Anthony Bourdain x Sin Huat

Anthony Bourdain is the kind of person that i would like to meet. I mean the man eats everything and cooks just as well ! 🙂 I assume that he is unpretentious, genuine, smokes and drinks 🙂 …….

Sin Huat in Singapore. Check out Anthony Bourdains A Cook’s Tour on youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98V4Y_vZJS4

Skip to the 5:55 mark where it starts. You seldom see him lost of words. Sure….there’s lots of commentary but that’s post production. But he look genuinely overawed by the food here. To summarize what he said at Sin Huat, “Deranged, Massive, Hardcore, Lapse into a trance like state, single best dish i ever had, touchdown !!”

We needed no 2nd opinion and headed straight for Sin Huat.

Not your idea of a classy restaurant but this place looks like it has a long history of both happy and unhappy customers. For me ? Dining here beats eating in many of the posh restaurants i have visited.

Looks simple……taste fantastic, its wok fried, yet its not. hmmm…..put it this way, its tossed-and-quickly-wok-hot-fried. The vegetables remain crunchy, juicy and piping hot at the same time.

Whelks……these little sea snails that Anthony was raving. Freshness is the key here and coupled with the honey like chill dip……like the best Cozzas from Naples or Ischia.

The man has no fridge, the only fridge he has are for the chilled beers and drinks.  Some are put off by the condition of the tanks. “too much algae”, they say. Zzzz…its the same if they caught it off the sea correct ? Chef Danny actually cleans the food well before serving. The whelks ? He actually take the time to prod them out of the shells after cooking so that its easier for customers to pick them out later. That’s pride.

Next comes these. “Guarantee Run Faster” says the lady serving them. How do they taste ? A cross between chicken and fish. The sauce that goes on top are essence of chicken, sort of like a 20 times concentrated chicken soup.  Still guessing ?

Frogs Legs……the man has no fridge, so everything is live….including these…..

Ok, it does not look as bad. It comes only with the legs, upper half of the body are not edible and are not served. Apparently, its good for those on a diet, less fat and calories than chicken. 🙂

Black Pepper crabs….these goes so well with beer. Buttery, Sweet and a little dash of black pepper. That’s Sri Lankan crab. Its claw was the length of my own palm. What do these crabs feed on ? Steroids ?

Chef Danny is a garlic freak. Everything is garlic based. Including these Lobsters. “Can i have them BBQed?” The reply was “No”. Many says Chef Danny does not allow you to order less than what he thinks you should eat. Mind you, this place is not cheap…..Our meal for 4 cost Eur275 with beers.

“Can I have less……? ”

“No”

“C…..?”

“No” ” You eat this and this”

The man has his pride, not only in his food, but also to make sure you have a stuffing good meal at the highest quality he can manage. I can understand why he has stepped on a few toes of his customers.

Chef Danny’s signature dish. Crab Bee Hoon. This has spun off many copycats in Singapore but none does it as well as Sin Huat. My Italian friend had his reservations before this dish was served.

“Pasta made of rice ? (I can see question marks above his head with disapproving looks of disgust” No No Jay, we eat only Al Dente, Si ?

He couldn’t stop eating and gaffing with approval once he started “Why?” “How?” The pot of secret sauces that was used to braised this became the talk of the evening. Chef Danny was both coy and friendly.  Very much unlike the hard, rude, aloof, hostile man that, many other reviewers who were upset with his prices and services, made him out to be.

Many names were brought up. Of course Anthony Bourdain’s name peppered the conversation. Names of movies stars from Asia that came directly after landing at the airport….as well as “Daniel, Andre, Santi….., oh Daniel likes my scallops”

………who’s they?  i was thinking…and suddenly it dawned upon me. Daniel Bouloud, Andre Chang and Santi Santamaria, renowed international chefs. You are on first name basis now ? Really ?  Chef Danny was happy.

I know why……..we simply left it to him to decide what we eat.

Pics : Canon 5D 24-70mmL, no Flash. (Bring a compact next time, its hard to take pictures with gigantor when you have to use your hands to eat almost everything)