Chef Daniel's Kitchen

Chef Daniel is one of Singapore's celebrity chefs who appears on TV food programs frequently in recent years.  His restaurant, which is called Chef Daniel's Kitchen, is located on the roof top of the newly opened Iluma shopping center in Bugis.

The location is really good.  As it is on the roof top, you can have a bird's eye view of downtown Singapore, even a glimpse of the iconic Marina Bay Sands.  The design of the restaurant is simple but clean, it gives you a very neat feeling.

They are having a lunch set menu for only $10.50.  It sounds like a good deal, as it includes a soup of the day, a main, plus dessert.  So we happily sat down and ordered our food.

First came the soup, which is creamy cabbage soup.  The taste is very plain, better than plain water, that's for sure.  Other than that, it is not much higher standard than our company's canteen western food.

Then it came our mains.  Mine is sirloin steak, medium rare, my friend's is Teriyaki chicken.

The portion is really small.  Maybe because it is considered to be 'fine' dining.  It is just a small bowl with a few pieces of chicken on it.

My sirloin steak at least still comes with a reasonable size, plus fries and half a tomato.  The fries are too dry.  Not even up to MacDonald's standard.  The steak is acceptable, but it is really just a thin slice, and it is a bit on the dry side.

Highlight of the meal is the dessert.  At least the dessert is quite decent and gives us a bit sweet taste.

We went there with an empty stomach, and we came out with a hungry feeling.  For $10.50, I must say this meal is value for money.  However, I still prefer Raindrop Cafe's $25++ steak, which tasted good, and gives me more satisfaction.

For $10.50, it didn't give me a good fine dining experience (which I should not expect in the first place with this kind of price), neither did it fill my empty stomach (which is the fundamental purpose of eating).

When we were dining there, we saw Chef Daniel walking around, inspecting the work in the kitchen and the restaurant in general.

Well, what I experienced at his restaurant somehow is different from the impression he gives on TV.  I think one key point for Chef Daniel to ponder is the place he wants to be in in Singapore's restaurant scene.  He has to decide what kind of customers he would like to cater to.  If he is aiming for rich customers, then what he is doing is too low class.  If he is aiming for the mass market, I think what his restaurant is offering now is not really good for the mass market.  Anyway, my feel is he is making nobody too happy, nor too upset.


My rating: 3/5