Hello everyone!

So much love was in the air last weekend because of Valentine’s Saturday. While every boyfriend scrambled to the florists and jewelry shops to get their girlfriends flowers and an expensive gift, I stressed to my boyfriend that I didn’t want anything. After all, I never liked flowers (partially because I’d feel utterly embarrassed to be holding a bouquet of flower everywhere I go) and jewelries (especially if it’s just diamonds. Useless stones. Yeah I said it) and I hated the idea of having to pay for ridiculously marked up restaurant food prices. Although I consider myself to be independent, I still feel the pinch for my boyfriend whenever he splurges on exorbitant stuff.

Simply put, I’ve never considered Valentine’s Day to be anything special. I can spend the entire 14th February idling on the bed. No problem.

But contrary to my character, my boyfriend is a hopeless romantic. He wouldn’t let the day go by without doing something. He knows I’m never into all this Valentine’s Day hype, but he also knows that I’d never say “no” to food. So he booked a table at Privé (pronounced as “pree-veh“) Grill for 13th February (because the actual day was full) as the restaurant was also having a Valentine’s Day promotion – a 6-course dinner set menu at S$118++ per pax (early bird price of S$108++ from 6-7pm). Ouch.

Valentine’s Day may be over, but my passion for food lives on. So here’s my review!

We were served an unusual choice of starter – a small bucket of potato chips – that was nice and crisp at the beginning. But it quickly lost its crunchiness and became soggy when it cooled down, leaving nothing but a whole load of oil on the base of the bucket. The amount of oil used to fry these chips was terrifying. Still, I really enjoyed it while it was hot.

Then came another complimentary starter with two components. I believe this was supposed to be Tomato Bruschetta where you’d have to eat both together (by spreading the diced tomato on top of the bread). But there was obviously too little tomato for that to be done so we just ate the bread and the tomato on its own. 😛

Our appetizer was a salmon dish with crispy seaweed crackers, fried egg yolk (quail egg, I guess), pickled cucumber and candied (sweet) ginger. The salmon was fresh and sliced to perfection. Thick and slimy, it was such a joy eating every piece. What intrigued me most was the egg because I didn’t expect it to be in this form. Loved how the runny yolk spurt slightly in my mouth 😀

Served with poached oyster and avruga, this charred leek and potato soup was something new and unusual to my palate. It wasn’t the usual soup course with an explosion of flavours in the mouth, but it was pleasant, light and surprisingly delectable. The pearls (avruga) gave the oyster a smoked taste. Not bad!

Deboned to make the lives of poultry lovers easier, this dish was served with mushrooms, pomegranates, parmesan polenta, warm pistachio with Muscat dressing. The nicely-cooked quail was very meaty and saporous despite its size. The polenta was creamy (almost mistook it for cheese) while the pomegranates gave the dish a crunchy and sweet punch. All in all, this was a plate of flavours which worked.

Service started to slow at this point as more patrons started pouring in, angering a few existing diners who had waited for close to an hour for their food. Our main course was also delayed for more than 30 minutes and it was until we queried about it that they really started to expedite our orders.

We had a choice between the filet steak and Salt-Baked Atlantic Cod (with grilled Maine scallops, prawn ravioli, crisp squid tentacles, zucchini and saffron-cream sauce – just for the record) for the main course. As we had previously dined at Privé Grill twice before, we knew that the restaurant’s specialty is steak. Hence the filet steak for our mains.

Josper-Grilled Brandt Filet Steak came with gratinated lobster tail, cumin-carrot purée, asparagus, bone marrow and red wine sauce. Juicy, tender and in reasonable portion, the steak has never disappointed us so far. The lobster tail was succulent and firm and I felt that it was a bonus on the plate. Eating the bone marrow was another first for us at Privé Grill. Basically just soft fats, it’s actually quite delicious with the salt and pepper seasoning.

For dessert, we had Rose Panna Cotta with raspberries, lychee, sheep’s milk skin and tonka bean ice cream. It was one of the best dishes of the night. The Panna Cotta was tangy and creamy, and its sweetness balanced out the sourness of the raspberries. It was a very hearty end to the meal 🙂

The last item on the menu was either coffee or tea to cleanse our palates.

After settling our bill, I was given a bag that contained a slice of banana cake, courtesy of the restaurant. Yay, free food! It was probably given out to couples (more specifically, the ladies :D) who bought the Valentine’s Day dinner package. I shared the cake with Bf on the spot as I didn’t wanna bring it home.

I guess $118++ for these scrumptious dishes was a worthwhile spend. They would probably cost more if ordered individually. But I really wouldn’t mind if the money was spent on something less extravagant. Oh well.

That’s all for this food post!

Oh, it’s the Lunar New Year already, so here’s wishing everyone a Happy Year of the Goat, 新年快乐 and 恭喜发财! ❤

Thanks for reading!

Privé Grill
2 Keppel Bay Vista
Singapore 098382
Operating hours:
Mon-Fri 11.30am – 3pm (lunch), 6.30pm – 11.30pm (dinner)
Sat & Eve of Public Holidays 6.30pm – 11.30pm
Closed on Sundays and Public Holidays
Contact number: +65 6776 0777
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