[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

Come Join Michelin-Starred Chef Roland Durand @ Ginett from 18-20 June

For 3-nights only from 18-20 June, Chef Roland Durand brings classic French bistronomy to Ginett Restaurant & Wine Bar. Chef Durand who is here in Singapore for the first time, is best known as the chef-patron of Michelin-starred Le Passiflore in Paris, and holds prestigious awards including winning the Grand Prix Culinaire Internationale Auguste Escoffier and Meuilleur Ouvrier de France competitions.

Chef Roland Durand (image credit: Hotel G)

Chef Durand has created a classic French menu with subtle Asian influences that will be available a-la-carte or in a three-course set dinner (@$69++). And specially for the wine lovers, the Ginett team has collaborated with Chef Durand to curate an optional wine pairing (additional $35++) for the set dinner.

Look forward to dishes such as Ravioles D’escargots (@$21++), an update on the traditional escargot appetiser, which Chef Durand presents his in delicate handmade ravioli parcels and served in a savoury sweet fine herb broth instead of the usual butter and garlic. For cold starters, one could opt for the Tartare De Crevettes Tigrées et d’Avocat (@$25++), a tartare of tiger shrimp and avocado, served with a summery Piquant tomato coulis that is scented with coconut milk.

Ravioles D’escargots (image credit: Hotel G)

Indulge in hearty mains which features time-honoured recipes like the Cabillaud Rôti Au Chorizo (@$35++), a dish of tender Atlantic cod roasted with chorizo, paired with champignons bouquet and an oyster and seaweed emulsion, or the Carre D’agneau Rôti Au Cumin (@$40++) which is a flavourful, charcoal grilled cumin-marinated lamb rack, Ratte potato gnocchi, and finished with a punchy tamarind chutney.

Carre D’agneau Rôti Au Cumin (image credit: Hotel G)

For dessert, one could enjoy Chef Durand's signature marvelous rice pudding made with almond milk with a swirl of pumpkin marmalade, Le Merveilleux Riz Au Lait A L’angelique De Roland (@$14++) or the Sablé Aux Fraises Et À La Rhubarbe which is a strawberry and rhubarb with orange coulis (@$14++).

Sablé Aux Fraises Et À La Rhubarbe (image credit: Hotel G)

Do not miss this opportunity to try the culinary delights of Chef Durand and team Ginett. Make your reservations now via this link.

Bon Appétit~

Don Lechón @ Grandlink Square 511 Guillemard Rd

It all originated from having a theme of "suckling pig" and then to choose a place that has it for our monthly dinner gathering. Hence, Don Lechón came up as an option plus its online review was really good, so we just got to try it for ourselves. Thank you Ivan, Kris and Alvin for suggesting the theme, the place and for making the reservations, respectively.

Don Lechón is on the left side of Grandlink Square's main entrance and you'll walk pass a Vietnamese place before reaching Don Lechón. It's a good sign when you see the signage of a hog in tuxedo smiling right back at you. Lechón is a Spanish word referring to a roasted suckling pig.

Signage

There are outdoor seats and there are indoor seats. The place was bustling! We opted for indoor seats within the cool confines of the air-conditioned area. The order counter is a small area and there was already a queue formed.

queuing to order

The menu is simple and all are stated on the menu board. Prior to that we already had a good idea of what we wanted to try (from online reviews!). Payment is by cash. The boss himself, Mr Krisanto Bibal was manning the counter with the help of two other lovely ladies, and can also be seen serving the customers. We queued for about 20 to 30 minutes to order.

After ordering and making payment, you'll receive a number tag and food will be served to your table. There are only a few types of canned drinks and bottled mineral water available and all are priced the same at $1.80. The drinks are located in a fridge just right outside the order counter entrance. There's also a cabinet for mugs and a small container for ice-cubes. So please help yourself.

colourful mugs

As there were just 5 of us this time round, we opted for 3 items from the rice set meals and added extra orders of two rice and ala-carte order of half a kilo of chopped lechon.

We tried the Lechon Sisig, Bopis and Lechon Sinigang. These seemed to be the perennial favourites of a typical Filipino meal, yes?

Lechon Sisig @$9.50

Sisig Lechon

Sisig is said to be a Kapampangan dish, typically made from parts of pig head and chicken liver, but nowadays sisig is more of a cooking process rather than a dish. Hence, sisig can be anything. The typical seasoning of a lechon sisig dish would be calamansi juice, soy sauce, onion and chillies and with chopped lechon tossed in. Garnished with a sunny side up.

The size of the Lechon Sinigang pot really surprised us. Is this meant for 1 pax? Wow! Served piping hot, this huge serving of appetising sour and savoury soup was enjoyed by the five of us and yet, we couldn't finish it all. The sour taste of the sinigang is often associated with tamarind. In comparison, to paksiw, which is another type of stew but uses vinegar instead of tamarind.

Lechon Sinigang @$11.50

In the soup, there were sliced brinjals, kang kong (water spinach), radish and thick cut lechon (about 5 pieces). The sourness hits you well enough to keep awake and overall, this tangy soup was really appetising. The version here seemed thicker than other sinigang that I've tasted though.

Lechon Sinigang

There was one item that I insisted to try, and that was the Bopis. The rest were unsure and perhaps with a tad of fear factor? Only $5.50 per set, this was a really affordable tasty meal. You could also opt for the ala-carte and it has two sizes. I found that the smaller portion will do as a side dish to share. Even with the 5 of us, we could barely finish this portion that came as a rice set meal.

Bopis @$5.50

Bopis is a piquant Filipino dish of chopped pork lungs and heart sautéed in tomatoes, chilies and onions. Loved the springy texture and the overall appetising taste of the dish. Not too funky and just delicious with that mouthful of steamed rice.

The heavyweights of the meal would have to be the much awaited lechón. Simple, expertly roasted, well seasoned lechon, chopped in a thick cut manner.

Chopped Lechon @$20 per half kilo

The skin was a clear winner. Crackling and crispy. Sink your teeth into those luscious fatty meat and be swayed by its tender flavorful flesh. Breathtakingly good.

Served with a brown sauce of unknown origins. Ok, it was because I didn't ask what sauce it was. Had tried it with the sauce but for me I'd prefer it without, as the meat itself was already that good!

It was a good introduction to Filipino cuisine at Don Lechón and am glad I was able to share it with Alvin (@o_oican), Ivan (@ivan_teh_runningman), Kris (@msginginly) and Tiara (@tiara_star).

Don Lechón 

Address: 511 Guillemard Rd, Singapore 399849
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pg/DonLechonSingapore
Contact: 9778 9737
Business Hours:
Daily - 5pm to 11pm