PUBLISHED ONJuly 02, 2025 9:15 AMByMelissa Teo With Singapore celebrating its 60th birthday, Cafe Quenino has a special dining experience planned just for the occasion.
The restaurant, which is located in Artyzen hotel in Orchard, has a six-month-long culinary campaign featuring several big names in our local food and beverage scene like Chin Mee Chin Confectionery, Keng Eng Kee Seafood and Abundance.
Each month, one local chef or restaurant will have their locally inspired dishes, which were jointly developed with Cafe Quenino's culinary team, featured in the menu. The brands will be on rotation over the campaign period.
August is the only month that has a menu showcasing dishes from all the restaurants and chefs.
AsiaOne had a preview of the August menu on July 2. Here's what you can expect:
Chef Inderpal Singh of Meh'r, winner of MasterChef Singapore Season 4, already kicked things off earlier in May with his creation — Seafood Black Pepper Masak Kicap.
This featured prawns and squid cooked in Inderpal's signature sauce. It was served atop an omelette and a bed of coconut basmati rice.
I loved the sweet and slightly spicy black pepper kicap manis sauce, which paired well with the fresh, crunchy seafood.
For dessert, there was creme brulee infused with Inderpal's house-made bru coffee caramel.
Chin Mee Chin, one of Singapore's oldest confectioneries, was the restaurant in the spotlight in June. The brand happens to be celebrating their 100th anniversary this year, too.
One can't dine at Chin Mee Chin without indulging in their kaya so for the campaign, they've created a unique Kaya Mille-feuille filled with kaya, mango and lychee.
It also comes complete with a side of coconut ice cream. The Kaya Mille-feuille is among a few items on the menu that will be available throughout the six-month campaign.
I was surprised by how light the pastry was and I loved how the kaya added a subtle sweetness to each bite.
While Chin Mee Chin is mostly known for its nostalgic bakes and sweet treats, there are savoury options too.
Just for the collaboration with Cafe Quenino, the confectionary has created its own rendition of the Hainanese Beef Brisket, paired with creamy mashed potatoes.
I'm pretty fussy when it comes to beef and this gets a stamp of approval from me. Apart from being marinated well, the beef was extremely tender and juicy.
The eatery for this month is Keng Eng Kee Seafood, which is known for its zi char dishes.
On the menu are starters like the 'Hei Zho' Prawn Toast, which features fried bread stuffed with prawn mousse and topped with tomato jam. These were very addictive, and I was tempted to have more than one.
Another dish to try is the eatery's Salted Egg Prawn.
Yes, salted egg dishes are a little overdone in Singapore but this one left quite an impression on me.
The crisp prawns were coated in the creamy, savoury and sweet salted egg sauce and came with a side of fried kombu rice and grilled baby corn. A very interesting pairing that surprisingly worked.
For Singapore's birthday month, Goobybakes, which is known for its cheese baos, will have three unique local flavours to choose from — ginger chicken, house-made sambal and bakkwa.
On top of that, there will be a special one-off lunch and dinner collaborative menu co-created by all participating guest chefs. Diners will also get to meet the chefs in person on Aug 1 and 2.
The collaborative menu features dishes like Chin Mee Chin's Hainanese Beef Brisket, Abundance's 'Beef Bak Kut Teh' Ravioli and Keng Eng Kee Seafood's Salted Egg Prawns.
In September, Abundance, which is known for its local and Taiwanese fusion flavours, will serve items like its Taro Pork Belly Bun, a fusion of Taiwanese gua bao and Hakka-style braised pork.
As a bak kut teh lover, I thoroughly enjoyed their Beef Bak Kut Teh Ravioli, which featured beef short rib filling encased in ravioli skin and doused in a rich, herbal beef broth. This was finished off with a generous scattering of fried mee sua.
I loved this dish so much that I wish it could have been a staple item on the menu rather than for limited time only.
The overall campaign ends in October with Red House Seafood, which will have hearty bowls of Seafood 'Paofan' on the menu. The pao fan, which is a Teochew dish where rice is submerged in soup, comes accompanied with a piece of pan-seared Milkfish.
This isn't your usual bowl of pao fan either — each serving comes with generous chunks of baby scallop and prawns. Very luxurious indeed.
Diners can enjoy these dishes a la carte or opt for the lunch and dinner sets.
A weekday lunch set costs $38 for a two-course meal and $48 for a three-course meal.
Dinner features a communal set menu which costs $65 per person and requires a minimum of two diners.
Apart from that, homegrown patisserie Cake Inspiration has three locally inspired desserts on Cafe Quenino's high tea menu. These are available throughout the entire six-month series.
The bespoke cocktail series, which is inspired by Singapore's neighbourhoods and food habits, can also be ordered throughout the duration of the entire campaign.
A must-try — especially if you love local coffee — is the Kaya Toastini, which is crafted with Roberto Cavalli Vodka and coffee liquor. It even comes with a side of Chin Mee Chin's kaya butter toast.
For something more fruity, get the Swing Singapore Sling, made from No.3 Gin, Pink Guava Juice, lemongrass, saline and tonic.
Address: 9 Cuscaden Rd, Level 1, Singapore 249719
Opening hours: Daily, 11am to midnight
For more original AsiaOne articles, visit here.
