Does Kim’s Singapore Seafood serve authentic Singaporean cuisine?
A new Dubai restaurant bills itself as offering ‘authentic Singaporean cuisine.’ Furthermore, it’s also the official venue for the movie premiere of Crazy Rich Asians in Dubai, attended by the Singapore General Consul. Therefore, being Singaporean, my expectations are set high and I can’t help but get excited at the prospect of an authentic Singaporean import in Dubai. I dine at Kim’s Singapore Seafood twice, because, like many restaurants in Dubai, Kim’s promoted itself as a licensed venue when it opened mid-July, despite not selling any alcohol until this month (October) when I return for a second visit.
The team has worked on some of its teething problems and has also opened the al fresco seating area. A stark similarity between both occasions is how empty the restaurant is. On both occasions, I am the only table in the entire restaurant. Perhaps it’s the restaurant’s inconspicuous location amidst numerous identical buildings, the location in the newly rejuvenated Al Seef district on the creek, or the sour taste it left behind with many customers who were expecting alcohol but were not served any. When will restaurants in Dubai learn? Do not open if you’re not ready!
The restaurant is spacious and exudes a playful and cheeky personality with vintage Singaporean murals and paintings; almost like a retro depiction of Singapore in the 50’s. The generously stocked bar is sleek, long and very inviting with low Edison light bulbs, Cuban cigars and bartenders boosting bar tricks, flips and more. Keeping with its personality, neon pink signage (millennial quote for Instagram) is married with accents of dark oak wood, tropical green and white marble tabletops. I particularly enjoy the enclosed family booths typical of Chinese restaurants in Singapore – a reflection of the owner’s commitment to authenticity.
The terrace is equally spacious and overlooks the creek, making our table choice very easy. The beverage menu is generous in its selection and creatively incorporates Singaporean ingredients including the likes of milo and ginseng, giving birth to deliciously colourful concoctions. Many of the cocktails are named after popular landmarks in Singapore including ‘Gardens by the Bay’. At this point, I can’t help but feel nostalgic and highly impressed at the bartender’s knowledge of Singapore (despite not ever stepping foot in the country) and his ability to marry local ingredients with hard liquor. The standout is the Milo Plantation. Here, milo chocolate powder is mixed with Kahlua coffee liquor. The result? A delicious cocktail that evokes childhood nostalgia and while the powder adds texture; the coffee liquor washes it down smoothly leaving a bitter-sweet aftertaste. Furthermore, with a generous buy one, get one free happy hour, I order seconds.
For starters, we opt for the salted egg crispy fish skin and fried prawn paste chicken – both well portioned. The fried prawn paste chicken arrives hot, crispy and juicy to the bone but lacks the ‘prawn paste’ umami flavour that gives this dish its fame. Bland and lacking a savoury bang to the palate, the dish is fortunately salvaged by a light flour batter leaving the right level of crispness without coming across as starchy. Conversely, the salted egg crispy fish skin (typically basa, salmon or pangasius, a kind of catfish) is doused in salted egg yolk and overwhelming. By the third or fourth piece, I need to stop. Where the prawn paste is lacking, the salted egg fish yolk overcompensates.
We order the Singapore chilli crab and Kim’s ‘award-winning’ fried Hokkien prawn mee for mains because well, no visit to Singapore (or Kim’s) is complete without these two signature dishes. At first glance, the yellow and bee hoon noodles in the Hokkien prawn mee look chopped up as if they should be eaten with a spoon rather than chopsticks. A little too wet for my liking, the noodles are drenched in prawn stock, however they are cooked just enough to absorb the stock and its umami flavour. An interesting point to note is in the dish’s description, which uses the word ‘stewed’ while it should typically be fried in a wok. I notice a missing ‘wok hei’ taste which loosely describes a smoky, aromatic flavour as a result of the fire burning through the wok. This humble dish was created during post-war Singapore by Hokkien immigrants and is common fare in many hawker street stalls, like the original Kim’s in Singapore. Unfortunately, Kim Dubai’s rendition appears gold standard, but fails in comparison to its Singaporean counterpart.
The same applies to the Singaporean chilli crab (800 grams of Sri Lankan mud crab) which is soft, sweet and falls easily off the shell, as opposed to firm, thick and juicy. A shame as the presentation and delivery to the table is more impressive than the dish itself. The chilli crab sauce lacks viscosity and has missed the right ratio of egg drop and chilli – note to self, do not order ‘Singaporean-level spiciness’ as it is way, way too spicy! Another interesting observation is the use of the number four. Typically, Singapore chilli crab is served with mantous (mini fried buns as dipping sauce accompaniments) but never with four on a plate. The number four is considered unlucky and is never used in Chinese hospitality to avoid offending guests.
By the time we get to dessert, my dining partner and I are both stuffed. To minimise food wastage, I have two bags of takeaway, but for the sake of the review, we order the almond jelly with longan and lemongrass jelly with lemon sorbet. Both are unremarkable and taste artificial. I check with the waitress, who assures me these are made fresh in the kitchen. She is unaware of my childhood diet of Chinese fruit cocktails and sweetened longans.
While authentic in Kim’s selection of drinks and dishes, there is still much progress to be made across the execution with flavour, texture, presentation and consistency lacking. The food does not do justice to Singaporean cuisine, nor taste like it should. I leave Kim’s nostalgic, and missing Singapore, knowing that there truly is no place like home. Restaurants, their publicity machines and invited media should be more wary of using the word ‘authentic’. At a pricey AED310 per person bill (without alcohol), I give Kim’s Singapore Seafood an average 3 out of 5 FooDiva knife rating.
Have you discovered any truly authentic Singaporean haunts in Dubai?
Who is FooDiva’s guest reviewer? Jovel has lived in some of the world’s best culinary destinations including Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Switzerland working as a marketing and PR professional in the F&B industry. On the weekends, Jovel works off her Dubai dining by teaching indoor cycling classes and practising yoga.
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