Quality Peranakan restaurants are far and few in Singapore. This is because of the time-consuming preparation process for many traditional Peranakan dishes. Chef-owner Danny Chew has just launched a modern Peranakan restaurant, Bonding Kitchen at Orchard Gateway to add to the selection.
Coming from humble beginnings, Chef Danny started from a home private-dining gig in neighbouring Johor Bahru in Malaysia, before jumping in to launch his first restaurant in Singapore in the heart of the Orchard shopping belt.
We were invited for a media tasting and these were the dishes we sampled:
Well-prepared Peranakan food presents a complex array of flavours to tantalise all your taste buds, mixing the sweet and the sour, the spicy and the bitter. The dishes at Bonding Kitchen are lovingly conceptualised and prepared in the skilful hands of Chef Danny, whom we were told is still extremely hands-on in the kitchen daily, all the way from the food preparations to the presentations before the dishes are served to customers.
The standout dishes for us was the Sotong Masak Hitam and the Nasi Goreng Buah Keluak. Just these two dishes are enought for us to visit again and enjoy them in a meal. The former is strong and rich in flavour with a citrusy burst from the tamarind juice while the latter packs a surprise with the Buah Keluak flavour infused nicely into the fried rice. Both dishes are not exactly pretty to look at because of the monotone colour, but packs an assortment of flavours when you dig in.
Other dishes worth trying are Chef Danny’s signature Pong Tauhu and his Wagyu Beef Rendang. The menu items are generally wallet-friendly, with most items kept under $20. The dishes are mostly in sharing portions and it would be better to dine with a group so you can try out more stuff together.
Bonding Kitchen is now open for dine-in and reservations. It is located on the second floor of Orchard Gateway shopping mall.
Address: #02-18 Orchard Gateway, 277 Orchard Road, Singapore 238858
Email: bondingkitchen@outlook.com
Tel: +65 8860 9087
Opening Hours: 11.30am to 9.00pm daily from Tues to Sun, closed on Mon
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