Many things have happened since artisanal nasi lemak restaurant The Coconut Club opened in 2016. PM Lee Hsien Loong hosted Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte for a meal there, it snagged a Michelin Bib Gourmand nod in 2018 (but lost it in the 2019 list, likely because it recently relocated to larger premises which typically requires a fresh round of assessment from the Michelin inspectors). But perhaps most excitingly for fans like us of its food is this — it opened a sibling eatery called Belimbing Superstar yesterday. All milestones to be celebrated, considering the numerous snarky comments on social media that chef and co-owner Lee Eng Su said the restaurant used to get in the early days. Such as: ‘$12.80 for a plate of nasi lemak? My mother can cook better than this!’ So the team hunkered down and got to work. “We knew we had to survive, up service levels, keep our cooking consistent,” muses Eng Su. It paid off, evidently, with its recent expansion.
1of9
Belimbing Superstar
The Coconut Club’s new Perakanan sibling eatery takes over its current premises as well as the shop space beside it. The head chef here is Ben Teo, 62, previously behind the restaurant Peranakan Flavours at Tan Quee Lan Street. Interestingly, chef Ben worked for 16 years in the kitchen of Cantonese fine-diner Li Bai before rediscovering his Peranakan roots. “I’ve been eating at Peranakan Flavours for years, so when it had landlord issues and I heard Ben was looking for another place to work at, I asked him why don't you cook with us?” shares Eng Su. “Most of the dishes are his, with a few from my own family recipes”.Belimbing_Superstar_Video-gbjf7g3z9vyiuw8xz10pazort1d9uba1-1566458502.mp4_k0bWpkaTE6w7o0PpD3oIhiZJ7o1CbtZZ
2of9
Nonya cai png, hipster-style
“When you think of nonya food, you think of mostly traditional dark restaurant interiors and tasty but heavy dishes that are too rich to have often. Food that you have to share among a group of people. But we want someone to be able to come into our restaurant alone and have a solo meal,” says Eng Su. Hence the economical rice concept. “Also, it doesn't necessarily have to be a heavy meal. Besides the usual curries and cooked dishes, 30 per cent of our menu is made up of kerabus (refreshing Malay/Peranakan-style salads often incorporating fruit)”. Why is the restaurant named so quirkily after the mouth-puckeringly tart tropical fruit belimbing (think of it as somewhat like the tamarind)? “Chef Ben’s cooking has many tangy flavours. He uses lots of assam and lime. And one of his signature dishes is the Pork Belimbing, which is very shiok,” shares Eng Su. But it’s not just about using fancy ingredients in a more atas setting. “It’s about cultural expression and culinary exploration. We’re not claiming to be Candlenut,” reasons Eng Su.
3of9
Signature dishes
The average price per head here is approximately $16 to $18 for two meats and a veg, sans drinks. “Peranakan food is expensive to produce since you use lots of pricey ingredients like using hae bee (dried shrimp). And it’s very labour intensive, even cutting the veggies evenly for the kerabu takes a long time,” explains Eng Su. While there will be 30 dishes at any one time eventually, the restaurant will currently start with 15 in its opening phase. And it only serves lunch for now. Dishes to expect: Ayam Buah Keluak ($7.50), Pork Belimbing ($8), Hae Chor (prawn roll; $8 for 4 pieces), Yam Cake ($5 for two; a specialist of chef Ben from his Li Bai days), Tofu Bomb ($3.80 for two), Chap Chye ($5), Babi Pongteh ($6.50), Wing Bean Kerabu ($5), plus desserts like house-made nyonya kueh, cheng tng and coconut jelly using Coconut Club’s lovely in-house extracted coconut milk.
4of9
Spanking new premises for The Coconut Club
Speaking of coconuts, just last week, The Coconut Club relocated a stone’s throw away from where Belimbing Superstar stands to larger, fancier digs. The new spot boasts about twice as many seats (120 vs 70) as the original and now also serves several nasi padang-style dishes on top of the usual nasi lemak items. Despite the bigger space, the place is packed almost daily since its opening, with a short queue even on a Monday evening when we wanted to drop by for its chendol.
5of9
Not just nasi lemak now
“Our cooks are all Malays, some with parents from different regions like Java, or Sarawak. Many people have this misconception that Malay food means stuff like just mee siam or nasi lemak. It’s a lot more than that. So we serve regional Malay dishes now, not just the generic stuff. It's not quite nasi padang-style either as Padang is a specific cuisine. We have dishes like Hinava from Sabah, raw swordfish served with a squeeze of lime juice, chillies, ginger. Like a ceviche,” explains Eng Su. The menu now is split into wok items, charcoal grilled stuff, steamed dishes and curries. Food is cooked in batches of about 15 portions, nasi padang style. And like before, it's full-service here.
6of9
"Regional Malay-style" dishes at The Coconut Club include…
Labu masak lemak, which is spinach and pumpkin with a spicy coconut gravy, plus rendang, of course. “We slam three different rendang styles together to make an amalgamation of our ideal rendang. Some rendangs are too dry, others saucy. Of course, cheap, dry meat will get you dry rendang, but if you use [too high quality] good fatty meat, the gravy becomes diluted and less tasty because all the beefy juices water down the spice blend,” says Eng Su. He adds: “We took a long time to get it right. Damian D'Silva of Folklore restaurant is an old family friend and I love his beef cheek rendang. He taught me how to cook it but his is still the best. We use brisket meat.”
7of9
Forget ikan bakar, get iga bakar
If you feel like splurging, there are more elaborate specials too, including this hulking bone-in Grilled Short Rib (Iga Bakar, $58).
8of9
The coconut rice is now steamed, not boiled + the chickens are organic
Culinary purist Eng Su (the man's a grad of French Culinary Institute in New York where Bobby Flay and David Chang are alums, okay) now also employs a more time-consuming traditional three-step method of steaming his coconut rice instead of boiling it in a rice cooker like before. “Nasi lemak is best made with rice that’s at least one-and-a-half years old so it’s dryer and you can add more coconut milk to it without it getting mushy and breaking apart. But the jasmine rice from Thailand is getting newer and newer and the batches are all mixed up. So to maintain consistency of its texture, we do our rice kukus (steamed) now. We first cook it in a pot with chopped onions and garlic, cool it, then steam it with coconut milk. We cool it again then steam it a second time with thicker coconut cream. Also, we now use organic Anxin chickens from Malaysia for our fried chicken. It’s leaner but very tasty. It’s also very expensive, but we decided to absorb the cost and not pass it on to our customers as not everyone can stomach paying more for organic food. We made the switch ’cos the usual kampong chickens that we’ve used to buy have become strangely bigger in size, bruised and overall lacking in flavour.”
9of9
The details
Belimbing Superstar is at 8 Ann Siang Hill, S069788. Tel: 6974-0998. Open daily except Mon at 11am to 3pm. Get 15% off your total bill on 23 Aug and 10% off on 24 – 25 Aug. Also enjoy a complimentary fried dish, kerabu salad and cheng tng from now till 25 Aug. Email info [at] belimbingsuperstar.com for limited reservations.
The Coconut Club is at 28 Ann Siang Rd, S069708. Tel: 6635-2999. Dinnertime reservations taken via info [at] thecoconutclub.com.sg
I consent to the use of my personal data by Mediacorp and the Mediacorp group of companies (collectively “Mediacorp”) to send me notices, information, promotions and updates including marketing and advertising materials in relation to Mediacorp’s goods and services and those of third party organisations selected by Mediacorp, and for research and analysis, including surveys and polls.
Hawker Wahyu Ning has been serving her super sedap Surabaya-style nasi ayam penyet for the past 16 years. The secret to why her food is so good? She says: "I cook from the heart, sprinkled with verses of love!" #8dayseathawker #8dayseat #ayampenyet #indonesian #hawker #wheretoeat #sgfood #sgfoodie
This is not bak chor mee but Malaysian-style 'zhu rou fen' - pork noodles that come with a robust bowl of flavourful broth and chunks of fried minced pork! #8dayseathawker #8dayseat #sghawker #sgfoodie #Legacyporknoodles #porknoodle #zhuroufen
Influencer Lukey Chan opened a kid-friendly cafe called Pasta Papa, where diners can wear a chef’s uniform and cook their own pasta! And for those who can’t cook, there are chefs here to save you lah! 👨🍳🍝 #8dayseat #pastapapa #diypasta #lukeychan #cafe #carbonara #localfood #sgfoodie #sgfood #kidsfriendly
Watch Uncle Razali work his magic with lower-sodium salt and spices to serve up tasty Malay dishes, with a healthier twist! #LessSaltMoreTaste #hpbsg #8dayseat #eatclean
Watch Uncle Razali work his magic with lower-sodium salt and spices to serve up tasty Malay dishes, with a healthier twist! #LessSaltMoreTaste #hpbsg #8dayseat #eatclean
Popular influencer @lukeychan6 has opened a pasta cafe because of… gym?! He also shares one tip for bros everywhere to impress your girl ❤️🍝 #8dayseat #pastapapa #diypasta #lukeychan #cafe #carbonara #localfood #sgfoodie #sgfood
Iconic Geylang Cantonese zi char restaurant Sik Wai Sin lives on with second-gen owner Steven Chai taking over his father's business, as the late Mr Chai's dying wish was for his famous eatery to continue operating. #8dayseat #eatfirst #localfood #sgfood #sgfoodie #cantonesefood #steamdishes #geylang
Legendary Cantonese zi char institution Sik Wai Sin closed briefly, but second-gen owner Steven Chai has reopened his father’s famous restaurant at the same location in Geylang, serving the same tightly curated menu — just 13 dishes — that the late Mr Chai was well-known for. #8dayseat #eatfirst #localfood #sgfood #sgfoodie #cantonesefood #steamdishes #geylang
Here's the tea on making better bubble tea choices: Limit milk, sugar and toppings = authentic tea flavours ✨ Who knew healthier choices could taste this good?🧋#healthy #lesssweet #bubbletea #eachacup #lowsugaroptions #lowsugar #lowerinsugar #8dayseat
At his heaviest, Ray, the owner of vegan restaurant iVegan, weighed 95kg and struggled with health issues. Through mindful eating, he achieved a healthy weight of 70kg. Now, Ray is passionate about sharing delicious healthier food with others. He believes in showcasing the natural flavours of the ingredients and does this by using lower-sodium salt, sauces and seasonings. Learn more about Ray's journey to healthier eating! #LessSaltMoreTaste #hpbsg #8dayeat #ivegan #healthyfood #vegan #eathealthy #lowersodium #vegetarian
Karen Pan is the 2nd-gen owner of Goldleaf Restaurant, which was such a beloved supper spot that even superstars like Teresa Teng dropped by for the Taiwanese-style sweet potato porridge served with comfort dishes like braised pork and steamed fish! #8days #goldleaf #buffet #Taiwaneseporridge #restaurant #porridge#geylang #localfood #sgfoodie
This couple running Twenty6 Gusto House proves that it doesn't take a lot of salt and sauces to create tasty and flavourful western cuisine! Consuming too much salt can lead to health risks such as high blood pressure and heart disease. To help their customers manage their sodium intake, the couple switched to lower-sodium salt, and use herbs and spices instead to bring out the natural flavours and freshness of their dishes. #LessSaltMoreTaste #hpbsg #8dayseat #eatclean
You May Also Like
Content is loading...
This browser is no longer supported
We know it's a hassle to switch browsers but we want your experience with 8 Days to be fast, secure and the best it can possibly be.