other half the chef is talking to one of the tables (and everyone can hear ofc)

Ultimately it will probably be a disappointment for anyone who's been to a few somewhat fancy restaurants. At first I was relieved it's not communal dining but hey, idk maybe this is even worse with the suffocating whispers

Food:
Grilled bananas were good. Lard tart crust was quite fluffy, brown sugar meringue was pretty good but too sweet. The gula melaka ice cream tho, was not good. It tastes like milk powder, and the texture wasn't ideal either

A4 wagyu, tastes like it sounds, doesn't quite taste like A5 and needs abit more seasoning. The oyster pasta was on the soft side and doesn't rlly have oyster flavour. Soup was ok, doesnt have much character and tends to get overpowered by the fried shallots.

Overall the different elements didn't clash cos nothing had much character

The rendang dry rub was but a hint, fortunately the rempah in the rojak added abit more flavour to it. 24hr sous vide apparently wasn't good enough, the texture was not as soft and sticky as the 48hr sous vide that's much more common

Was cooked to well done, so it's terrible. Also supposed to be brined but the meat itself had no taste at all. The ikura paired well tho, and the achar was very good (taste similar to Johnson duck's)

The tiger prawn was huge but abit mushy. Lard sucked, it wasn't crunchy and wasn't flavourful. Sambal belachan was standard. The twice steamed rice tho, that's quite unique. It's very different from your normal nasi lemak rice, it's got this coconut milk sweetness to it.

The meat itself was supposed to be marinated in braising sauce but there's really no taste. The accompanying sauce had balsamic, the acidity is a innovation I guess. Breast texture was also abit chewy and not crispy at all despite being finished on the grill. Tea aroma was too mild

This has got to be the heartiest amuse bouche. It's literally a personal pizza no joke hahahahhaha

One pizza per table. Thus this single diner got a full meal for the first course.

The chef takes a lot of pride in making sure no one can eat anything else afterwards. That's why no one managed to finish the amuse

The pizza is seriously good tho. The crust is super unique, it's a mix of 3 different kinds of flour which produces a very soft yet hearty texture with good density. It works extremely well due to its thinness. The cheese cream sauce was no slouch either, comprising a mix of pecorino, grana padano, and parm for a suitable amount of umami. The toppings were equally well thought out, a mix of mozz and 2 kinds of cheddar with crunchy pork floss. The exterior wasn't the most crunchy but that's easily forgivable

Absolutely delightful. If I heard her right, she's been making pizzas for 20 years and it really shows. Very unique in many ways and a must try

Whippe cream mini dorayaki
Delicious, they used really high quality Japanese red bean paste that's full of depth and very sweet in a rounded way

Furano melon wine jelly
Don't like alcohol so I didn't like the bitterness of the wine jelly, personal preference

The sherbet was mindblowing good on the first bite, but after a few bites it's just very sweet and I can't taste anything anymore, not sure why.

Lacto goji was strong, it works perfectly if you have a huge bite of ice cream as the sourness and the milkiness add to the sweet sherbet

Persimmons were good on their own but because it requires chewing, eating it with the sherbet is really cold for your teeth as you inevitably chew on the ice cream as well

Osmanthus warabi mochi was soft and we'll executed, but is way too mild to detect alongside the other strong ingredients

Binchotan smoked oil

I didn't like it because the strength of the oil coupled with the mushroom smelled like truffle oil to me(which I hate), it's just personal preference and I'm sure most didn't have a problem with it.

I've seen jeju abalone porridge, it's rather mild(there's not a lot of abalone). A customer once mentioned that he liked Chef's version more than the authentic version. And now I'm trying a new and improved version(even more intense)

One of my two favourite dishes of the night(the other being tsukune); unlike the tsukune with its explosive flavours, this is much more comforting. It's strong and rich but it's much more softly addictive. The liver sauce isn't perceptible but it contributes to the overall earthiness of the porridge, while you get the prominent vegetal umami of the gamtae(really, really high quality ones too, it's so strong and bitter on its own that I was surprised how well it worked when cooked)

Sake steamed abalone was beautifully bouncy, with no offending taste of any other kind.

I shamelessly asked for another bowl...

French breed farmed in Malaysia and slaughtered here

The five spice rub on the duck was rlly nice, but it's v mild and didn't penetrate into the duck, thus the duck was quite bland. The texture of the duck, while tender, was also slightly chewy. It's fine if the kimchi was punchy, which it was(stronger than usual Korean kimchi, but the flavours were authentic and very good on its own) but somehow they didn't mesh tgt

The sauce(made from roasted duck bones) had an excellent sticky texture but was lacking flavour, so it didn't rlly fit as well.

Chef mentioned that it's meant to be disjoint elements, but it's not something I appreciated as they needed each other yet didn't harmonise.