Yam’s Kitchen 8th Anniversary Dinner with Century Cellars Wine at Downtown East

The 8th Anniversary of Yam’s Kitchen was celebrated amidst fine wine and good food over two days – 7th and 8th August 2018. The wine and dine dinner featured a 6-course meal helmed by head chef and owner Kelvin Yam and wine pairings by wine sommelier Joshua Kalinan. Wines were curated from Century Cellars with a special Australian wine for the day, Kaesler Old Vine Shiraz $92.

The signature Salted Egg Fish Skin and some Fries were served as light snacks to munch on as we waited for the guests to settle. The turnout rate was overwhelming with close to 70-90 diners occupying more than half the restaurant.

The wine pairing menu was as such. We could even purchase the wines on the spot should we fancy any.

We started with a crisp and refreshing white wine, Marlborough Sun Sauvignon Blanc $42. I couldn’t help but compared this to the second wine, Handpicked Versions Shiraz $44, a heavy red that was full-bodied and wholesome on the palate. To a certain extent, I did like this but would have preferred something lighter to go with the fish as the second course.

The third, Turkey Flat Butcher’s Block Red $52, was lighter than the previous, complementing well with the noodles. The forth and fifth wine were Handpicked Wines Signature I by Peter Douglas Cabernet Sauvignon $70 and Zeni Amarone Valpolicella DOCG $98, my favourite of the lot and also one of the priciest.

Dessert was served with the Andrew Garrett Sparkling Shiraz $48, sweet and soda-ish. Some of us at the table liked this very much too.

First course was the Steamed Bamboo Clam with Garlic Essence, huge and tempting. Lying on a bed of vermicelli was the meaty clams scattered with copious amount of chopped garlics. I was glad the clams was well-cooked and could be easily chewed.

The Steamed Soon Hock with Preserved Radish was fleshy with white tender meats. The preserved radish coupled with hints of sweetness paired with the fish meats for an extra flavour and texture, without overpowering it. Delectable indeed.

In individual portions, the Signature Handmade Noodles with Abalone won me over with the smooth succulent abalone sliced into half and delicately placed atop noodles lightly tossed in mouth-watering sauce. Though slightly on the oily side, it still remained my favourite dish of the night.

The highly anticipated Peking Duck Yin Yang Style could be eaten two ways – by wrapping the skin with the Peking duck pancake while the meats were mixed in with lots of onions and served on the side.

The duck meats were fairly tender and marinated.

The arrival of Chef’s Special BBQ Pork Ribs to the table had us exclaiming out loud at the slab of glistening meats stacked neatly into a pyramid. The meats slid off the bones easily and had not much of the porky smell. These were sinfully good.

Dessert was none other than the Double-boiled Hashima conjured into a pool of pumpkin soup with an ice cream dunked in the middle. It was lusciously creamy with a touch of sweetness. The sparkling Shiraz actually tasted sweeter in comparison to this!

Food at Yam’s Kitchen have indeed lived up to the raving reviews I have heard prior my visit here. Even my friend with a critical taste bud gave his praises unrestrained.

The wine and dinner was affordably priced at $78 per pax.

 

Yam’s Kitchen