It’s truffle season! These rare mushrooms are one of the most expensive foods in the world. In fact, Hong Kong billionaire and father of Macau’s gambling industry, Stanley Ho, reportedly spent $330,000 on 1kg of white truffle in 2010. That’s almost $330 per shaving!
Thankfully, you don’t have to be a billionaire to enjoy the explosion of flavour truffles bring to your palate. It’s earthy, aromatic taste goes well with almost everything and more Singaporean restaurants are starting to incorporate truffles into their menus.
Like the special pigs that forage for truffles in Italy, we’ve hunted down the top 12 truffle dishes in Singapore from wallet friendly bites to more luxurious options. You’ll never look at truffles as just an atas garnish to your truffle fries again.
Image credite: @my_food_wonder
Named after the most simple pasta dish to make in the world, you can expect classic Italian cooking at Cacio e Pepe. Their Tagliatelle al Tartufo ($24) is made with a truffle cream sauce tossed together with homemade egg pasta and fresh seafood. The sauce was not too overwhelming and managed to find balance with the sweetness of the seafood.
For a more pungent truffle flavour, try their Tortelli al Tartufo instead. Since there are only two components to the dish, Tortelli and the truffle sauce, the aroma of the truffles really get a chance to shine. Do note that this dish is seasonal so make sure you call in advance to check if it’s available before making your trip.
Address: Cacio e Pepe Cucina Italiana. 3 Chu Lin Rd, Singapore 669890
Jerome, our resident foodie at TSL firmly believes that The Disgruntled Chef has the best Mac and Cheese ($29) he has ever tried. Each spoonful comes with a generous portion of luscious cheese sauce, black truffle and crayfish.
There is nothing more disappointing than dry mac and cheese, thankfully, the one at The Disgruntled Chef hit all the right notes that didn’t leave us disgruntled customers.
For those looking for more Mac and Cheese truffle, the one at Bedrock Bar & Grill is also highly rated by our team.
Address: The Disgruntled Chef. 26B Dempsey Rd, Singapore 247693
Located at a coffee shop at Serangoon, Bee Kee has found a way to take one of the most popular Singaporean hawker dishes and turn it into a dish deserving of being served at a 5 star hotel. They don’t only coat their wanton mee in truffle oil but also aburi or flame-torch their char siew in order to give it more of a smokey flavour.
While truffle oil isn’t made from actual truffles, it is able to mimic the same aroma truffles have for a fraction of the price. Plus since the dish is topped with both crispy and steamed wantons, the $6 price tag will keep me coming back for more whenever I’m in need a quick fix for my truffle cravings.
Address: Bee Kee Wanton Noodles. Stall 5, Cheun Kee Kopitiam, 2 Lorong Lew Lian
New kid on the block, Club Meatballs, is already becoming one of the hippest gastrobars to visit this month. Brought to you by the team behind The Lokal and Sarnies, Club Meatballs lets you customize not only the type of meatballs on your plate but also your base and your sauce.
For $22 per serving, you can choose between 5 different hearty bases, meatballs including a fish and vegetarian option and a variety sauces. I loved their parmesan risotto base which was creamy without being too mushy but the reason they’ve earned a spot on this list is because of their truffle mushroom sauce which went so well with the wagyu and rosemary meatballs.
Address: Club Meatballs. #01-35 China Square Central, 20 Cross St., Singapore, 048422
Truffles are undisputedly the king of all fungi so it works in harmony with all mushrooms. The folks behind Skinny Pizza have taken this winning combination and made it into one of their bestselling pizzas to date, the Wild Truffled Mushroom Pizza ($26).
The cracker like crust of the pizza provides a good crunch to go together with the wild mushroom spread. The pizza would also not be complete without the onions and rocket leaves that add a peppery and sharp flavour to the pizza.
Address: Skinny Pizza. #03-04, Wheelock Place, 501 Orchard Road
What started out as a coffee shop stall selling French food at affordable prices has blossomed to become one of Singapore’s favourite homegrown F&B brands. The Saveur group’s latest venture, Saveur Art, aims to serve you fine dining dishes that won’t break the bank.
Their Egg Confit and Truffle ($12) is served with a truffled potato mousseline, roasted macadamia nuts and brown butter. While good on its own, if you feel like giving yourself a treat you can request for more freshly shaved truffles at the price of $18.
Address: Saveur Art. 2 Orchard Turn, #04-11, Ion Orchard, Singapore 238801
A juicy beef patty, savoury gruyere cheese, crispy bacon and a generous drizzle of truffle mayo enveloped between two freshly home baked buns, these are the makings of a perfect burger. Two Blur Guys is small eatery specializes only in burgers and they have come up with various tried and tested concoctions that are perfect for a quick bite for people working at Tanjong Pagar.
I highly recommend their Prime Beef Burger with Portobello Mushroom ($17.95) as well. Portobello mushrooms are extremely easy to overcook leaving you with a soggy mess but the mushroom as Two Blur Guys was still plump and extremely tasty. If I wasn’t such a meat lover, I would have been perfectly happy with just the mushroom as a patty on its own.
Address: Two Blur Guys. 1 Tras Link, Singapore 078867
Despite being named Six Prawns and a Beer, one of the stand out dishes at this bar contains no prawns and no beer. Their Salted Fish Truffle Fried Rice ($13.90) was undisputedly the TSL teams’ favourite food item on their menu during our previous visit.
Just from the colour of their salted fish truffle fried rice, you can tell that every grain of rice has been infused with the taste of truffle and the bits of salted fish add a punch of saltiness to keep your palate excited. 6 Prwans and a Beer has now closed, but you may be able to taste some of their more inventive dishes from Head Chef Steven at their sister outlet, Beer Market.
Address: 6 Prawns and a Beer was previously located at 557 Bukit Timah Road, Crown Centre #01-03 (closed)
Known for serving premium Japanese steaks, Fat Cow also has a variety of inventive dishes like their Sea Bream with Black Truffle Seasoned Kelp ($38) appetizer. By looking at this dish, you’d probably think that the chef forgot about your sashimi and decided to serve you a plate of truffles instead.
While truffles and raw fish is not a combination I would ever imagine working well together. Fat Cow manages to prove me wrong as the two just melt in your mouth and left me in a state of pure bliss.
Address: Fat Cow. 1 Orchard Blvd #01-01/02 Camden Medical Centre, Singapore 248649
Izy has upped the ante in defining the Japanese Izakaya experience. Helmed by Chef Kazumasa Yazawa, who has cooked at establishments like Waka Ghin and Tetsuya, you can expect nothing but the best in terms of skill and quality.
One of their star dishes is the Wagyu Bowl ($40) that is topped with truffles. The meat is cooked in their Josper grill and served on top of a bed of premium Japanese short grained rice.
Address: Izy. 27 Club St, Singapore 069413
With 18 outlets scattered across Singapore, I’m sure you’ve tried Din Tai Fung’s famous 18 fold Xiao Long Bao at least once. However, there exists a version of their Xiao Long Bao that not everyone knows about.
Previously only served to foreign dignitaries and special guests in Taiwan, Din Tai Fung now offers their Truffle Xiao Long Bao ($3.80 per piece) at select outlets in Singapore including Paragon, Marina Bay Link Mall, Raffles City, Resorts World Sentosa and Marina Bay Sands.
Address: Din Tai Fung. 290 Orchard Rd, #B1-03 Paragon Shopping, Singapore 238859
If you’ve tried everything on this list and you still can’t get enough of the delicious truffle, Casa Tartufo is the restaurant for you. It is the first restaurant in Asia to have a truffle-centered menu where every single dish you’re served will incorporate truffles. They even have a White Truffle Gelato with Sea Salt for dessert!
Casa Tartufo also takes into consideration which truffles are in season and for this winter season, you can expect the king of all truffles, the Alba White truffle on their menu. With such a star ingredient, you just need to keep the dish simple to let the flavour of the truffle stand out. Make sure you try their Tajarin pasta with truffles or for the brunch lover, their creamy scrambled eggs with fresh truffles.
Address: Casa Tartufo. 33 Erskine Rd, Singapore 069333
With a star ingredient like the truffle, you need to treat it simply in order for it to truly sing. These restaurants have managed to marry the robust taste of truffles with a myriad of different flavours resulting in 12 of the best truffle inspired dishes I’ve tried.
We hope this list has inspired you to start your own conquest to hunt down the best truffle dishes out there. Many restaurants in Singapore also serve truffles as a seasonal dish so make sure your hunt now before they go out of season once more and you’re stuck drizzling truffle oil over salads and fries till they’re back next year.
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