Royal Host (Jewel Changi Airport)

If there is one establishment that seems to have soft launched to much hype around the island in recent times, one of such dining establishments would likely be that of Royal Host. A brand that hails from Japan, Royal Host’s very first location in Japan was opened in 1971 in Kurosaki, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka — the brand itself has expanded their operations to more than 200 locations in Japan ever since. Its first outpost in Singapore is located in Jewel Changi Airport; the establishment having taken over the former premises of the now-defunct Earle Swensen’s location there. There has been extensive works being made by Royal Host for the space; the space now features an interior that mainly features wooden furnishings and fitting all around the establishment — we did notice that most of the seats that are catered for groups of two (2) diners and bar counter seating are general located in an area that is level with the entrance of the shop; the round tables that caters to groups of four (4) are situated on a slightly raised platform after the area that sees the dine-in seatings for groups of two (2) pax. While the outlet in Singapore was opened some time around early July 2024, Royal Host is still in its soft launch phase with limited items on their menu being available until it goes into full launch from 19 July 2024 — this is to facilitate to smoothen operations in its initial phase of opening. The full menu at Royal Host that is slated to be launched from 19 July 2024 is being categorised into sections dedicated to its steak and Hamburg dishes, as well as Omelette Rice, Doria, Pasta, Salads, Starter, Appetisers, Grill & Others, Japanese Curry, French Toast, Sandwich, Parfaits & Sundae, Gelato and Dolce. Beverages available at Royal Host would include Espresso & Latte, as well as a selection of teas.

Having seen a number of social media posts about Royal Host, it was needless to say that the item that caught quite a bit of our attention would have been the "ROYAL" Hamburg Steak — especially so considering how it gets served on the sizzling hotplate here . The "ROYAL" Hamburg Steak at Royal Host comes in three (3) different variants of sauces — this would include options such as the ~Brown Butter Sauce~, ~Black Pepper Sauce~ and the ~WA-FU Butter Sauce~; our choice was for the ~Brown Butter Sauce~. A signature at Royal Host, the menu describes the "ROYAL" Hamburg Steak ~Brown Butter Sauce~ to be an item that comes with 100% beef — the brown butter sauce being comprised of fresh cream, butter, white wine and black pepper into demiglace sauce. Other elements not mentioned that is being included in the "ROYAL" Hamburg Steak ~Brown Butter Sauce~ would include stalks of broccolini, as well as chunks of potato. Patrons do get asked by the service crew if they would like assistance for part of the sauce to be drizzled by them, or if patrons would like to do it entirely by themselves. We went with the option of having the staff to do it, and they were pretty liberal with the amount of sauce drizzled — this allows patrons to further add on the sauce for more flavour if they wish to do so. Digging right into the Hamburg steak, we liked how the Hamburg steak comes nicely charred on the exterior for that slightly crusted texture around the surface. As one goes into the dish with the fork and knife, the Hamburg is pretty easy to slice through; the meat being not too crumbly or fatty whilst being tender and juicy — almost melt-in-the-mouth and also sufficient brined for flavour.

The brown butter sauce also went immensely well with the Hamburg steak as well — the flavours of the stock used in the demiglace sauce does make the brown butter sauce immensely savoury, though other elements such as the black pepper didn’t feel particularly strong. That being said, its buttery and savoury notes does bring loads more flavour to the Hamburg steak — and especially so when the sauce reduces whilst it sizzles on the hotplate. The other elements accompanying the dish were a good-to-have, though special mention does go out to the potatoes that seems to be roasted potatoes that have been lightly-fried to carry a slightly crusted exterior — the potatoes also carrying a bit of a sweetness of its own. Another one of Royal Host’s signature dishes that we have had was their COSMO Doria — a dish that Royal Host describes to be baked rice dish that comes with elements such as special butter rice covered with shrimp, chicken, chestnuts and cheese. The buttered rice definitely carried a softer texture than usual grains, but we especially loved the creaminess in the rice that also adds on to the flavour of the dish as it did to provide a good level of moisture to the rice that makes it so easy to have. The shrimp does come with a good bite and a hint of natural sweetness, though we did feel that the chunks of chicken could be a little more tender and less dry considering how the texture was a little off from that of the other elements. The layer of melted cheese was gooey and oozy; adds a hint of savouriness to the dish that gave it a bit of a contrast from the creaminess going on. Meanwhile, the Omurice ~Snow Crab & Chilli Sauce~ is a dish that sees the fusion of Japanese and Singaporean elements; this features omelette rice made of special butter rice, scrambled eggs, Nori sukudani (“seaweed cooked in soy sauce”) and chilli sauce. Whilst also coming with Surimi, the item also does come with a cooked crab leg that was fresh and carried a natural sweetness of crustaceans — the scrambled egg was also pretty decent overall.

That being said, the chili sauce was one that seems to veer closer to being one that was more akin to a “spicy tomato sauce”; just felt like there was something missing that prevented it from being one that totally replicated that of chili crab sauce. During our visit, we had also tried the Coffee Jelly Sundae and the Cream Brulee Parfait -Mixed Berries-; the latter being yet another signature item of Royal Host featuring vanilla gelato, chocolate gelato and mixed berries (strawberry, blueberry and blackberry) whilst it is being topped with a layer of caramelized sugar that has been flame-torched to replicate that of an actual Creme Brulee. The Coffee Jelly Sundae on the other hand is yet another adaption done by Royal Host to include a local fusion; the item seeing the use of vanilla gelato and sea salt gula jawa gelato with coffee jelly. Both sundaes are pretty much crowd-pleasers, though the one likely to give a more authentic expedience and carrying more complexity is undoubtedly the Cream Brulee Parfait -Mixed Berries-. It does seem that Royal Host is an establishment that is deserving of the hype generated; they do definitely seem to serve up pretty quality fare though we did notice that they are a little weaker with dishes with a local fusion element. There is also a lot of emphasis on the service whereby it seems that the service crew must bow in front of patrons before rendering assistance to the table, and bow again before resuming their duties — whilst we do feel that Royal Host is likely trying to bring an authentic level of service to their location here, it can get a little overwhelming for patrons looking for a less fussy dining experience. Prices do seem a little steep, though we do think it is pretty worth the price if they could maintain the standards of their food in the long run — perhaps another visit would be in the works to give their full menu a try after it fully launches on 19 July 2024!