Fancy Food

This was a much lighter dessert, almost somewhat like a palate cleanser because it was a bit sour. The macerated mixed berries were topped with a light cream chantilly, shortbread crumbs and a mild basil oil. The sourness of the berries were countered by the chantilly and the basil oil gave a pleasant aftertaste. Tastes like a healthy dessert.

This didn’t come as part of the omakase menu but we had to add it on because it sounded amazing, and amazing it was. Their brie is housemade and stuffed with a truffle paste. It’s served with some ritz crackers and berry compote, of which I think the latter pairs a lot better with the brie because you can taste it better.

The brie was an experience in itself. It was soft and quite creamy, almost like eating a block of butter. The brie itself is quite mild tasting, but the truffle paste isn’t too strong despite that and they balance each other out well. The sour berry compote brings out the savouriness of the cheese and really just goes perfectly with the brie. One of my fav dishes along with the brussel sprouts!

This dish was alright. The pork collar chop was cooked very well and marinated with kebab spice which was tasty. The pork is in a miso tonkotsu broth with fragrant fried garlic oil inside, but I found the broth a bit too salty for my liking. I think I would have preferred the meat plated alone rather than in the broth as the miso interfered with the flavour of the pork collar.

The kushiyaki here was very satisfying. On the left is the honeycomb beef tripe topped with preserved olive leaf gremolata and on the right is the shish tawook, which is charcoal chicken thighs that are supposed to be topped with toum (whipped garlic), but ours looked and tasted like it was topped with Japanese mayonnaise instead.

The beef tripe had a great texture- it was tender and slightly chewy. It wasn’t gamey and the gremolata tasted mildly herbaceous without being too overpowering. Tastes somewhat like basil oil, and I would prefer a bit more lemon in the gremolata.

The shish tawook is based on the Middle Eastern chicken kebab. The chicken thighs had a great smokiness from the charcoal grill and was very delicious, but it seems like we missed out on the toum it was supposed to be topped with.

This was by far one of my favourite dishes. Brussel sprouts, when done correctly, are delightful. Here, it’s properly charred and tossed with kinnogomadare (Japanese sesame sauce), which I have a clear weakness for. They’re plated on top of some pickled red cabbage and topped with a pile of bonito flakes. The flavours don’t sound that complex but this was a top tier veggie dish for sure. The char from the brussel sprouts complements the smokiness of the bonito flakes and the pickled red cabbage provides some acidity to cut through the creamy sauce. Really well balanced.

Habibi-san is a new Japanese-Middle Eastern fusion place opened by a chef who used to be at Artichoke. The service is top notch and really friendly. Our server recommended us to get the Feeeeed me! menu, i.e. their omakase, so that we could try most of their dishes, and we went with it!

It started with some pita and 3 of their small plates. Of them all, I loved the baba ganoush. I haven’t tried much Middle Eastern food on the whole, but this tastes rather familiar because of the Japanese spin they put on it. Baba ganoush is typically mashed eggplant mixed with tahini, but here they used kinnogomadare, which is the delicious Japanese sesame dressing. It’s topped with roasted sesame seeds, chives and crispy chicken skin. It was the perfect dip.

The mentaiko taramasalata is a departure from the usual Greek meze made from cod roe. It has a good tang thanks to the housemade labneh (Greek yogurt) inside. It’s mixed with mentaiko and XO sauce, which gave it a hint of spice, and is topped with tobiko, fried shallots and chives. I haven’t tried a dip like this before, but the flavours slowly grew on me as I had more.

Lastly, the pickled beetroot was an unexpected surprise as someone who doesn’t enjoy pickled things or beetroot at all. The beetroot was juicy and not too earthy or sour, and the wasabi cream and wasabi pea furikake really balanced things out. It was refreshing compared to the other two dips and a good palate cleanser.

The vongole was quite generous with the clams and the scallops! I would have preferred for it to be a little less spicy so that the white wine and garlic taste to shine through though. Would be better if it were a bit saucier.

Thanks Burpple for the eatup and SE7ENTH for hosting us!

This dish was quite visually appealing with the beef sizzling over the hot plate, but it tasted a bit underwhelming. I’m personally not a fan of black pepper sauce so this dish wasn’t that enjoyable for me. I would have preferred it if the beef was seared on one surface.

Thanks Burpple for the eatup and SE7ENTH for hosting us!

This is another good alternative main for the 1 for 1 burpple set. I was quite shocked at the huge portion of ribs when it first arrived. The bbq sauce isn’t too overpowering and the ribs aren’t overly saucy either- tasted like a glaze over the ribs, which I prefer over the ribs soaking in a puddle of sauce. The meat came off the bone easily too and was decently tender. Quite worth it if you’re a big eater.

Thanks Burpple for the eatup and SE7ENTH for hosting us!

This was my favourite main. The salmon was cooked quite well- crispy on the edges but very tender inside. I also liked the creamed spinach that came with this dish and the garlic mashed potatoes with the sundried tomatoes. Didn’t feel too overwhelmingly creamy, and it’s worth it with the 1 for 1 set on burpple beyond.

Thanks Burpple for the eatup and SE7ENTH for hosting us!

The seafood ceviche with tortilla chips was refreshing, but a bit forgettable. Would have perhaps appreciated more if it were zestier or they added some raw fish to the shrimp and squid, as it felt a bit dull with the plain tortilla chips alone.

Thanks Burpple for the eatup and SE7ENTH for hosting us!

These chicken drums were super delicious. They’re coated with a crispy coating which kind of tastes like cornflakes and the maple truffle glaze on top of it is delicious. While you can’t taste the truffle, the maple syrup is very fragrant and pairs beautifully with the slightly spicy drums, which are juicy inside.

Thanks Burpple for the eatup and SE7ENTH for hosting us!