Alcohol Food - Western Singapore - South

Mr Punch Public House: Gastropub In City Hall, Within MINT Museum Of Toys

11 February 2017 Gwendolyn

Communal dining is what it is all about at Mr Punch Public House which offers a series of sharing plates and modern European dishes alongside a full menu of whiskies, beers, wines and cocktails. The gastropub has a restaurant-bar at the basement and one at the rooftop where diners can enjoy the breeze and view of the night city.

We headed to the basement for our meals. Retro posters fill up all parts of the wall, leaving no gaps behind. I felt as if I was walking into a film set, back in the 70s. The menus were presented to us promptly as we settled down facing a bar area.

There is a sharing food menu ‘pre-main‘ which consists of ten appetisers such as the popular Drunken Duck $16 and Queen’s Squid $16.

As for the mains, it is concise selection of eight carefully curated dishes.

We had the Frango Assado $28. A whole corn-fed chicken was marinated in herb and spices before it was sent to the oven to be cooked. Covered with a thin layer of glistening crispy skin, the chicken was surprisingly moist, tender and tasty by itself.

The Light Chicken Carbonara $22 is nothing like a light dish, especially when you have pasta drenched in rich creamy sauce. Accompanied with intermittent flavours of sweet and savouriness from the candied bacon, the pasta was filled with roasted chicken strips while topped with fluffy shaved eggs as well. Makes a filling meal.

Another must-try pasta is the Seared Scallop Linguine $22. Caught a whiff of the fragrant pasta as it arrived to our table. The inclusion of herbs and shio kombu lightened the pasta without it losing its profile. As a big fan of seafood, the scallops blew me away with their succulent huge flesh.

As meat lovers, we couldn’t miss out the US Prime Steak $48. The 500g slab of meat took the longest to arrive and yet was one of the tastiest dish. It made a grand appearance in a smokey bell jar where the lid was lifted at the table to reveal the heap of delectable beef.

Preparation was nothing short of simple. The steak was firstly cold-smoked in tea leaf, sous vide, then seared brown. Several flavours were at play as I tasted it . The smokiness hit upon first bite in, amidst a slight bitterness coming from the top part of the beef. Meat was rather tender and glazed in the homemade soy sauce, it became even richer and robust in character. If you like your beef simpler, go easy on the sauce then.

Every order of the beef comes with two choices of sides in which we opted for the Charred vine ripe Tomatoes and Sauteed Kale Flower.

This traditional Italian dessert, the Flaming Tiramisu $12, is brought to life here. With Sambuca liqueur torched and poured over the deconstructed Tiramisu, the blue-purplish flame appeared to be dancing upon the dessert. Using the given rod, we were to mash the coffee-soaked ladyfinger with the frozen mascarpone together before eating. The alcohol was prominent throughout the dessert which wasn’t overly sweet.

What’s food without some drinks to go along!

Using the entertainer app, we are entitled to one-for-one bottle of house wine as well as one-for-one main course. which is such a great deal! Here’s the link to more details.

Besides, by using the CHUG lifestyle pass (simply download the CHUG app onto your phone and quote ‘gwendolyn2010’ for extra $5 off your subscription), I also received a complimentary Encik Cocktail!

With the MINT Museum of Toys situated right in the same building, it forms a good before/after-meal activity.