CreatureS, Desker Road
Having come from some Peranakan background, I am quite picky when it comes to nyonya or Peranakan cuisine. That’s why when I decided to come to CreatureS, I was desperately hoping that the food here would be up to par.
Thankfully, they did not disappoint and I can see myself coming back here again.
In the interior, the two-storey restaurant spotted a very modern vibe with warm lighting and beautiful flower arrangements. If you don’t mind the location (famed for it being one of Singapore’s oldest red light districts), I would say that this place would be great to bring a date.
To start, we had some of CreatureS’ Heirloom Home Brews. The Almond, Chinese Pear & White Fungus (Left: $7) was so nostalgic. Being away from home and not going home to someone brewing you these kind of yummy drinks, this was just lovely. Plus, these “herbal drinks” are always known to be “cooling” and be good for you!
The Dried Longan & Red Date (Right: $7) also took me back to memory lane. This drink is stronger and sweeter (because of the red dates) as compared to the former, so it depends on what’re feeling for that day – something light and refreshing or something sweet and flavourful.
The Roast Duck & Pear ($18) came highly recommended. A salad with an Asian twist, lettuce, Chinese pear and roast duck were tossed with a sweet and tangy plum sauce. And the best thing was, instead of typical croutons to give a crunch to it, prawn crackers (keropok) was served, which we broke into pieces and tossed it together with the salad.
The Ngoh Hiang & Cuttlefish Kueh Pie Tee ($24) was quite traditional and I was glad it wasn’t some fusion dish.
To be honest, I didn’t think the Ngoh Hiang stood out very much. It was enjoyable but not the best I’ve had. The Kueh Pie Tee caught more of my attention as it differed a little from the usual ones you would get from your local food centres. The dried cuttlefish in it made all the difference and the chilli sauce that was served with this whole dish was AH-MAZING. I ended up asking for more chilli sauce and started eating everything else that came after with it.
As for the mains, we tried the signature Miso Cod & Ulam Onigiri ($40). The cod was cooked to a perfection, not to firm and not too soft. We were told that no oil or lard were used while making this dish and that the miso was marinated in a way that keeps the fish together, such that it doesn’t slice off when cooked
For those of you who don’t know, ulam is a type of Malay salad that is quite popular in Malaysia. It’s quite difficult to find restaurants that serve ulam in Singapore and this gave me a very homey feeling. The ingredients used to make ulam was used in the Onigiri (rice ball) here. On its own, I found that it tasted quite overpowering, but was a whole different thing when eaten with the cod. The flavours balanced out each other as the Miso cod on its own was also a little too salty.
Personally, I preferred the Urban Baba Babi Pongteh ($24). There was a lot of meat and huge chunks of it too, so I thought it was such value for money. Personal preference though, I would have preferred if the pongteh wasn’t so thick. I say this because I grew up eating pongteh that had lighter gravy. Flavour-wise, it passed my nyonya taste buds.
The dish came also with a side of Chap Chye (vegetable stew), which was possibly one of the best chap chye I’ve had in a restaurant (because nothing beats grandma’s cooking). I especially loved the dried cuttlefish and dried shrimp that gave the broth a much stronger flavour and the red dates that gave it a sweet touch.
However, both the pongteh and the chap chye together were in my opinion not a good match. Both were so strong in flavour that none complemented the other. I thought both the dishes were good on its own individually, but together it was a fight for flavour.
And on to desserts!
Before I go on to tell you how much I enjoyed the desserts here, you should know that CreatureS has a wide variety of cakes that will just make your sweet tooth take control. The Upside Down Goreng Pisang ($14/slice $76/whole) was another rather nostalgic dessert.
It reminded me a lot of a Malaysian fried snack (not pisang goreng) – cekodok pisang or also known as jemput-jemput or just fried banana balls. The reason why I thought so was because with pisang goreng (banana fritters), you’d have a whole banana battered and fried, but with cekodok, the banana is mashed before it’s fried, whereby a similar texture was spotted with the cake. The coconut ice cream served on the side complemented it very well. I’m giving a nice gold star for this dessert!
Instead of ending the night with hot coffee or tea, we had the Coconut Affogato ($12) because I just love coconut ice cream! A little boozy with some Kahlua inside but I really loved how much more fragrant the espresso tasted with coconut ice cream instead of the usual vanilla ice cream affogatos.
I’ll be back here for sure! And if you ever spot me there, come say hi!
CreatureS
120 Desker Road,
209639
Tel: +65 6291 6996