The Disgruntled Chef – Revamped Menu And Familiar Classics Like The Best Mac & Cheese, EVER!

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About The Disgruntled Chef

The Disgruntled Chef is a cosy restaurant tucked away in the food haven of Dempsey Hill. Started by executive chef Daniel Sia 4 years ago, The Disgruntled Chef still remains the talk of the town with its excellent service and high quality food and drinks.

They have revamped their menu again with the help of new head chef Jac Lim, with the introduction of brand new Turkish, Melbourne and French-inspired flavors. The new “Small Plate” and “Big Plate” format is cleaner and more attractive, but they still retain most of their mainstay recipes such as the Crackling Suckling Pig and Mac and Cheese.

The Disgruntled Chef has also renovated the layout of the restaurant. Once a nutmeg plantation and British Colonial Army barracks, they have decided to go back to its roots and adopt some of that warmth and classy architecture. From the rattan woven design in booths and the communal wall bench to the darker shaded ceiling beams, these add to a cosier and more private retreat throughout the day, with peeks of natural light in the day or light moonbeams in the evening.

We were excited to try some of the food here from the excellent reviews we heard. Here is what we had.

The Food at The Disgruntled Chef

First on the menu was their Seared Scallop Carpaccio ($18). This was a simple appetizer that was light on the palate and a brilliant start to the meal. Topped with Soy Brown Butter, Ikura, Kombu and Lime, the tastes that came out of the Carpaccio were designed to whet your appetite for a delightful meal ahead.

For our next appetizer we had the Turkish ($25). Just as its name suggests, it has an extremely strong Middle-Eastern influence with strong flavors from the different spices and ingredients used. It is a vegetarian dish that was a salad of onions, garlic and tomatoes on a whole eggplant, topped with pita bread, pine nuts and mint. I wasn’t a very big fan of the Turkish as the spices were a little overpowering to my liking but Bryan enjoyed this dish.

The first of our mains was the Grilled French Quail ($32). Although the Grilled Quail came in 4 tiny portions, the frisee salad was tasty put together with crispy bacon and topped with a poached egg. I was also glad that the salad was not drenched in balsamic vinegar, and was just given a light drizzle to bring out the flavors of the Grilled Quail and crispy bacon.

Next up was the famous Crackling Suckling Pig ($68). An all-time favorite and classic of The Disgruntled Chef, this pork platter had just the right amounts of meat and fat that just melted in your mouth. The Crispy skin also gave it an extra bite and saltiness to go with the lean meat and fat. On the side was a sauerkraut puree with pickled mustard seeds to complement the flavors of the crispy fatty pork.

Our last main course was my favorite dish of the meal, or perhaps even my favorite dish, ever. The Macaroni and Cheese ($29) here is to die for. It is so good, that loyal customers can identify this beauty as “Chef Daniel Sia’s Mac & Cheese” when they try it at his other restaurants.

Most of the Mac & Cheese I’ve tried were dried out and hardened on the inside after coming out of the oven, but this one remains thick and creamy. It is also topped with a generous amount of Crayfish meat and flavoured with Black Truffle that produced a mouth-watering aroma. Spending 2 minutes keeping calm while trying to get a good picture to do justice to this was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do.

To kick off our desserts, we had the Marie-Antoinette ($20). This was rather forgetful after all the amazing food that I’ve had, and the thick bostock brioche was rather heavy for a dessert. I enjoyed the Armagnac ice-cream though as it was something sweet to cap off a good meal.

We also tried the Red Wine Poached Pear Pudding ($18), a delicately designed dessert that is not too overpoweringly sweet and was light enough to enjoy after a heavy meal.

Verdict

Even after coming here with sky high expectations, I was not disappointed at all by the food at The Disgruntled Chef. The ambience was calm and serene, the service was amazing and the food was delectable.

Just note the prices of the food are rather steep and the restaurant can be inaccessible for those who don’t drive. I would still highly recommend it for a romantic weekend dinner date or a lazy Sunday brunch meal.