[Tasting] 51 Soho @ 51 Telok Ayer Street

Conveniently located just 2 minutes away from Telok Ayer MRT Station (DT18), 51 Soho is an all day dining venue that transforms itself into a drinking destination with delicious food once the sun begins to set. I was impressed by its beautiful bling bling custom built bar that spans the length of its interior.

exterior

Happy Hour

bar

Happy Hour is from 5pm to 8pm and there is a current on-going promotion where SGD28 will get you not one but two Happy Hour drinks and four charcoal BBQ skewers!

may the spirit be with you

more reasons to cheer!

The specialty drinks would be their "51 Soho Specials" menu. A clever mix of Chinese spirits and ingredients. We tried two types from this special menu; "Bamboo Dream" and the restaurant's namesake "51 Soho".

51 Soho Specials - 51 Soho and Bamboo Dreams

My favourite of the two would be the "51 Soho" which was concocted of plum wine, rose and decorated with lychee. While Bamboo Dreams was refreshing from the sweet fermented glutinous rice wine, osmanthus oolong tea, yuzu, vanilla and passionfruit, the 51 Soho would be its mature cousin with a mellow but still refreshing taste topped with the sweet lychee fragrance. As the alcohol level in these two cups were rather mild, I think one pax could easily finish 3 out of the 9 cups. Usually sold in 9s/12s @$88/$100 respectively.

Thank you Rain for preparing the drinks!

pour me a 51 Soho

Let's order some food to accompany the drinks. For skewers, we tried the chicken heart, chicken meat, padron peppers with halloumi cheese and pork meat skewers. The marinade for the skewers were similar to the Xinjiang BBQ skewers (新疆烤串) as there were cumin seeds, salt, pepper, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes.

chicken heart (@$6), chicken meat (@$7.50),padron peppers with halloumi cheese (@$8) and pork meat skewers (@$7.50)

padron peppers with halloumi cheese

The Padron Peppers with Halloumi cheese was interesting and overall, the skewers were tasty! But we were still hungry. Let's move on to the mains.

The Buffalo Pork had an interesting name and we learnt that it was because its sauce was fashioned after Buffalo Wings. There's sauteed brussels sprouts in there and it was delicious when dabbed with a bit of those blue cheese sauce.

Buffalo Pork @$25

Our Spicy Pasta @$24

The very first bite of Spicy Pasta would have revealed itself the two major components of the sauce. Tabasco and peppercorn. Such interesting combo where tangy spicy meets ma-la (麻辣). Like hello East and West! Though oily, it was delicious! Loved the spice level and the numbing ma-la. The prawns were done well too with a rather crunchy texture that's reflective of a cooked-just-right crustaceans.

Salmon & Pearl

For a dish that is comparatively lighter, that has to be the Salmon & Pearl. Aptly named because the couscous resembled small pearls with its round shiny exterior. Broth made of sour vegetables, which coated the pearl couscous with its luxurious sheen, pop buckwheat for an interesting texture, diced pickled cucumbers and those pretty little micro vegetables.

The salmon was rather good with a moist flaky flesh and crisp skin. No other seasoning beyond salt and pepper. Natural flavours of the fish that paired really well with the sour vegetable and pearl couscous. Very interesting explosion of textures that harmonizes itself in due time.

My favourite dish for the night was the Lobster Rice Stew. I could never had guessed its flavour profile just by looking at its description alone.

Lobster Stew Rice @$38

But once that first spoonful of those perfectly cooked grains was taken, one could not help to exclaim such amazing flavours that's utterly delicious! Imagine butter crab sauce that's deeply imbibed into the very soul of those mixed grains of black rice, barley and sorghum. Super yummy with its rich, creamy butter sauce that's full of umami and touched with a hint of heat from the chopped red chili padis.

The grilled mushrooms, perfectly pan-roasted half lobster and those lovely garlic stems added to the flavour landscape of this dish. This is a must-order.

Thank you Kris for the invite, 51 Soho for hosting the tasting and Eugene for feeding us. Kudos to the team and looking forward to more deliciousness to come!

51 Soho

Address: 51 Telok Ayer St, #01-01, Singapore 048441
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/51soho/
Contact: 9755 1058
Reservation: https://www.chope.co/singapore-restaurants/restaurant/51-soho
Business Hours:
Mon to Fri: 8am to 11pm
Sat:            10am to 11pm
Sun:           10am to 10pm