Playing With Fire /BurntEnds

T (June '23)

SCORE: Suck it and see. Definitely worth trying, but may not be quite as good as the hype suggests. Embrace butter. A lot of the magic is in the team. Acoustics can be tricky

ORDER: smoked quail egg is a signature and no one does it as well | grissini is excellent | duck hearts 100% the best dish | garlic shoots | the leeks if the crockery changes back | crab leg | turbot | butterhead with the steaks | berry tart | marshmallow | pineapple upside down cake | sausage roll from the bakery | negronis

VALUE: If you are easy on the booze, it is better than you would expect for the brand, quality and demand. Assume $350/head with a couple of glasses of wine, though if omakase and pairing this gets to around $700

There aren't many places I consciously visit more than twice a year in Singapore. My aversion to price insanity and preference for interesting dishes unlike what I've had before means I get bored pretty quickly unless there are regular menu refreshes, which is not a fair expectation of most restaurants. There are some exceptions, of course - Les Amis, who are so reliably excellent, Hazuki, who always bring in new flavours and ingredients, and Zen, who have that perfect balance of new dishes and the classics you don't want to miss (waffles, anyone?). /BurntEnds is proving itself to be a place that I can enjoy time and again, almost to my surprise.

I've been lucky enough to go to BE fairly often over the years. In its old location, it was a date night favourite, and the man and I would hole up at the counter doing the omakase till the team and us to leave (always politely, and offered triggered by drunken PDA that I attribute to an excess of the Brash Higgins TWNY they would bring in). We've stopped going as much now that they have moved. The counter depth in the new site somehow feels less intimate, though I do enjoy the outside tables. Indoors at the tables, the acoustics are tricky. These days, I tend to go when friends ask to, rather than incline towards going there myself. That happens a lot though, and so it was somewhat half-heartedly that I went this week for my fourth or fifth visit in six months. I should have known better - the team always delivers.

[Side note - some of these photos are old. I went back to 2012 looking for comparator pictures. It's quite the achievement that those eggs remain so relevant as a dish still]

I'm not an egg lover as a rule. To this day, I struggle to eat eggs where the yolk and white are distinct (hard boiled eggs still make me gag). It's always a surprise to me when I end up ordering the smoked quail eggs at BE, and yet I always do. Perhaps because I'm often with people who have never been, and I think it's a great example of what it is to eat at Burnt Ends. Simple in construct but complex in flavour profile - the salt from the caviar and the smoke really evokes a seaside barbeque for me. Is there anything more Australian?

The other must have order for me is the grissini and taramaslata. I love a good taramslata though have never been able to find better than Fishworks Chiswick back in 2003-2010. BE comes in a current day first by virtue of the incredible knife work in the lemon rind and chive/dill topping, adding bite to the crunch of the grissini and cold, smooth salt of the taramasalata.

I didn't order these this time, but if people want a more substantial (carbs!) meal, the steak and chips/fish and chips combination is cute. I love ceviche and tartare, so do quite enjoy this dish, and think it's fairly clever. It's not a must-order for me though as the potato ratio is a little high for my preference.

I didn't have duck hearts this time because there wasn't any available, but I could honestly do a whole meal on these when they do have them. I've had eleven orders between two in the past. Definitely a must have.

The last two appetisers I did try were the pigs ears with lardo and z'atar, which was nice but probably not a must have. The pigs ears at Rebel Rebel (a must have though not currently on the menu) are really the best in town. Similarly the eggplant miso is always (though it's always been) surprisingly tempura-ed, and I think this takes from it. I would prefer a tempura shisho leaf with a smoky miso babaganoush. Wonder if I can suggest that to chef...

We then get into the seafood and vegetable part of the menu. From a vegetable perspective, I do have a fondness for the fennel and burrata for a cold dish, and the garlic shoots are probably my go-to for hot. This wasn't on the menu (picture is an archive one, I've never been a good photographer - I get excited to eat and rush the photos), so I opted for the leek and brown butter with hazelnuts, which is normally a safe bet. This time around, and possibly because one of my guests was on Ozempic, it was a little overly buttery and somewhat jelak / overwhelming. A dish I do enjoy, but which I don't think I've ever seen on the menu, is the maitake and congee. The scallop XO dish is one I've never had an impression of, though I do always admire the perfection of the doneness. There is one seafood dish that is a 100% must have though, and that is the king crab leg (more brown butter!)...

I've always been a little ambivalent about the actual meat courses at BE. This time around we did the onglet and cube roll. I do always enjoy the butterhead to cut the grease and recommend that as a companion. This is a polar opposite to the marrow bun, which was so rich it was abandoned.

Another strength is the desserts. Though I'm not a dessert person, BE's desserts are always a pleasure. The berry tart is most well known, and the pineapple upside down cake is well worth a try. I'm more ambivalent about the petit fours. The toasted marshmallow is worth a try - I'm not a marshmallow lover but do enjoy the orange blossom notes.

All in, Burnt Ends is worth a try. I've had really good nights there and think there are enough unique dishes to warrant a visit.

/BurntEnds