SIRI HOUSE at Dempsey
I'm a fan of SIRI HOUSE if you don't know. Tucked away in the lush greenery of Dempsey Hill, it is an art space, Collective Market retail store, and restaurant rolled into one. The menu, is one that celebrates the vibrance of the Modern Asian family table. The latest edition is based on the favorite food memories of Head Chef Leo Pang (formerly from Le Benardin) culinary team, and you can expect nostalgic flavors presented in new and inventive ways.
Start with the bites to go with the apertifis. The restaurant’s signature Chicken Fat Cookie ($12), delightful buttery cookie has been given a face lift. Enhanced by chicken fat, topped with a curry spiced cream with chicken skin bits which eats like curry Twisties and peppered with turmeric mushroom dust, each bite brings back fond memories of snacking in front of the TV.
The Papadum ($10) eats like an Indian roti prata/nacho, with a dip of curry creama spiced up with bits of smoked fish chili. Chef Leo's favorite childhood dish is roti prata with fish curry and that inspired this snack. We loved the light tang from the sour cream, which is very similar to the acidity in Indian fish curry.
A good-sized appetizer for sharing is the Burrata ($26) with red chili salsa, garlic chive crumbs, tomato honey and papadum. We heard that some brined ghost peppers went into the red chili salsa but thankfully we only tasted a little hint of it. The milkiness of the fresh cheese, together with the jammy tomato did a good job of balancing any heat. I'd recommend a side of sourdough to better scope up the creaminess. It's an Italian/Indian appetizer depending on your memories.
The Scallops ($29) were my absolute favorite appetizer. That plump and pinkish wild caught Hokkaido scallops were irresistible. I've not had such a smokey and peppery scallops dish before and it was very refreshing. Each bite was a balance of dark and smoky (from the smoked ikura, and homemade hamachi bacon) and lifting brightness (from the yuzu kosho and dashi jelly). GIVE ME MORE.
If the scallops are angelic, the Chicken Oysters ($19) are devilish. These Szechuan marinated chicken oysters (those 2 little tender knobs of meat near the thigh) would spice up your life. And boy you could still up the level of heat if you wish, just tell Chef. Eat it like shabu shabu with the pasteurized egg yolk tare sauce to tone the spiciness down. Trust me you'll need it.
A really substantial appetizer, which could very well be a main dish for sharing, is the Pork Ribs ($25). Doesn't this remind you of cereal prawn? This sous-vide and then charcoal grilled ribs are coated with a shio kombu crust. It's a very rich and heavy dish but boy was it satisfying. I half expected the Japanese sweet potato to come in a fries form but the puree works to lighten each bite. It's a good order, but if your plan is to try more dishes, you may want to order this another time because it's EXTREMELY filling.
Korean fried chicken lovers could pretend to go healthier with the Cauliflower ($17) version for their daily dose of "greens". Battered florets are tossed in a homemade gochujang sauce, and That said, the toppings are thin Ma Ling (spam) crisps. :P
On to the mains, let me remind you that the Pappardelle is amazing (read my previous post on Siri House here) but we enjoyed the other seafood dishes A LOT. The Barramundi ($32) comes highly recommended. The flavor is very Asian home-cooking but elevated. Sweet and fresh crispy pan fried fish on a bed of laksa anchovy emulsion, together with charred Australian leeks (that are sweeter), cremini and enoki mushrooms. The laksa flavor wasn't that strong and the overall profile was more like a fermented black bean with chili sauce. Top votes!!
Another standout is the Unagi Risotto ($32) made with Japanese rice to yield that sticky creamy texture with no added dairy at all. The base of the dish is a good dashi (SIRI uses a burnt onion dashi) and tomato consommé. Chanterelle mushrooms are also in season right now and we loved that added woodiness to the rice. Oh and the binchotan grilled unagi was amazingly plump! It's better than the well known chains selling unagi really. Order this too!
Oh and after all that eating there's still desserts! Tropical "Tau Huay" ($15) is hybrid of the concept of tau huay and ice jelly cocktail. This tau huay is a coconut cream one and is paired with a macerated chili mango (very Asian), and icy passionfruit granite.
Or go back to breakfast food with Jam & Toast ($16), a kaya cremeux with brown butter crumbs, cured egg yolk shavings, and toasted milk ice cream.
Before i forget, SIRI HOUSE takes their drinks seriously and i'm glad they do. Start with the aperitifs, which are light and bright. My vote goes to Orchard Crumble ($16) a lifting Pimms with honeydew and apple crumble cider.
The craft cocktails are really good. Got Milk ($22) (left) which sounded like a rich dessert drink, turned out to be the opposite since the milk is a clarified punch made using a blend of black tea, milk, sherry, rum and lemon juice. The Spudni ($22) (right) is an appetizing sour cream liqueur blend made with vodka, sour cream and sugar, and takes inspiration from a sour cream and onion potato chip.
SIRI HOUSE at Dempsey excites every time i visit. Certainly my favorite restaurant in the enclave.
Blk 8D, #01-02 Dempsey Hill, Dempsey Road, Singapore 249672
Tel: +65-9487 1552
Tue- Sat: 11.30am - 2.30pm, 6 - 10.30pm
Sun: 11.30am - 4pm
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