Birds of a Feather – Sichuan x Modern European Cooking

The first thing that comes to my mind related to the word Sichuan is Mala, the mind-numbing spicy sensation from the Sichuan peppercorn. Following that, is an image of a dish or steamboat, filled with scary hot red chillies. However, Birds of a Feather (‘BOF’) is here to dispel that stereotype. BOF aims to showcase the real flavours of Chengdu through its refined and modern European technique, led by Executive Chef Eugene See.

Cocktail - Tian Mi Mi

After more than 2 years of social distancing and limited group gathering, our first makan session with regular makan kakis, lead us to BOF. Since we have BOF regular patrons, we leave the ordering to Purple Eats and Msginginly. There were eight of us, so we order almost half of the menu.

Cocktail - Someone Like You

Bang Bang ($14) – Cold Dressed Chicken, Mustard Green, Peanut, Edible Coaster. It is a refreshing dish, with a combination of shaved cucumber, chicken and mustard green with a touch of Sichuan oil. The best part of the dish is the peanut coaster, which you need to whack with your spoon “bang, bang”. A multi-texture and multi-flavour dish.

Bang Bang

Bang Bang

Find The Chicken in the Chillies ($19), popularly known as Szechuan Popcorn Chicken. I think the way BOF named this dish is the correct one. The popcorn chickens are buried under a pile of dried chilli and cashew nuts. Luckily the version here is not very spicy, I still able to enjoy the chicken and cashew, without gulping on lots of water.

Find The Chicken in the Chillies

Yu Xiang Eggplant ($18). The eggplant is hidden under the aromatic spring onion crumble. The Yu Xiang sauce goes nicely with the eggplant, making it looks like mapo tofu. I find the bocconcini is out of place in this dish and some of the crumble can be doughy.

Yu Xiang Eggplant

Pork Dumpling ($17) – Pan-Seared, Sichuan Dressing, Sage Foam, Butternut Puree, Fried Sage, Almond. A beautifully plated dish, where the dumplings seem to float above the cloud. The gyoza is tasty and bouncy, while the Sichuan dressing mixed with the butternut puree gives this dish a sweet and spicy touch.

Pork Dumpling

Pork Dumpling

Burratine & Tomato ($24). East meets West dish. The burratina is paired with Joyn tomato, Sichuan sesame dressing, marinated kumquat and crushed peanuts. It is also served with toasted bread.

Burratine & Tomato

The Toast

You have a creamy and milky texture, mixed with sesame sauce and join by the bursting of tomatoes and refreshing sweet tangy flavour of the kumquat. The crunchy peanuts provided the much-needed contrasting texture in the dish. When you apply it on top of the toast it helps to balance the richness of the burratina and the Sichuan sesame dressing. Reminds me of peanut butter on toast with cream cheese.

Burratine & Tomato on Toast

Barramundi Chazuke ($34). Chazuke is a simple Japanese dish made by pouring the broth over cooked rice. At BOF, they poured the Sichuan Sour vegetable fish broth over the Japanese rice. The broth is spicy, sour and uplifting at the same time. Topping the dish is a pan-seared barramundi fillet, ikura and a thin cracker. Unfortunately, once you poured the broth, the cracker will shrink and almost dissolve into the broth. Note to self, next time remove the cracker.

Barramundi Chazuke

Strange Flavour Prawn ($42). You start by squeezing the lime on the dish, especially on the smoky, firm and bouncy tiger prawns. The sauce below is slightly sweet, spicy and tangy. The chopped fried beancurd tried to soak up the sauce unsuccessfully, however, it provide a soft chewy texture to the dish. The green papaya salad on the side is just awesome. Light and tangy. Tasted more like a Vietnamese or Thai dish instead of Sichuan.

Strange Flavour Prawn

Strange Flavour Prawn

Loup De Mer ($89) – Whole European Seabass, Denise Pesto, Sweet Vinegar Joyn Tomato, Celtuce. The seabass is soft, smooth and flaky. The pesto sauce is unexpectedly light and refreshing, allowing the natural flavour of the fish to shine. Meanwhile, the tomato delivered a sweet and bursting flavour and the celtuce provided a contrasting texture to the fish. Yummy

Loup De Mer

Homestyle Pork Belly ($58) – Fried Kale, Fragrant Mushroom Garlic Rice, Egg Confit, Shaved Black Truffle. BOF interpretation of Lu Rou Fan. I got shocked by the amount of shaved truffle on the dish. The braised pork belly is fork-tender, while the bitterness from the fried kale cuts through the fats in the pork belly. The garlic rice is plump and tasty, enhanced by the umami flavour from the shaved truffle. The egg confit just binds all the delicious ingredients together. Yum Yum.

Homestyle Pork Belly

Slow Roasted Sichuan Short Ribs ($88). We were almost full when this dish arrived, having said that, we just can’t say NO to pink short rib. It is tender, succulent and you can taste the Sichuan spice rub in the background. The broccolini and fried garlic added a nice crunch to the dish, while the potato coated with morel mushroom gravy is just delicious. A very comforting dish.

Slow Roasted Sichuan Short Ribs 

Slow Roasted Sichuan Short Ribs 

The décor of the restaurant is modern yet comforting. I like the natural light coming through the glass ceiling. The furniture is a mix of sofas with dining table, or sofa with coffee table. Luckily, we were seated at the dining table section, if not we are going to have a problem dining at a shorter table. Not forgetting, one of the walls has the mascot of Chengdu, a panda painting on it. Service is knowledgeable, friendly and efficient. The service staff will give a short description of the dish, once they are presented on the table.

Birds of A Feather Panda

Overall, this is the first time I came to BOF and I totally enjoyed the food here. Instead of the overpowering spicy Sichuan cuisine, most of the dishes have been well thought out, multi-layered yet balanced, delicious and well-executed. The Bang Bang, Burattine & Tomato, Loup De Mer, Homestyle Pork Belly and Slow Roasted Sichuan Short Ribs are my pick. Cheers!!

Irish Tea

Food & Drink: 8.5/10

Value: 7.25/10

Service: 7.75/10

Ambiance: 8/10

Budget per Person: $51 - $80; $81 and above

Birds of a Feather

115 Amoy Street

#01-01. S069935

T: +65 9755 7115

W: https://www.birdsofafeather.com.sg/

F: https://www.facebook.com/birdsofafeathersg/

IG: @Birdsofafeathersg

OH:

Mon – Thu: 12.00 – 15.00; 18.00 – 23.00

Sat: 12.00 – 15.00; 18.00 – 24.00

Sun: 12.00 – 15.00; 18.00 – 22.00

Celebrate CNY 2017 with Boruto [MEDIA INVITE]

Boruto

Boruto is a new concept Japanese modern kitchen plus Japanese Sake Bar. It is a sister restaurant of Tamashii Robataya, one of the few Robatayaki restaurant in Singapore. Unlike its sister restaurant, Boruto served Asian fusion, predominately using Japanese ingredients to go with their extensive list of Sake.

Boruto Japanese Sake Bar

The unit at Golden Castle Building that is occupied by Boruto, used to be a bank. The first floor is the Tapas Bar, complete with the view of its open kitchen. The second floor is the sake bar, mostly focus on drinks, a bit of bar bites and extensive display of sake in fridge and as well as their cold room Vault. Yup, they keep their sake in a vault complete with a security device, the vault was left by the previous tenant, so for the fun of it, they have reused the vault for their expensive bottles of sakes.

The Vault at Boruto

Sake Fridge in the Vault

Sake Collection in the Vault

While waiting for all our group to arrive, we nibbled on Sake Kawa Senbei ($8.80). It is a crispy salmon skin tossed with sea salt & chili powder. Solid crispy salmon skin, delicately seasoned and a good bar food dish.

Sake Kawa Senbei

To celebrate the year of the Rooster, Boturo curated the Chinese New Year Japanese Truffle Infused Yu Sheng with Salmon & Yellowtail Sashimi ($68 for 3 to 5 pax). A beautifully plated Yu Sheng, drizzle with truffle infused oil plus golden pouch. The Yu Sheng is just delicate and refreshing, while the truffle infused oil accentuate the flavours of the salmon and yellow tail sashimi. A good start to our main meal.

Chinese New Year Japanese Truffle Infused Yu Sheng with Salmon & Yellowtail Sashimi

A bigger portion for 6 to 10 pax is available for $98. There is also Salmon Skin Yu Sheng ($48 for small, $68 for large) and Japanese abalone Yu Sheng ($98 for small, $168 for large).

[CLOSED] ARIA – Food Music Arts [MEDIA INVITE]

Aria is a bistro dedicated to Food, Music and Arts. Located in SUTD campus, the main objective of this bistro is to feed the hungry stomach of the students here and also allow their brains the freedom of expression through music and arts.

Arts & Dining at Aria

Dining Area & Bar

Xperience – Chic is the word [MEDIA INVITE]

Xperience Restaurant and Bar is the main restaurant for Sofitel So Singapore. This luxury boutique hotel blends unique combination of French flair and character with Singapore modernity.

Part of Dining Area

Consistent with the theme of the hotel, 'culinary designer' Executive Chef Anne-Cecile Degenne created a blend of Asian & Modern European flavours to entertain the palate of the guests. On top of that each savoury dishes are created based on texture (such as juicy, silky, crunchy, etc.) and you have a choice of handcrafted cocktail list that mirror your mood.

Oscar's Cafe & Terrace: Ode to The Black Truffle [MEDIA INVITE]

Hello Truffle Lovers, The Black Truffle promotion has arrived at Oscar's Cafe & Terrace ('Oscar'). One of the must try ingredient for foodies is making its appearance in Oscar.

Black Truffle is also known as Winter Truffle. Compare to white truffle, which normally harvested during summer in Europe, black truffle has a more subtle aromatic flesh. Black Truffle can be used as it own or can be incorporated with different ingredients to draw out the flavour.

Slow-roasted Pork Belly in Truffle Gratin