The latest Singapore food trend doesn’t involve restaurants, cafes or bars. Instead it’s taking place where cooking is at its most honest—in people’s private homes. It’s easy to see why the private dinner experience is all the rage. First, it’s more exclusive and intimate than eating at a restaurant because you can interact with the home cooks and other foodies who are along for the ride. In addition, you can sample unique dishes that you might not find anywhere else. If you’re interested in private home dining in Singapore, these are some of the best supper clubs offering up fab food and hospitality.
Dearborn Supper Club
Michelin-quality meals are what you get at Dearborn Supper Club, a private home dining experience by chef Christopher Kong. Chris has worked with some of the best chefs in the world including Tetsuya Wakuda at Waku Ghin, and he brings his expertise and creativity to this very personal endeavour. Group bookings are available for six people every Friday and Saturday night at $138 per person. This includes six courses, a welcome drink, and sparkling or still water. You can BYOB for free if you want alcohol with your meal.
The Wood Ear
For artful plates that wouldn’t be out of place in a fine dining restaurant, head to chef Jasper Chia’s place. The dishes are always ultra progressive like the scallops with barley risotto and asparagus, the flower crab leg in crab broth jelly, and the ‘chicken rice’ featuring a chicken wing de-boned and stuffed with rice cooked in chicken stock, ginger and pandan leaves, brushed with honey butter, roasted, blowtorched and served with pickled cucumber and homemade chili sauce.
Lynnette’s Kitchen
Acclaimed violinist Lynnette Seah always loved to throw fabulous dinner parties with delicious gourmet eats, so her friends convinced her to open her home to foodies so they could also try her delish dishes. Now she invites friends and referrals to sample a seven-course spread in her elegant apartment in Tiong Bahru. Before you come, you can design your own menu with options that include herbal prawn soup, chilli crab, oxtail rendang, and tempeh goreng. The dinner is $100 per person with a minimum of six people.
Lynnette’s Kitchen, p. +65 9010 2901
Fatfuku
Freelance food writer Annette Tan has turned the tables and now invites gastronomes into her home to review her cooking, which includes classic Peranakan and Eurasian dishes with a unique twist. The seven-course meal is priced at $110 per pax and includes a snack to start, followed by five generously-portioned plates and a dessert. Dishes could include the keropok with sambal hijau, curried devil’s pie, wagyu beef cheek rendang, and other incredibly tasty grubs.
Fatfuku, Upper East Coast Road, +65 9387 6399
Relish.SG
A meal at Relish is always a fun, colourful event as Rose Sivam draws on her experience in TV production to put on a good party in front of the house, while her husband Christopher Choo works his magic in the kitchen, whipping up globally inspired dishes from regions like India, Spain, and the Middle East. Join them for an omakase style meal that could include anything from lamb tagine to chicken curry and more. They also host parties and events with themes like Bollywood! and Afrobeats.
Relish.SG, 116 Serangoon North Avenue 1 #04-513, Singapore 550116. p. +65 9793 1821
Lucky House Cantonese Private Kitchen
Getting a booking at Lucky House is no easy feat, as the waiting list often runs for months, but it’s well worth the wait. Chef Sam Wong welcomes guests into his home and shares delicious Cantonese style meals made with fish he catches himself and fresh local produce. Join him in the garden to see how he cooks, then have a seat at the long wooden table in the kitchen and gorge yourself on dishes like the shifu wild-caught steamed grouper and roast duck. The dinner is priced at $80 per person for seven courses.
Lucky House Cantonese Private Kitchen, 267 Upper East Coast Rd, Singapore 466413. p. +65 9823 7268
Ownself Make Chef
Chef Shen Tan is renowned for her Mod-Sin creations that she developed at Wok & Barrel and Ujong. Now you can try her inspired contemporary Asian dishes at her roomy HBD flat. Ownself Make Chef is a series of multiple dinners each month with innovative themes like aPORKalypse, What The Duck, and Sinfully Seafood. No matter which themed dinner you opt for, you’ll find utterly unique meals that positively burst with Singaporean and Asian flavours.
Ampang Kitchen
When Raymond Leong retired as an accountant, he decided to pursue his passion for cooking Peranakan food, so he made a trip to Penang and studied how to make over 70 dishes. Now with the help of his son David, he recreates these traditional dishes for guests in his open-air kitchen. You can opt for lunch at $60 or a nine-course dinner for $100 and be treated to tasty eats like the prawn noodle soup with pork ribs, babi panggang, and buah keluak fried rice. The father-son team also offers select dishes for take-away.
Ampang Kitchen, 39 Jalan Ampang, Singapore 268625. p. +65 9618 7107
The Mixtape Chef
Husband and wife team Kenneth Yong and Laureen Goh invite diners to experience a culinary mixtape of global cuisine inspired by the couple’s travels. Have a seat at their long wooden table and dig into vibrant dishes made with passion and care like the squid ink paella, silky mushroom risotto, and poached pear with sage ice cream. There are a few different menus to choose from including Global Classics and the Koji Mixtape featuring umami-packed dishes.
The Mixtape Chef, 418B Fernvale Link, Singapore 792418
Bombay Howrah Dining Car
The lovely Priya and her husband Aniruddha are the chefs behind Bombay Howrah Dining car, a supper club where the focus is on Marathi and Bengali cuisines, which the couple grew up eating in India. Join them in their home to sample dishes with big, bold flavours like the kosha mangsho (mutton in a thick gravy), fresh salmon or mackerel coated and crusted in aromatic spices, and cauliflower and potato bhajis. The menu changes regularly depending on what’s fresh, in season, and piques the chef’s interests. Bookings are $53 per person.
