Why go to a restaurant when you can have a tasty home-cooked meal (that you don’t have to cook yourself)?
Private dining has become fairly popular in Singapore over the past couple of years and a loyal following has developed mostly via word of mouth and through social media. But the food sells itself too; after all, we’re a food-loving nation and usually can’t wait to try a meal that someone has recommended to us.
With a mix of professional and self-taught chefs offering this service, one thing they have in common is a love for cooking and sharing their dishes with others. Some of these private dining venues are so popular that you have to book months in advance so do note that this is not a last-minute dining option.
Here, some of the best home private dining chefs you can find in Singapore for your next family or friends’ gathering:
The Wood Ear (Teochew private dining)
Located in a HDB flat in Choa Chu Kang, this private dining establishment operates on Saturdays only and serves fusion food.
Chef Jesper Chia is known for his meticulously plated dishes and past offerings include a chilled capellini with wood ear, sakura ebi, tobiko and more.
He also serves traditional Teochew food to pay tribute to this roots, including pork trotter jelly and steamed barramundi.
Back in 2019, a nine-course menu used to be priced at $45 per head. However, prices have floated up to $110 per pax.
San Shu Gong Private Dining (Teochew)
Founded by a chef who was previously at fellow Teochew restaurant Chui Huay Lim, San Shu Gong Private Dining is located along 135 Geylang Road (opposite Kallang MRT).
It’s theoretically a small and cosy restaurant, not a home private dining situation. San Shu Gong Private Dining serves up Teochew and Cantonese dishes, with prices rnaging from $12 for a small Cai Po XO Kway Teow and upwards to $88 for a Pomfret “Pao Fan”.
Call San Shu Gong Private Dining at 6741 0344
Fat Fuku (Peranakan private dining)
Annette Tan is a food writer who started Fat Fuku in 2017 because she enjoys entertaining. She serves Peranakan and Eurasian meals, each with a modern twist.
A meal here features an ever-changing rotation of about seven dishes that includes Curry Devil Pie and Pork Belly Buah Keluak “Biryani”.
For vegetarians, there is a menu of mee siam gareng, cabbage gado gado, mushroom biryani, and corn ice cream.
Book through Deliciae Catering Co, located at 5A Duxton Hill Singapore 089591.
Lynette’s Kitchen (Peranakan Private Dining)
Cultural Medallion recipient Lynnette Seah is best known as a violinist and co-concert master with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra but, she also runs a private dining business.
Enjoy her specialties such as buah keluak fried rice (her signature and original dish), mushroom risotto, beef rendang and gorgeous tiramisu. She covers Peranakan, European, seafood and dessert dishes.
Prices from $120 per pax for a 6-course dinner, up to $170 per pax for a 7-course dinner with crab.
Lynette’s Kitchen WhatsApp 9010 2901.
The Modern Bibik (Peranakan Private Dining)
Freelance writer Angeline Neo runs a boutique catering business and personal chef service from her home.
Founded in 2014, The Modern Bibik specialises in Peranakan cuisine (inspired by Angeline’s grandmother’s traditional recipes) with a modern twist. These include rum-infused ondeh ondeh. Angeline makes her own spice blends from scratch, too! Up to 12 pax.
Lucky House Cantonese Private Kitchen
Chef Sam Wong is a self-taught home cook who also grows various plants on his property. Look forward to dishes like Peking duck, wild-caught garoupa in traditional Guangzhou seasonings and more.
You’ll do more than eat here, though, as Chef Sam encourages you to enjoy his open porch and even have a go at the stone mill. Up to 10 pax.
Prices used to be $80 per pax for an 8-course meal back in 2018.
Lucky House Cantonese Private Kitchen is located at 267 Upper East Coast Road. WhatsApp 9823 7268
Liufusifangcai (Chinese)
“It was only after I started doing the dinners that I realised why so few people were doing this. It’s extremely labour intensive,” shares Lau.
His day usually starts at 6am and involves heading to the market and prep work before guests arrive at about 7pm. He both cooks and entertains.
The positive feedback he gets – like the time a customer mentioned how Lau’s har lok (wok-fried prawns with dark soya sauce) was just like his grandmother’s – makes everything worth it. He describes the kitchen as his science lab and, although the most high-tech thing in it is a combi-oven, his empirical, meticulous approach has resulted in great praise.
His signature black garlic chicken soup, for example, is the result of experimenting with home-made black garlic in countless dishes until he finally settled on his double-boiled chicken soup.
His Hokkien mee involved mastering each component of the dish, including the stock, seafood, chilli and fried lard. To learn the technique of frying the dish, Lau travelled across the island to observe how hawkers fried their version and taste the finished dish.
The result: a highly lauded dish that packs tons of umami and wok hei, with bits of fried lard that remain crispy even after being braised with noodles.
Follow Liu Fu Si Fang Cai’s Facebook page to watch out for their Google Forms for private dining openings. As of 20 January, March 2023 bookings have been released.
Li Fu Si Fang Cai is located at 20 Tembeling Road. WhatsApp 8525 0020.
Pun Im by Vincent Pang (Thai)
One of the first things Vincent Pang cooked was sweet and sour pork – and it was a deep-frying disaster. Instead of being disheartened, he honed his cooking skills, eventually reaching a point where cooking became, he says, “a form of therapy”.
In 2019, worn out and disillusioned with his job in the finance industry, Pang left to pursue an education at Le Cordon Bleu Dusit Culinary School in Bangkok – a city he became intimate with during his travels for work.
While the techniques and cuisines Pang studied were French, he spent his free time learning about Thai food and preparing it for his Thai classmates and friends. Six months into his course, the pandemic hit and Pang came back to Singapore at the start of the circuit breaker.
Faced with uncertainty about his return to Bangkok and being stuck at home, he honed his skills by cooking for people. Not for free though, as he wanted honest feedback about his food.
That’s when the idea for Pun Im – meaning “to share the fullness” in Thai – started gestating.
At Pun Im, Pang marries Thai flavours with his culinary training, resulting in a cuisine that’s predominantly Thai, but with Western techniques and ingredients.
His take on Thai red curry, for instance, balances the typically sweet gravy with briny, crispy-skinned, confit duck leg.
E-Sarn gai yang (Thai grilled chicken) is brined and roasted French-style for a juicy, more moist version of what is usually a dry dish.
It’s the attention to such details that Pang wants to expound on for his dream restaurant: a Thai fine-dining concept where he can afford every intricacy – from the tableware to the stories – to show guests how much they’re treasured.
Ownself Make Chef
Self-taught chef Shen Tan creates fun menus that showcase the creations from her kitchen experiements. She hosts a supper club series with a range of Singapore-inspired menus, with quirky names such as aPORKalypse, Majulah Singapura Lor! and more.
She also hosts cooking classes from time to time, teaching her signature dishes such as twice-steamed nasi lemak, no stir beef rendang and more.
Held every Friday or Saturday at Bukit Merah, her private dining sessions cost $158 per pax.
Relish.sg
If you are looking for a private home-cooked dinner and a show, visit Dr Rose Sivam and Christopher Choo’s abode for one of their weekly dinners located in Serangoon.
Choose a theme such as Afrobeats, Bollywood or Spanish and your cuisine will match the entertainment for the night. You can also work with them on a custom theme.
There’s a range of regular meals to choose from, too, such as India, Spain, Morocco, and New Orleans. Minimum two pax.
Prices start from $158 per pax for an 8-course dinner.
Forma (former Ben Fatto 95)
Taking a leaf from Italian culture, where the home kitchen and the dinner table are what binds food and family together, pasta takes centre stage at the former private dining-only establishment Ben Fatto 95.
Tax consultant-turned-chef Lee Yum Hwa uses basic techniques when handmaking his pasta, whether it is ravioli or tortelli. Choose from two set menus, and you can add more meat dishes for a price. Up to 10 pax.
In May 2022, chef Lee Yum Hwa opened Forma along Joo Chiat Road in collaboration with Cicheti Group.
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Part of this article first appeared on The Peak, Singapore Women’s Weekly.