Kitchen at Bacchanalia: A New Head Chef For A Revitalized Kitchen

CONTENT: Yiew Kai Jie

Situated in the heart of Singapore’s trendy food enclave of Hong Kong Street, lies The Kitchen at Bacchanalia. A small intimate kitchen that has it’s food and layouts influenced by the different cultures and flavours of the world and boasts it’s “no barriers” interactive environment concept between a chef and his diner from prepping to cooking to plating. After cementing it’s reputation in Singapore’s restaurant scene by earning itself a Michelin star, The Kitchen at Bacchanalia has brought in a new head chef- critically acclaimed Chef Luke Armstrong, the former head chef of London’s renowned Maze restaurant.

The Chef Behind it All
Chef Luke brings with him a spectacular impressive portfolio of 10 years’ experience working in the kitchens of award-winning restaurants in the UK and The Netherlands, including Pied a Terre in London (One Michelin Star), The Ledbury in London (Two Michelin Stars) and Sergio Herman’s world-renowned three-Michelin star Oud Sluis in The Netherlands.

“As we welcome Luke Armstrong on board, The Kitchen at Bacchanalia embraces a refreshed outlook to take the restaurant’s unique interactive dining experience to new heights. We look forward to not only enriching the gastronomic experiences of Singapore’s food lovers but also contributing further towards the evolving food scene in our great city.” said Raj Datwani and Alex Chew, both Directors and Co-Owners of the restaurant.

Chef Luke is set to showcase his distinctive personality and culinary talent in Singapore, with the introduction of his new signature 8-course menu at The Kitchen at Bacchanalia. The menu offers a new European style of food that is borne from classical European culinary techniques and traditions, remixed with unique flavour combinations that are global.

“The key to my culinary world is big, bold flavours and especially when you have meat, seafood and vegetables of the highest quality, they must speak for themselves. I want people who eat my food to be struck not just by the way the dishes are presented but mostly by fireworks of flavours that will move them and have them coming back for more.” said Chef Luke Armstrong.

A Gastronomic Experience

Hand dived Norwegian Scallop (Ceviche, crème fraiche, black truffle with yuzu and soy dressing)- We found that the Scallops were super tender and fresh, so that you can savour the scallop as if it’s been freshly caught out of the ocean for you. Even though the protein originated from the West, the overall dish has a Japanese essence to it, with the soy sauce paying homage to it’s Asian influence. The black truffle sticks adds additional flavour to the protein and you can even eat them on it’s own.

Beetroot (Salt-baked Lardo di Colonnata, Cabernet Sauvignon sauce) – The red wine sauce is sweet and accompanies the taste of the beetroot and the lardo meat as well. The taste of the herbs used in the meat can be tasted as you chew through the thin beetroot. The dish is perfectly balanced so that your palette stay refined and sharp for the next dish/appetizer.

Brittany Mackerel (Roasted Zeeland Mussels, Mizuna emulsion with fragrant saffron sauce)- The fish is extremely fresh, with the mizuna-dashi sauce being poured on it, it accompanies the fish fairly well and helps give the dish it’s minty and herbal flavour. While the oyster is a nice addition to the dish, you should try experimenting with the different flavours of the sauces and proteins in the dish together. Don’t be shy to take a spoon to finish up every drop of the sauce, we didn’t hold back when it came to licking the plate clean!

(Note: The normal fish used for this dish is a monkfish, however for our tasting session, they decided to substitute it with Mackerel instead )

Grass Fed Tenderloin (Roast, aubergine compote, garlic veloute, bone marrow and thyme jus)- The clear star of the menu, the Wagyu tenderloin steak holds an extremely strong beefy/meaty flavour that is cooked to perfection- tender and soft to chew. The natural peppery taste in the meat is extremely tasty and you can choose to either eat it alone or with the multiple flavours of sauces that you can try from the dish.

(Note: You can choose to supplement the dish with Blackmore Wagyu Beef for an additional 30 dollars)

Kalamasi (Jellied, sake crème diplomat, basil and vodka)- A dessert that functions as a palate cleanser, the dessert has a slightly minty feel and has a balanced taste with the unique combination of ingredients and will help you get ready for the final dish of the night.

Chocolate dessert (Pave, mint ice cream, yoghurt, passionfruit and citrus) – Sweet and a fantastic way to finish the night off on a memorable note, we will leave the interpretation of flavours to you!

After we were done with the 8 course meal, we couldn’t help but feel that we had tasted an entire world’s worth of flavours from both the east and the west in one dinner setting. Chef Luke Armstrong’s menu has definitely blown us away with it’s wide curation of flavours and ingredients and we urge everyone to partake in this culinary journey at least once.

*The 8-course tasting menu is to be taken by the whole table and is priced at 188++ (Additional wine pairing at an extra 125++)

*All red meats are cooked medium rare unless stated otherwise, menus are subject to market change and availability.

The Kitchen at Bacchanalia is located at 38 Hong Kong Street, Singapore 059678

For more details or reservations, please contact: +65 9179 4552 or visit www.bacchanalia.asia.