Beast & Butterflies is swanky and cool. This in-house restaurant of M Social in the neighbourhood of Robertson Quay boasts of a daring mix of different interior design elements that actually worked. Think - a wall of tablets, heavy, glowing white marble tables, and a sea of lava lamps. Little surprise that it is a work from one of the world's best designers, Philippe Starck, hailing from Paris. It certainly sets you in a relaxing mood almost immediately. Each of the dishes definitely have its own interesting spin, and I found that for the same dish, some of us could really love it, or hate it. Read on for the full story on what went down!
Regardless of the size of your party, there is an appropriate table setting that would fit.
The kitchen habitat at Beast & Butterflies is helmed by Executive Chef Bryce Li. He has racked up a lot of experiences in reputable names such as One15 Marina and Raffles Hotel, and even in Thailand. Now, he is ready to bedazzle you with culinary magic here.
If you like spam, spam fries (SGD10) are practically the tasty-upgrade that you've been dreaming of. Deep fried spam fries are served with a side of nacho cheese dip. As the love for spam isn't universal, it's either a straight yes for spam lovers or a no for people who don't like spam.
Duck crispies (SGD15 / 5pc) are essentially fried dumplings stuffed with duck rilettes fillings served with a dash of pickles. The shredded duck are soaked in duck fat to make it tantalizing. While it was quite a delicious pop in the mouth, I found that it was on the pricey side.
In the name of celebrating Chinese New Year, Beast & Butterflies have released a new item on the menu, the Treasure Pot (SGD68), or also more affectionately known as the Pen Cai. This pot is brimming with abalone, scallops, prawns, fish maw, dried oysters, roast pork belly, broccoli, mushrooms, fatt choy and cabbage. 4 abalones per pot to go around. The seafood stock is extremely thick, savoury and delicious. I really enjoyed this Pen Cai and I must say it's one of the better ones I've tried this year! Takeaways are also available at SGD84.
The Full German Pork Knuckles, or Ham Hock (SGD35) is totally drool-worthy, with its crispy and saltish skin and tender and juicy meat.. every bite is such a delight. Dip it with the Nam Jim sauce on the side and enjoy it with the pickled cabbage for the best experience.
The Wooly Pork (SGD35) is a grilled slab of mangalica pork collar with crispy scallion brown rice galette, served with a side of kimchi cucumbers and drizzled with bulgogi sauce. The pork collar was
slightly lacklustre in comparison with a drier meat, though the sauce made the pork a lot more tantalizing to have. I could not appreciate the crispy brown rice which made the overall dish drier.
slightly lacklustre in comparison with a drier meat, though the sauce made the pork a lot more tantalizing to have. I could not appreciate the crispy brown rice which made the overall dish drier.
The Wok Fried White Clams (SGD15) was definitely my favourite of the night! A dish like this weighs about 400gm, and cooking these fresh white clams with Thai spiced sauce to the dish makes it extra delicious with that oomph of spicy kick.
The Extravaganza (SGD25) is a four-part special dessert, consisting of Yogurt & Lime Mousse, Yam Brûlée, Mango Sticky Rice and Chocolate & Banana Crumbles. The striking red and white one is the Yogurt & Lime Mousse, a particularly sour kick with the red fruit emulsion and almond crumbles. This inventive dessert would sit well with those who love desserts with more sour undertones. The Yam Brûlée is just like Creme Brûlée, but yam-based, topped with a fat scoop of coconut ice-cream. It is another creative item reminiscent of or nee. and is on the heavier side that can get jelak quite quickly. The Mango Sticky Rice was not particularly impressive, with mango cubes that were not sweet.
The best part of the Extravaganza dessert is the Chocolate & Banana Crumbles, a chocolate bomb that melts upon pouring hot chocolate gold liquid all over it! It crumbles inwards, and the result is a gooey hot mess of banana and chocolate... I love it. This can also be gotten as a separate dessert ("Chocoholic") that will be served with Sichuan pepper sauce Passion Fruit Sorbet - I would highly recommend getting this on its own.
The Matcha Lava (SGD10) is a really pretty, Japanese-inspired dessert, a green tea cake stuffed with rich matcha ganache. On the side, there is azuki and vanilla ice cream to go with it.
My faourite dessert has got to be the Strawberry Basil (SGD10) though, not only is it unique in presentation with a cloud of pink candy floss, I really like the fragrance of the basil ice-cream. I must emphasize that the taste of basil ice-cream is really very different and quite a startling experience, but I ended up really liking it. It tasted like well, basil, and reminded me of pesto pasta. But forget pesto pasta and experienced it as a new flavour by itself and together with the cookie crumble at the bottom. If you're open to trying new desserts, this is the one I would recommend. (At least you'll get a Grammable Picture)
Some of the drinks are quite out-of-the-world, with cheeky inventions like the Acuban Nyonya! Like the Basil Ice-Cream, it is not for the faint-hearted. You either love it or you don't, and somehow I really took to it with its salty (yes, in a cocktail) flavours that would really be suitable as a Halloween drink. But word of warning - you could like it so much it becomes super addictive.
I definitely walked away with a new perspective of Beast & Butterflies, maybe that's the idea of the restaurant's menu items - you either found it as a fantastically beastly dish, or it might have given you butterflies in the stomach for its demand for acquired tastes.
Beast & Butterflies
M Social Hotel
90 Robertson Quay
Singapore 238259
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