In a small apartment on Prinsep Street,
a lone chef subverts popular cuisines
Indian but no curry? Italian without tomatoes? Only at this joint folks.
I climbed up the third flight of stairs, almost out of breath after not exercising for months and checked the number on the door to make sure I was at the right location. 03-02. Yep this must be it.
I took off my shoes and stepped inside, excited for the meal that awaited.
As someone who couldn’t afford fine dining until much later in life, I always found the concept of fine-dining intimidating, if not slightly pretentious. What if I use the wrong fork? What if I haven’t finished drinking the wine that was supposed to be paired with the entree?
It wasn’t until my meal at Gaggan Anand that my perception of fine dining changed. Fine dining could be fun and lighthearted without compromising on the quality of the food. You didn’t have to pretend to be some sophisticated socialite or influencer. With travelling to Bangkok in the middle of a pandemic out of the question I longed to find a similar experience in Singapore.
A few months ago while scrolling through Instagram longing to eat out again after a 3 month long circuit-breaker exercise in Singapore (thank you COVID), I stumbled upon what looked like an account for a hipster restaurant. From what I could gather, it was a small home-style private dining experience with a new menu every month based on a particular cuisine. September’s theme was Indian. I saw the photos and I was sold. I rang up a few friends and we made a reservation for the end of the month.
Chef BK introducing himself and the concept of Prinsep. Image credit: Gordon Khoo
Upon entering the apartment, I was invited to sit round a counter-top area. Clad in a simple whit tee and jeans, Chef BK introduced himself and the concept of Prinsep while waiting for my friends to arrive. The atmosphere was laid back, casual and intimate. Chef BK himself was rather chatty, discussing anything from his thoughts of home-bakers to the local restaurant scene, while he prepped ingredients for the next course.
Today’s theme was “Indian, no curries”. The menu started off with a light Raita with a refreshing twist of pomegranate seeds in place of the traditional pineapple and cucumber combo. A decent starter that gave us a glimpse into his style of bold flavours and love of combining different textures in each dish. Noticing we were almost done with the raita, Chef proceeded to take out the cauliflower steaks from the oven behind him and grating a generous heap of pecorino-romano on it before whipping out a blowtorch and turning the cheese into a delicious slightly charred melty mess.
This second starter was Aloo Gobi, a roasted spiced cauliflower steak that could give any serious meat eater second thoughts about converting to vegetarianism. The nuttiness of the pecorino-romano, aroma of the fragrant curry leaves and the contrasting textures between the charred bits of cauliflower, gooey cheese and crunchy cauliflower stems quickly became a crowd favourite. Each bite was an explosion of umami, with a little kick from the chipotle mayo.
Perhaps the magic of Chef BK is his ability to turn the most unassuming looking dishes into something magical. This next starter was exactly that - magic in the form of three lamb koftas. No photo will ever do justice to the amount of flavour that was packed into that tiny morsel.
Lamb Koftas, the undeniable star of the show. Image credit: Gordon Khoo
On first bite, the lamb practically melts in your mouth, spiced just right that the flavour of the meat comes through without overpowering it.
On first bite, the lamb practically melts in your mouth, spiced just right that the flavour of the meat comes through without overpowering it. This is because only lamb leg is used and ground by hand to get the perfect consistency and mixture of lean meat and fat. The coconut lime crema helps add some much needed acidity to cut through the richness and keep you coming back for more. I ate mine slowly, relishing every bite while one of my friends gobbled his down in 5 minutes and said that it was probably the best lamb dish he ever had in his life. To me this was the highlight of the dinner.
Now it was time for the main course, the ubiquitous butter chicken. Available at almost any Indian restaurant in Singapore, I was curious to see how Chef BK would put a spin on it to make it his own, much like the starters. The butter chicken was served with a modern looking purple cabbage slaw, making it more friendly for the gram’ I suppose. It was hearty and creamy and gave off a very distinct comfort food vibe, a rather different direction from the vibrant attention grabbing energy of the starters. Perhaps the lamb meatball dish was a tough act to follow and the butter chicken seemed to pale in comparison.
Butter Chicken. Image Credit: Gordon Khoo
Apricot Compote, a sweet ending to a wonderful dinner. Image Credit: Gordon Khoo
Finally, it was time for the dessert. A simple apricot compote with saffron cream spiced with ginger. Simple, unpretentious and clean, it was a great way to end the meal. As we dug in to the last bits of dessert, Chef BK asked us to rank the dishes in order of best to worst, assuring us he wouldn’t be offended. Unsurprisingly the Lamb Koftas emerged the victor followed closely by Aloo Gobi and the Butter Chicken.
Three hours and 5 courses later, Chef BK has definitely made an impression. His cooking is deceptively simple and honest, yet executed with a finesse not out of place at a Michelin-starred joint. The atmosphere is welcoming and relaxed leaving the diner at ease to enjoy the meal sans the frills of dining out at say, Odette. The intimate experience is great for a small gathering of four to five friends who appreciate fine dining and don’t mind shelling out a little more. (Please don’t bother asking people who will say $100 gets them 50 packets of chicken rice.)
Since that very first meal, I’ve gone back two more times (Italian, no tomatoes and Japanese, no sashimi or sushi) and he’s changed my mind about my disgust toward coriander.