Candlenut

The location was good, inside Dempsey. The decor is very nice, when u go in it shares a common area with other restaurants. Food is nothing to write home about. it's average in terms taste and creativity. I would not consider it authentic nonya or peranakan cuisine. More of a glamorous version of it. Definately not worth the star or hype. But don't get me wrong food is not bad, but not as good as others expect. …查看更多

朋友請食飯，她非常客氣並選了這間米芝連娘惹菜，是非常Modern的餐廳，在Dempsey HillSet dinner 頗貴，所以揀 a la carte, 朋友ordered 滿枱都是食物，有蝦、牛、雞、菜等等等，每款味道都好唔一樣，有好辣，有甜甜的，有咖哩前菜是炸豬皮，配紅酒一流另一碟是Kueh Pie Tee Cup, 朋友說她媽媽每次喜慶都會自家製的在這裏吃飯，猶如在吃朋友媽媽準備的菜式，當然換上非常Modern的環境一定要試durian 甜品，是貓山王，好吃到不得了…查看更多

Full review's at http://thehungrybunnie.blogspot.sg/2015/10/candlenut-kitchen.htmlCandlenut's Peranakan fare is exceptional. Familiar favourites and modern interpretations, given equal billing, are executed with both polish and flair. And, prices are wallet-friendly.BUT, I find Candlenut's restaurant policies lacking in sense. For starters, there is just ONE multi-course set for dinner, with no exceptions for ala carte orders whatsoever. To compound matters, tap water is not served at all, only bottled water is available, so even though we had ourselves a glass of wine and lemongrass ginger juice, we still had to purchase a 500ml bottle of mineral water at the exorbitant price of $4. Honestly, it's a major turn-off that a restaurant is as rigid as this.Dinner was a Set Tasting Menu ($50) of 12-courses, refreshed seasonally. Even if each course was considerably petite, 12 courses added up substantively to a most value-for-money dinner if I ever saw one.We had:1) Kueh Pie Tee: served DIY and scrumptious2) Warm Minced Pork Relish, weaved with punchy banana chillis, black peppercorns, aromatic laksa leaf strips, and presented atop a lettuce bed.3) Grain-Fed Australian Beef Flank Satay burnished in a stickily sweet peanut sauce: so meltingly tender and juicy, I wouldn't have known it was beef if I hadn't been informed otherwise.4) Tumbuk Prawns, the last of the quartet of appetizers, was served chilled, speckled with laksa leaf, chives, and raw shallots: wonderfully clean and clear; its refreshing overtones enhanced by the starfruit slice.5) Rawon Soup - fork-tender beef cheeks in a buah keluak-spiked soup spiked with chilli: robust and spicy6) Chap Chye, a melange of cabbage, shitake, dried beancurd skin, and glass vermicelli softly braised in a delicate prawn stock: Excellent, one of the best renditions of this classic.7) Blue Swimmer Crab Curry - impossibly sweet chunks of freshly shredded meat flash-cooked in a mild tumeric coconut milk curry, while kaffir lime leaves lent a piquant touch: So freaking good.8) King Tiger Prawn, wok-fried with pungent petai beans:succulent, fiery and sweet9) Ayam Bakar - chicken fillet grilled to a smoky perfection with kicap manis, shallots, and green chillis.10) The contemporary desserts here were exemplary, like the Candlenut Signature Chendol Cream, a panna cotta-like pudding layered with pandan jelly and sweetened with gula melaka.11) A lighter option was the zesty Mango Cream with Lime Sorbet, dotted with jackfruit, and sago pearls…查看更多

The restaurant is located in front of the hotel lobby. The place is known for its Modern Peranakan cuisine by well known chef Malcolm Lee. The restaurant is small and quite simple in decoration with wooden tones. Cutlery is placed in a metal cup, which kinds of reminds one of olden days. Tonight we are dining here for its Restaurant Week Dinner Menu which costs $35++ per person. Water is served in a big glass bottle. Upon seated, we are showed the restaurant week menu, as well as, the regular food and drink menu.We start the meal with Canapes, which looks quite attractive and interesting.Roti Jala with Blue Swimmer Crab, Crispy Rice, Ginger FlowerThe egg roll is stuffed with juicy and sweet tasting crab meat. Tastes simple and great.Salted Egg & Local Prawn Relish Kueh Pie TeeIt tastes simple and sweet.Custard Apple, Pomelo, Mangosteen, Lemongrass, Cashew on KeropokIt reminds me of the minced chicken on rice crackers which is commonly found in Thai restaurant, except this has a fruity and tangy taste.Glutinous Rice Kueh with Sambal Shrimp, Winter Melon wrapped in Banana LeafThis reminds me of Lemper Udang, with rice stuffed with spicy shrimp paste. It tastes spicy with a sweet aftertaste.Bergedil, Smoked Quail Egg, House Cured Salmon & Pickled ShallotThe dish reminds me of scotch egg in mini version. Interestingly the yolk flows like lava when cut open. Kind of reminds one of the flavour eggs commonly found in ramen.Next we have the mains which are served with free-flow of Steamed Fragrant Thai Hom Mali Jasmine Rice, in a metal bowl. Quite traditional looking way.We are also served Oyster & Shimeiji mushroom pork broth. It is quite flavourful, although it kind of reminds one of us of instant noodle soup base.There are 4 choices for mains. As we have only 3 diners, so can only select 3 mains to try.12 Hour Pork Cheek, Kicap Manis Glaze, Mustard, Soy Egg Yolk Emulsion, Burnt Spring OnionThe fatty pork is quite tender and flavourful, with a sweet after taste. But feel that the fatty part of the meat is still not quite melt in the mouth texture.Grilled Aromatic King Prawns, Butter Curry, Tempura of Water Morning GloryThe prawn is big and juicy. The curry is simply melt in mouth with its buttery and not too spicy taste. The tempura tastes light and crisp that I could not taste it is water morning glory.Wok Tossed Beef Cheek in Buah Keluak Sambal, Kaffir Lime LeafIt is served simply char black with a few pieces of saffron on top, which makes everyone thinks if it is char burnt. The meat is very tender and covers thickly with the strong nutty flavoured Buah Keluak paste. It is a dish that calls for more rice.Lastly we have desserts where there is 2 choices available. But before that, we are served complimentary marinated Jambu as palate cleanser. It has an interesting lemongrass taste.Textures of CoconutCoconut Jelly, Grated Coconut, Coconut Flesh, Coconut Sorbet, Coconut EspumaSo much coconut in this little dish, it tastes quite refreshing and light, plus so many different textures in the mouth.Candlenut's Signature Chendol Cream ($7++)Coconut Custard, Gula Melaka, Pandan JellyIt tastes thick and creamy.Buah Keluak ($14++)Rich and earthy buah keluak ice cream, made with 80% Valhrona chocolate - on a bed of salted caramel, chocolate crumble & chilli specks, topped with warm milk chocolate espumaWe topup $7 to change one of the dessert to this. In a single mouthful, one can feel firework in the mouth, with the pop candy making popping effect, the spicy taste, the salty taste and the very chocolaty taste. It is a very unqiue dessert to have.Overall the food is great, although it is a bit heavy on the salty side, which makes one tends to have more rice to balance the flavours. Although the restaurant is packed, but the place is quite relaxing and quiet throughout the meal. Food is served fast and clearing is done swiftly too. Total the bill comes up to $131.82 for 3 persons.…查看更多

I'm Peranakan and learnt how to cook from my Grandma. So I normally find something wrong with every peranakan restaurant I've ever been to. BUT! I love love LOVE the food here! Candlenut's menu is limited but almost everything on it is fabulous. It's not for the stodgy old-fashioned traditionalist, but if you're into great tasting food that makes more than a nod to tradition, go for this! The roast pork crackling is out of this world good. It is juicy, crispy and aromatic all at the same time. The pickled mustard leaves and chincalok that go with the dish is how my grandma taught me to serve it, and you won't find it in any other peranakan restaurant.The beef ribs in buah keluak sauce is another of those almost traditional dishes that you must try. For the true blue peranakan, it's an eye opener. For those who have never tried buah keluak, think of it as eating beef ribs braised in a nutty, almost dark chocolatey sauce. And if you're a dessert person, you MUST do what we did - we ordered one of every dessert on the menu! Sounds decadent? Sorry. It's only about 4 items. But each is done wonderfully, especially the buah keluak ice cream with chocolate sauce and chilli flakes. Unusual, and totally in-your-face.I just hope that the next time I go, I would still be able to get a table!…查看更多

We decided to takeaway for dinner after we had lunch at the Buyan Restaurant. It is a 5 mins walk down hill from where we were.We arrive just before 2pm and there were no more customers at Candlenut. We asked if we could takeaway. They told us they have a daily set meal for $15, which include rice with small portions Babi Ponteh, Fish Gulai, Chap Chye & Chin Cha Lok omelette .The set meal was value for money as you get to try many dishes and they are generous with the rice. The downside is that the dishes were pile on top of the rice in 1 box, and the rice was soaked with the gravy which is not good if you are keeping it for a couple of hours before eating, unless you like soggy rice. They should use a compartmental takeaway box or a foil to section the box with the different dishes.Taste wise, I like the Fish Gulai which has very little thick gravy by the time, I separate them to heat it up. The Babi Ponteh uses big chunk of Pork Belly which is not my favourite as I cut away the fat for health reason.I read from other review that the Ngoh Niang & Ayam Buah Keluak was good and decided to order 1 portion of each. The Ngoh Niang was tasty with crunchy water chestnuts mixed into the pork and prawn mixture. It is a size of a big popiah but I think at $8.80 it is rather expensive.The Ayam Buah Keluak was the best item among my takeaway. It has as nice thick gravy with 2 Buah Keluak (candlenut) and about 5 pieces of chicken. Portion is about the size of a small claypot. At $18, I think it is expensive as the place is more of a cafe than fine dinning. Overall food is tasty, but prices are like fine dinning which does not match the ambience. Better go for the set lunch at $15 without drink if you want to give the place a try.…查看更多

Like most of the Peranakan /Nonya Restaurant...the portion they provided is quite "not big"...but it is quite yummy..the buahkala pork is juicy,n "wu xiang" is really good...will bring client visit there again next time. …查看更多

Candlenut Kitchen is a tiny restaurant in Tanjong Pagar, opened by Malcolm Lee, a recent graduate from the At-Sunrise Global Academy. Interestingly, he decided to open his own restaurant instead of working for other chefs, and as a Peranakan restaurant, which I felt was a rather niche market in Singapore. Peranakan food is tedious to cook, requiring lots of effort and time to prepare the dishes. We ordered 2 simple dishes for lunch. Golden crispy pieces of ayam goreng arrived, fried to perfection with a tinge of tangy tamarind on the skin. Next, the ngor hiang that came was absolutely delicious and chocked full of fresh ingredients. The crackling beancurd skin reveals a savoury filling of pork belly, minced meat and prawns. Overall the Candlenut Kitchen is a fine entrant to the Peranakan restaurants in Singapore, and it's a good start for the new chef Malcolm Lee. …查看更多