My wife and I recently had a fantastic weekend lunch at Jaan by Kirk Westaway (**). Jaan is an iconic institution in Singapore's fine dining scene and boasts culinary legends such as André Chiang and Julien Royer (of current 3-starred Odette) as its alumni. Jaan is now helmed by Chef Kirk Westaway who has brought Jaan in a new direction, infusing the menu with his unique British-inspired culinary approach. Having heard so much about Jaan, and since we had a AMEX voucher, we decided to give Jaan a try.
Jaan underwent a major renovation in 2023, modernizing the space while preserving its elegant charm. We were wowed by the space – modern, chic and totally fits in with the stunning paranomic view of Singapore's Marina Bay & East Coast area (Jaan is located on the 70th floor and is probably the tallest Michelin-starred restaurant in Singapore).
Lunch was a 2.5 hour affair featuring an 8-course menu (with a cheese course and petit fours). We thoroughly enjoyed the mains, but we felt that appetizers and dessert were mid. Highlights of the meal:
- King Crab paired with a gazpacho and yoghurt. This was an excellent protein starter after the appetizers. Light, refreshing and balance flavours.
- Hen's Egg – a signature dish of Chef Kirk. This was served in a egg shaped bowl and smoked with hay. This was rich, decadent and luxurious. It was having soft boiled eggs and toast on steroids. The mushroom truffle dipping bread they provided was already so good on its own and was perfect with the eggs.
- Wild Turbot – excellent dish all around
- Guinea Fowl – this was presented like a cake, two slabs of guinea fowl with a mushroom duxelle in the middle. The guinea fowl was superbly tender and paired very well with the sauce.
- Earl Grey pre-dessert – this was a Earl Grey sorbert in granita and 'powdered snow' that is prepared tableside by Head Chef Ng. Wondeful dish which we felt outshone the actual dessert.
The bread served was excellent here as well. We were so addicted to the butter rolls that they provided us more. The sourdough paired with the Devonshire butter with Lemon Thyme was so addictive we had to stop ourselves from getting too full. As a farewell gift, we were also given a small sourdough bread and slab of butter with Lemon Thyme for breakfast the next day. This was a nice touch, and is probably one of the most substantial gifts we had from a fine-dining restuarant.
Service was also impeccable. Our server take very good care of us and established a very good repoire. They also know their stuff. We had mentioned that we had tried Chef Kirk's fish & chips during a COVID-19 popup at the hotel bar downstairs a few years back, and we were impressed that she could recall the dish and the type of fish they used. Towards the end of the meal, Chef Kirk would make his rounds to greet the guest.
Overall, this was a tasty and refined experience. For the food, view and service, I also think that the price is fair for lunch. You can extract further value if you hold an AMEX Platinum card. I highly recommend trying Jaan if you are in Singapore.
Review: 4.25/5. Cost performance: 4.25/5 (S$238 before taxes & service charge). Reservation difficulty: Easy – booked a month ahead on their website.
by Single_Rutabaga_4776