Celebrity Chef Philip Chia offers a Tok Panjang menu every Thursday to Saturday at The Private Room of 15 Stamford by Alvin Leung at The Capitol Kempinski Hotel Singapore. This guest chef takeover is available for both lunch and dinner from 23 June 2022 and ends 4 September 2022.
Dine on a long Peranakan communal table with your friends and family as Chef Philip Chia prepares the dishes a la minute right in front of diners. We were quite impressed with the Peranakan tableware and cutlery with signature colourful design and floral prints.
Chef Philip Chia is born and bred in Joo Chiat. He started his love for cooking at the age of six and soon became the youngest finalist at the age of 17 in Sime Darby’s cooking competition by the late Mrs Lee Chin Kook, the late mother of Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew. With 50 years of culinary expertise, Chef Philip has served his dishes at Phoenix Hotel, Fairmont Singapore, Grand Copthorne Waterfront, Hotel Ramada Chao Fah in Phuket, and The Fullerton Bay Hotel where he has an annual showcase. He has authored five Peranakan-inspired cook books and his latest release in the 2020/21 Singapore’s #1 best-selling cookbook “The Peranakan Kitchen”.
The Tok Panjang Lunch is priced at S$148++ per person with an additional S$78++ for sake pairing. The dinner menu is priced at S$188++ per person. Add S$88++ for sake pairing. There is a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 12 to dine for this experience. Call +65 6715 6800 or email reservations.singapore@kempinski.com for reservations.
Dinner Sharing Appetisers
The Tok Panjang Dinner features sharing appetisers. There are six of them to start. The Scallop and Grilled Prawn and Otak is an excellent starter. The Red King Crab & Egg Salad with Khong Tng Dressing is a unique sweet and savoury dish. While the deep-fried Ngoh Hiang with Crabmeat exhibits generous portions of meat. Crispy on the outside and full of flavour on the inside. Enjoy Chicken satay but served on a prawn cracker instead of a stick. And the Buah Keluak Canape is serviced on a crispy sesame cracker.
Resisting the Emping and Prawn Crackers to save our appetites for the mains and other dishes is futile. Especially when the sambal that goes with the crackers is so delicious.
This Itek Tim Would Fill You Up
The bowl that holds the Itek Tim with Kiam Chye, Cherry Tomatoes, Umeboshi Plums is way too small as the duck thigh sticks out. That’s a lot of duck meat. And don’t forget to pour in the brandy to bring out complementing flavours from the soup that has been boiled for many hours.
Dinner Sharing Mains
The sharing mains feature five seafood and meat dishes and three servings of vegetables. The Babi Assam Goreng is extremely addictive because the fatty pork belly has been cooked to a nice crunch while retaining the meat’s full flavours and tenderness. Another favourite is the Angus Beef Short Rib Rendang almost melts in your mouth with each bite. One of the best beef rendangs I’ve had this year. There is Maine Lobster too. Cooked with Sambal and Belimbing to go with Ayam Buah Keluak.
Another home dish that Chef Philip usually has at home is the fish Fillet Tempra. At The Private Room, he serves it with Red Garoupa.
The veggies are also very good. The Fried Japanese Okra with Sambal & Dried Scallops is piquant and unique while the Fried French Beans with Hae Bee Hiam and the Nyonya Chap Chye offer comforting familiarity.
Kueh Kuehs and Sweets
And by the time you end the mains, you may just be too full to have desserts. Do you really want to forgo these well-made desserts. Make sure you have the classic Kueh Dadar with the coconut cream sauce. Other bite-sized desserts include the Kueh Ladat, Kueh Ko Sui, Kueh Apom Balik, Kueh Ubi and Kayu Tiga Rasa tarts.
I enjoyed the Durian Pengat. And I finally ended the meal with a few spoonfuls of Bubur Cha Cha. That was all I could stomach.
