At Kin Restaurant in the Straits Clan Building, fans of chef Damian D’Silva can enjoy Peranakan and Eurasian classics within a menu described as “a retrospective look at the origins of our cuisine”.
The Straits Clan
The Straits Clan is described as “A Private Social Club for Singapore’s Progressive Thought Leaders”. Which is a shame. If it was a club for progressive eaters, we might qualify. It is housed in a lovely building at Bukit Pasoh Road, the road that is next to Keong Saik Road.
Fortunately for us, the two eateries at Straits Clan are open to the public. The bright and (in our opinion) more attractive Clan Cafe (picture above) serves food that is “Comfort for the Palate and the Soul. The Kin Restaurant at Straits Clan (picture below) is located deeper in the building. It has a darker and more serious atmosphere.
Kin Restaurant Menu
Here are pictures of some pages from the Kin Restaurant menu. Peranakan and Eurasian food form the main theme. Some other types of local dishes are also represented, such as chi pow kai and Hakka fried pork.
Our Lunch at Kin
We thought that the Sambal Sampler ($8) featuring fish crackers with three types of sambal would be interesting. The keropok provided something for us to nibble on while we waited for the real food to be served, but the pieces of crackers had varying degress of crispness. Two of the three types of the sambal were mild and were more fruity than spicy. I suppose it is a good introduction to different styles of sambal, although we would probably not order this again.
The best dish of the day was the chi pow kai (chicken wrapped in paper). It had been a long time since I have eaten this – perhaps it was in that old Union Farm restaurant along Clementi Road. But the chi pow kai served at Kin was more refined and of excellent quality. The pieces of chicken were delicate and perfectly cooked.
For main courses we tried the Gulai ($38) and Ikan Selar Chilli Garam ($22) with steamed rice ($3 each).
Gulai was a big chunk of beef cheek cooked till very soft in a rich coconut gravy. It is described in the menu as “Chef’s variation of an Indian-influenced Indonesian recipe using masala”. It was a very heavy but satisfying dish. The thick 15-spice gravy had many layers of taste and is the perfect thing to eat with plain rice.
