Mentioned Lynnette's kitchens and foodies will tell you she was amongst the first to dabble in private dining locally. If you don't already know her on the gourmet front, she is one of the local violinists who has made a name for herself on the international stage.
While we did not get to watch her play the violin that night, we were treated to a meal of peranakan courses. 6 in fact.
Keropok with homemade belachan gets served and pre meal nibbles are the ones that are the killer most of the time. I get too full and then leave too little space for the main stars.
Bakwan Kepiting Soup
Traditionally these are a combination of crab and pork in a tight meatball, Lynnette's version however was more pork and way too tight for a meatball. Almost as if this were machine made and while I enjoyed the bamboo shoots and radish in my soup, the meatballs were falling short of expectation.
First I spotted these crabs.
Then I zoomed in on the crab shells.
Crab beehoon
The story behind this crab beehoon was Lynnette too paid Sin Huat a visit and decided that she was not going to be butchered by his prices and came up with her own! This is sublime, meaty Sri Lankan crabs and not to mention the crème de la crème had to be the broth soaked rice vermicelli. So rich and tasty, they were good on their own even without the crabs but nobody is complaining when you can have both.
Assam Pedas Snapper Filet with Honey Pineapple
Honey pineapple made this dish sing. Oozing with just the right levels of sugar and simmered till tender, I actually ate more pineapples than I did of snapper. The gravy is so spot on and a winner on its own.
Beef Rendang
Tender beef in an equally shiok curry, except there were other dishes that were more outtanding.
Buah Keluak Prime Pork Ribs Stew
Buah keluak is usually cooked with chicken yet she gave this a twist and presented it with prime pork ribs. Stewed till fall off the bone and simmered with the nutty paste. I wish the flavours were bolder though.
Chap Chye
I usually do not have a soft spot for chap chye because they tend to be overcooked till too soft, close to mush even but this was really delicious for a vegetable dish. Those mushrooms especially and beancurd skins made this a real treat. For once, I had more vegetables than I did of meat!
Organic Mixed Grain Rice to accompany all the delicious dishes.
Sugee cake with gula Melaka cream cheese frosting
Lynette's specialty sugee cake comes in a number of flavours and I was thrilled she served this over dinner! The last few times I had sugee cake, I always had an issue with the texture. It was usually too crumbly and became a horrible mess trying to eat it.
Hers was a sturdy block of cake, the density did remind me of butter pound cake somewhat and paired with the toothsome gula Melaka cream cheese frosting, it was a marriage done right. None too sweet nor too savoury, all the right nuances in a cake.
$120 for a meal at Lynnette's is definitely not cheap. Fact of the matter is, private dining is not. If we are lucky, we get to taste long lost recipes, if not, we get exposed to another style of cooking. Ultimately there were hits for me and the one that made it memorable - the company.
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