The true star of this dish is the crispy fried mantou crowning the bed of eggplant. Lightly battered and fried, the slightly sweet and fluffy interior made for the perfect vessel for the eggplant (quite frankly, for anything), which took a backseat in this dish. Our request to purchase more mantous was politely, but decisively, refused. Clearly not the first time they’ve had such a request. Okay, we get it. Us customers cannot always have our ways.

This dish made me wish I was born into a Korean family, with a matronly ajumma preparing this as I got home from a stressful day at school, just so I can categorically claim this as my comfort food. Saranghae! 🤞🏻😘

A rather unassuming Korean joint that exclusively serves chicken, save for a handful of sides. Chicken was expertly grilled and doused in a deliriously sweet and spicy sauce. Meat was spot-on tender; we couldn’t even tell the breasts apart! Comes w a few token tteokbokki pieces with a surprise cheese centre. Extremely satisfying. What can I say? This dish left me breathless. Chicken nut bread.

I remember watching the Christina Tosi episode on Chefs Table. She shared the story of how she created the eponymous Crack Pie out of desperation, with almost nothing left in her kitchen. However, this dessert I had was neither awe-inspiring nor remarkably delicious. A visit to Milk Bar is imperative.

I remember being impressed because the squid ink flavour really came through. More often than not, squid ink is a connotation of colour rather than taste. In this dish, I could really taste the slight squidy taste in the pasta, which went very well with the crab meat. The tomatoes were probably added for colour, but I wished they had used chillies or something.

I am writing this review in retrospect, and I cannot remember if I liked this or not. All I recall is that they’ve added a coffee granita on top. Which was unconventionally tasty.

The litmus test of a good calamari (or tempura for that matter) is whether the batters slides off the squid. In this case, the two had bonded very harmoniously. The burnt lime was not a gimmick. It added an even greater depth to the acid which every deep fried dish needs.

Soy sauce marinated quail eggs lightly smoked and topped with caviar. A one bite wonder.

This dish displayed Burnt Ends’ mastery over its menu. There was just enough of each item. Nothing more, nothing less. The portion, taste and, most importantly, price, was spot on. This dish is truly one that sets Burnt Ends apart from its peers.

This dish was skippable, in my opinion. I ordered it because i wanted some veg. There was not much activity going on in the taste department. I just didn’t think the fennel paired that well with burrata. What I liked though, was how the burrata melted ever so slightly from the fennel.

How it works at Burnt Ends is that once you have chosen your steak and the desired weight, the server would present the uncooked meat and warn you of the cooking time (approx 40 mins). Kiasu diners like myself would then add another 100g. Touché.

Meat was well cooked and slathered in the most curious and delightful sauce. A little goes a long way, so hold your horses kiasu eaters! (And choose your doneness wisely. They take it very seriously here.)

So Burnt End changes their menu every once in a while (they print the dates on their menu) but many items remain a mainstay. This, for one, has earned that spot. It’s a light starter that primes you for the gastronomical adventure to come. A very simple dish that is perhaps not exceedingly delicious. But every hero needs a sidekick. This guy is the one.

I have no idea what was the thought process behind this dessert. Maybe it was the name of the restaurant? Maybe it was the clever irony of fire and ice? How did they even do it... Did they smoke the scoop of ice cream? Or the entire tub? I have so many questions, but I don’t even need answers. It was that good.