[Review] Club Rangoon: New Elevated Contemporary Burmese Dining Experience in Singapore

Located in the vibrant Duxton neighbourhood, Club Rangoon is the newest addition to Singapore’s diverse food scene, offering a fresh take on Burmese cuisine. Opened on August 13, 2024, by Hong Kong hospitality group Common Abode, this restaurant aims to showcase the authentic yet contemporary flavours of Myanmar, a cuisine that remains relatively underrepresented in Singapore.

At the helm of Club Rangoon’s kitchen is Executive Chef Charrinn “Noom” Singdaechakarn, who brings her extensive experience in Southeast Asian cuisine to the fore.

Born in Isan, Thailand, Chef Noom’s culinary journey has taken her from family-run restaurants in Thailand to fast-casual eateries in Sydney, and eventually to leading kitchens in Hong Kong. Now, she collaborates with co-founder Nelson Htoo to craft elevated versions of Burmese comfort dishes.

Her approach blends traditional Burmese flavours—savoury, sour, and spicy—with contemporary presentation and technique, providing a fresh perspective on what Burmese cuisine can be.

We were invited for a dinner tasting and had the opportunity to savour a curated selection of Club Rangoon’s signature menu items, including both food and drinks.

We started with a cocktail and a mocktail to ease into the evening. The 19th Street Cocktail is recommended for its unique use of fish sauce to inject a Burmese flavour. Tried it and love the balance of sweet and savoury notes.

For appertisers, we were served with two bite-size contemporary interpretations of traditional Burmese favourites.

The Dirty Egg Bites drew inspiration from the traditional Burmese golden egg curry (kyet-u chet). Why egg curry? Eggs are a popular protein substitute in Burmese curries and dishes in a country where close to 90% of the population today are Buddhist. It comes served as halved boiled egg topped with tomato curry, split pea fritter and caramelised red onion as a “deconstructed tomato egg curry”. We love the strong and intense flavours this small bite delivers once you pop it into your mouth.

For something lighter, you can opt for the Shan Htamin Jin, turmeric rice ball filled with fermented fish, topped with a crispy rice pillow stuffed with tomato paste, garnished with caramelised shallots and served with chive roots on the side. The chef recommends eating the chive together with the rice ball for the best enjoyment. This dish draws inspiration from a flattened tumeric rice snack that is commonly eaten in the Shan state. Club Rangoon’s version uses Jasmine rice instead of the Highland Shan rice which is starchy and features tomato paste wrapped in a crispy rice paper pillow.

Dining at Club Rangoon introduces diners to an array of flavours that might be foreign to the usual Singaporean palate. Burmese cuisine shares some similarities with Thai food but leans more towards sour and bitter notes, with less emphasis on sweetness. The menu is designed to offer a balanced interplay of the core Burmese flavours: chin (sour), ngan (salty), and sat (spicy).

Moving on to the mains, we were first served with Club Rangoon’s signature dish, their interpretation of Mohinga, Myanmar’s unofficial national dish, which features round rice noodles in a lightly spiced catfish and lemongrass broth, topped with a grilled catfish fillet and a savoury chickpea fritter.

We love the presentation and the intense flavours presented by this dish and would highly recommend ordering it.

Next, the Laphet Thoke was served. This is a punchy tea leaf salad, that combines fermented tea leaves with a mix of radicchio, cabbage, tomatoes, broad beans, garlic chips, and roasted peanuts, providing a textural and flavourful experience.

In Myanmar, this dish is enjoyed as a snack while knocking back drinks and hence the strong flavours. Club Rangoon’s version uses laphet from Burmese tea leaf brand, Sein Palaung, a favourite in the founder, Nelson Htoo’s family for three decades.

We also tried the Ngapi-yay Toh-Zayar spicy, savoury dip, made with fermented catfish, toasted dried shrimp, chili and shallots. This is served paired with seasonal greens like radish, cucumber and starfruit.

If you like your food really spicy, this dip can be used as a condiment for other dishes as well to enhance the spiciness level.

For something more substantial, the Wagyu Beef Cheek Dan Bauk offers a Burmese twist on the Indian biryani.

This dish includes Australian Wagyu beef cheek, slow-cooked for five hours, served with fluffy jasmine rice flavoured with saffron and Burmese masala, and garnished with fried shallots, curry leaves, cashews, and pomegranate seeds.

This is another of our favourites for the night, featuring familiar, yet foreign flavours. The beef cheek is so tender it tears apart easily and the flavours oozes in your mouth.

For dessert, we tried the Laphet-yay ice cream, homemade Burmese milk tea ice cream with banana crumble and jaggery crisps. This dish draws inspiration from traditional Burmese tea which features strong brewed black tea served with evaporated milk and condensed milk, much like the Thai Milk Te (Cha Yam).

This dish is sweet on sweet on sweet and will be deeply satisfying for those with a sweet tooth.

We ended our meal with a cup of Burmese tea, served Singapore-style:

Décor-wised, Club Rangoon is housed in a heritage shophouse, which complements the restaurant’s philosophy of gathering over meals, a nod to Burmese culture. Within the tight space, the restaurant is still able to feature a snazzy open bar and kitchen.

The staff, including co-founder Nelson Htoo, contribute to the overall warm and welcoming atmosphere. Htoo, who was raised in Yangon, is deeply involved in the restaurant, even taking on the role of the wait staff, ensuring a personal touch to the dining experience on the night when we were there.

For those unfamiliar with Burmese cuisine, Club Rangoon offers an accessible introduction.

The menu, while rooted in traditional Burmese dishes, is crafted to appeal to both locals and those new to Burmese cuisine. Notably, the restaurant attracts a diverse clientele, including many from the Burmese community, who seek out this rare fine-dining experience in Singapore. The couple who sat beside us during dinner was one such group. They had excitedly made the reservation when they found out on social media that Club Rangoon is opening in Singapore as they miss familiar flavours from home in a more elevated setting.

For me, even though I have never been to Myanmar, I have some exposure to Burmese food, having worked in Peninsular Plaza for a period of time in the earlier part of my career. Piqued by the aromatic smell of Burmese food that permeates the building, I went about trying the different Burmese food stalls and dishes during my lunch time and grew hooked on a few dishes like the tea-leaf salad and egg curry. I appreciate Club Rangoon’s presentation of these comfort food in a more elevated setting and with the flavours adjusted to cater to a wider group.

If you are looking to explore a new and exciting culinary landscape and have not tried Burmese food before, Club Rangoon provides a unique and compelling experience that goes beyond the usual fare available in Singapore.

Club Rangoon

Address:
76 Duxton Road, Singapore 089535.

Tue to Thurs:
5:30PM – 11PM (last order 9.30pm)

Fri to Sat:
11:30AM – 3PM / 5:30PM – 12AM (last order 10pm)

Email: hello@clubrangoon.sg