Get cosy with old-school favourites

Step into a ‘Sansiri luxury apartment’ at Siri House, owned by one of Thailand’s leading lifestyle property developers, and indulge in sharing plates that bring back memories of home with its comfort food. Helmed by Chef Leo Pang, the culinary team has created bold intense flavours that remind you of traditional classics, reinvented with a modern execution. Start with pre-dinner drinks at the new bar area dressed up like a luxury living room or head out to the alfresco terrace overlooking greenery with a refreshing Grape Expectations concocted with Cocchi Vermouth Amaro and osmanthus distillate blended with white grape fizz.

In the main dining area, the mood was casual and cosy, inviting tête-à-têtes while seated comfortably on plush sofas and chairs. The sharing session began with Chef Pang’s version of the old-school Chicken Fat Cookie from childhood days, elevated with curry-spiced cream, chicken skin and turmeric mushroom dust for a savoury bite that left me craving more. This was followed by the Wild-Caught Hokkaido Scallops with yuzu kosho, dashi jelly, smoked ikura and sea grapes. While most scallops are pleasing to the palate, they are also quite forgettable, but Chef Pang had given his scallops more depth by cold-smoking the ikura with hickory wood chips for a lingering flavour and aroma, heightened by the deep-fried hamachi bacon coated in lobster dust for a savoury finish to the bite. Another indulgent starter was the Chicken Oysters, marinated with Szechuan peppercorns, chilli flakes, dried chilli, garlic, soy and sugar and grilled and smoked on bincho-tan for a deep savoury note. It’s the perfect bite with a generous dose of pasteurised egg yolk sauce and tare sauce reduction.

For mains, I tasted the Five-spice Marinated Duck Breast with fried yam and goji berry sauce and Iberico Pork Jowl, inspired by the classics Duck and Yam Paste and Kong Bak. A Peking duck was sourced for its succulence and marinated in a house-made five-spice mix and ginger to brighten up its flavour profile. The accompaniments of cashews and goji berry sauce gave texture to the meaty bites and further lightened up the dish with the needed acidity from orange juice, mandarin puree, rice vinegar and white balsamic.

Chef Pang’s rendition of Kong Bak was truly a bowl of comfort, with the Iberico pork jowl being pan seared and braised for 3 hours and treated with a family soy braise recipe, finished off in the charcoal oven just before being served for a smoky profile. It comes with jasmine rice and shredded pickled savoy cabbage sauteed with black fungus, chilli, black vinegar, sesame oil and soy to cut through the heavy flavours, topped by an onsen egg that gave a tasty creaminess to the mouth-feel. Also a special on the menu was the Unagi Risotto, another flavour powerhouse served with rice that was infused with burnt onion dashi and tomato consomme, and sauteed Chanterelle mushrooms. The unagi itself was grilled and glazed with sweet soy and pickled radish for a umami finish.

Desserts were creative interpretations of old-school favourites by Pastry Chef Janice Tan. The Tropical Tau Huay was a hybrid between tau huay and ice jelly dessert with shaved ice. Chef Tan’s version has coconut cream set with gelatin for that similar texture, paired with passionfruit granita and diced mango macerated in a chilli and lime dressing. The Jam & Toast modernised the traditional kaya and toast with eggs breakfast, represented by kaya cremeux, brown butter crumbs, toasted milk ice cream and shaved cured yolk for a sweet end to the meal.

8D Dempsey Rd, #01-02 Dempsey Hill. Tel: 9487 1552.