April 17, 2017

Birds Of A Feather @ Amoy Street ~ Contemporary Western Sichuan Food In A Beautiful Garden-Like Setting



There is this quote which goes "People who love to eat are always the best people". I guess the group of us foodies are the best then as we flocked to Birds Of A Feather..... to eat of course! Lol!

The all-day dining, café and bar nestled along Amoy Street is inspired by the idea of people flocking together as birds do. Its food is described to be contemporary Western cuisine with a pronounced Sichuan influence.

I heard numerous positive reviews about the place since its opening at the end of last October, so was pretty excited to make this visit to try their offerings from the new expanded menu, as well as the recently-launched Weekend Chirpy Brunch.


We were told that Birds Of A Feather is brought to Singapore by the owners of a successful café chain in Chengdu called Good Wood Coffee (良木缘咖啡).

I guess these guys are truly serious about their coffee, and that could also explain the investment in the freakingly expensive Slayer machine. Coffee are brewed using the same GWC in-house blend of various beans sourced from Brazil, Guatemala and Sumatra.

The garden-like interior of Birds Of A Feather is designed to evoke the greenery of Chengdu and its laid-back lifestyle. With those comfortable couches and free wifi, I wouldn't mind lazing doing my work here the whole day.


Coupled that with a platter of Crispy Chicken Winglet ($16) please! Thank you very much!

Those winglets were succulent and insanely addictive in its house seasoning! The mix of Sichuan spices left a lingering trail of numbing spiciness that wasn't too fiery but of a pleasant, comfortable level. It left this chicken wing lover desiring for more and more. I wasn't even "paiseh" (embarrassed) to take the last "paiseh" piece.

Super dope! Go go go for the wings!

My friend also couldn't resist the appeal of Kawa Ebi Swim In The Chilies ($17). Think of it as the well-loved Sichuan La Zhi Ji ( 辣子鸡) dish, but with crispy deep-fried river shrimp instead of chicken. We were easily hooked.


We would also suggest ordering the other small plate appetizers of Baby Octopus (18) with classic Sichuan white garlic sauce and Pig Ear Mosaic ($18) for sharing.

Do not let the mention of pig ear put you off as the dish was especially pleasing. Being not too receptive of renditions elsewhere, it was utterly surprising to find myself enjoying the dish here tremendously. The pig ear was braised in Sichuan braising liquid, chilled and served thinly-sliced with housemade dressing and arrowroot noodle.

The cold pig ear's crunchy texture combined with the mildly spicy and sour dressing was undeniably refreshing. All of us at the table concurred that it was one of the best dishes of the evening.


While popular dishes including Tofu Burger with Mapo Meat Sauce ($26), Spicy Oriental Bolognaise ($22) and Hot & Sour Chazuke ($28) are available for both lunch and dinner, we do see dinner-exclusive items such as Salmon 2 Ways ($23) which is a pairing of salmon tartarte and cured salmon confit, as well as Xiang Su Duck ($30).

The braised duck breast and duck leg confit union takes its inspiration from the classic Chinese dish, but also adopts the Western sous-vide cooking method and plating, resulting in a delightful East-meet-West experience on a plate.

As the meat can get a tad heavy, it is served with a cup of light White Ginger Pear Tea on the side.


Another highlight was the Hong Shao Short Ribs ($38).

Marinated with chili, ginger, garlic, dou ban jiang and then oven-braised, the chunk of beef fell apart effortlessly, evidencing its tenderness. The meat was satisfaction in every bite with its ideal texture and winsome flavors.

During Weekend Chirpy Brunch (Saturdays and Sundays, 10am to 5pm), there are two different interpretations of Hong Shao Beef to choose from: Beef Ragout Sandwich and Hong Shao Beef Ragout Orecchiette ($26) which is a hearty pasta dish with spinach, black fungus, pesto, pine nut, parmesan foam and egg confit.


For you who feels that brunch is incomplete without eggs, Birds Of A Feather offers its interpretation of crowd favorite egg bens with Big Bird 1st, a medley of toasted English muffin, bacon, sausage, mesclun salad and poached egg in a Mala Hollandaise sauce. How unique is that sauce!

The Bird's Skillet ($23) could possibly be another hit. With bacon, camembert, cheddar, Sichuan sausage, spicy chorizo, roasted baby potato in housemade tomato sauce and topped with two eggs, it was a choice that is both hearty in portion and intense in flavors.


Another friend wasn't kidding when she said, "there's only 4 desserts on the menu so I ordered all of it!"

If there is a separate tummy compartment for desserts, the few of us might had proven it true. Despite the full-filling meal, we still wiped clean the savory Glutinous Rice Cake ($12), GWC Coffee Dessert ($15) with coffee brownie, a very interesting deconstructed cheng tng-like Asian-spice Poached Pear ($12) with osmanthus konnyaku, and MonoTone ($15).

It might not have a vibrantly-colored appearance like the rest, but the MonoTone stood out for its myraid of textures that complemented each other. Components include the black sesame coullis & coral sponge, white sesame parfait & oil powder, sesame sable and light coconut mousse. That sesame aroma was distinct and alluring.


The meal at Birds Of A Feather was truly an enlightening experience, making me look at fusion food in a different light.

By incorporating Sichuan elements to contemporary Western dishes, Sichuan food can be hip and innovative while featuring tinges of that signature numbing spiciness. The touch here is mostly subtle, without going overboard nor trying too hard.

Birds Of A Feather is a very captivating place which I would recommend everyone to visit.


Birds Of A Feather
Address: 115 Amoy Street, Singapore 069935
Contact: +65 9755 7115
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/birdsofafeathersg/
Opening Hours: Mon 11am-11pm / Tue-Wed 10am-11pm / Thu-Sat 10am-12am / Sun 10am-10pm / Sat & Sun Brunch 10am-5pm

Prices are stated in Singapore dollars and subject to 10% service charge & 7% GST. Information is correct at point of published date.

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