FYR Cycene Ond Drinc restaurant, featuring the fantastic Mr Josper Grill

The amazing thing about the FYR Cyene Ond Drinc restaurant is that almost all its dishes are cooked with this thing called the Josper Grill. This must be a miracle kitchen machine because more and more places we have recently been to also boasted about its use (eg at Roadhouse and even at Gordon Ramsey’s Bread Street Kitchen).  This time curiosity got the better of us and we had to see it. The folks at FYR restaurant were kind enough to show it to us (from a distance) and you can see a picture of it at the end of this post.

FYR Cycene Ond Drinc restaurant (pronounced Fire Kitchen and Drink) is located in a shophouse along Boon Tat Street. The restaurant looks pretty normal from the outside.  The inside is quite dark with large drawings done on a distressed paint finish on the walls. There are lots of Japanese whisky on display behind the bar counter.  On weekend afternoons, only the brunch menu (which is not as extensive as the regular one) is available. The items on FYR’s brunch menu were quite limited but looked interesting enough.  Here are both menus so you can plot your meal in advance.

To fight the heat of the Singapore sun, we ordered a Summer Flare cocktail ($10) and a Mac’s Great White beer ($8). The Summer Flare was a refreshing lemongrass flavoured drink which reminded us of a poolside moment in Bali. The Mac’s was a wheat beer that was smooth and creamy. It made a great companion for the food that was to come.

The yam and sweet potato chips ($8) provided a good way to start nibbling before the real food was ready. They were not 100% crispy and were slightly soft. We liked the taste of the yam and sweet potato in them and therefore did not really make use of the dips provided.

The Roasted Escargot ($12) was served in a small casserole with slices of toasted bread. The escargots were small but still had the distinct earthy taste. They were served in a thick brown sauce gravy which was quite salty. Too salty to be eaten on their own but made a good spread for the toasted bread. Together they go so well with the beer.

We found out what a blinis was after we ordered the Baked Blinis ($15).  A blinis is a fat version of a pancake on which various toppings can be placed over it to make a delicious dish. Here you can hardly see it as it is lying under the egg. It reminded us of hum chee pang.  Placed on top of it was a fried egg, a piece of grilled salmon, some caviar and vegetables.  This was an unusual dish for us and the combination of tastes somehow  did work well together.  The portion was small but it was a heavy dish.

Our final dish was the Baked Java Curry Chicken Ragout ($15). If you have to eat only one item from the brunch menu, this is the one. The curry flavour is very subtle and was well merged with the herbs and spices.  This was also a dish where we can clearly detect the effects of cooking with the Josper. The food had an even smokey flavour that is quite attractive. It is served with a plate of spring onion crepes – which very much looks and tastes like naan with spring onions in them.

All in all, we had a very pleasant experience at FYR Kitchen and Drink. The food was different and unique. The staff were pleasant and the prices were reasonable. As promised I shall now show you the star of the place – the Josper grill.

It is a bit of an anti-climax right? Like us, you may have expected to see some beautiful high-tech gadget. But it just looked like some old oven. The secret of this thing is that it is both a grill (it burns charcoal) and an oven at the same time. And because it is an enclosed grill, it cooks at a higher temperature and the trapped smoke adds to the flavour of the food. Which is why the choice of wood used is also important as it will impart certain flavours to the food.  At the FYR restaurant, I think they use lychee wood.  Frankly we could not detect any specific flavours – just a general smokiness in the food. The enclosed grill also means that the kitchen was less hot and messy.

Ratings:
Food: 4
Service: 4
Value: 5
Atmosphere: 3
Overall Rating: 4 TOPs

FYR Cycene Ond Drinc
19 Boon Tat Street
Singapore 069619

Tel : +65 62213703

Opening Hours
Mon-Thurs: 11:30–23:00
Fri-Sat: 11:30–00:00
Sun: 11:00–16:00

Nearby Station : Telok Ayer

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