I don’t remember how I came across Province but it has always been on my list so I decided to make it down one day. Located at Joo Chiat road, it’s not exactly the most accessible to me and the restaurant was hidden inside 808 Eating House so you have to walk in all the way to the back

I was very surprised to find that I was the only customer for the day. But they told me lunch is usually quite quiet but dinner, on the other hand is usually full house. Okay I guess, I can be their only VIP for lunch. lol

They showed me the ingredients that were gonna be used for the day which involve ingredients from Southeast Asia region

Chutoro, Caviar, Sakura Ebi, Laksa Leaf

Starting with the first course which is their take on laksa, they made use of kueh pie tee crust to create a one bite snack. This was quite an interesting dish. It had the laksa fragrance yet not spicy though overall I found it a little salty cos of the rumpah

Organic Egg, Preserved Radish, Fried Egg Foam

Inspired from chai poh omelette, it has a good balance with different layers of texture. The chai poh was also charred very nicely so you enjoy the flavours and fragrant of the dish

Crayfish, Cashews, Fermented Onion

Inspired from butter chicken but yet there was no use of butter chicken. It was crayfish, coriander and chilli gel. Yet if you close your eyes, it really tasted like butter chicken, which was quite amazing

Hidden Dish – Prawn Toast, Sago, Prawn Caramel, Shio Kombu

This tasted like fried radish cake. I found it quite creative that they could use sago to incorporate the stickiness of the dish so when you taste everything together, the layers actually come together

Seki Aji, Amela Tomatoes, Rose Apple, Shrimp Paste

I forgot to take a photo. lol. But this was a very refreshing dish. I like the contrast in flavours with the sweet tomatoes complementing the slightly charcoaled aji

Abalone, Steam Custard, White Pepper, Sake

Bak Kut Teh inspired with a slight mix of herbal and pepper taste, topped with fried youtiao bits. This was really nice. I liked the cook on the abalone, sweetness of the custard and how everything comes together very nicely. Though I don’t really think the youtiao has any value add

Red Garoupa, Dashi, Coconut, Peppers

Fish was a little undercooked. I thought I was thinking too much at first but when I felt the texture of the fish wasn’t right, I firmly believed in my palate. You can taste the fishiness in the skin. What made it worse was the Assam sauce which was a little too rich and salty. Fish itself has a touch too much salt, so this dish was just everything gone wrong

Palate Cleanser – Pomegranate, Coconut, Chilli Padi, Ginger

It’s quite a refreshing palate cleanser on the savoury side which was honestly quite nice

Duck, Pumpkin, Borneo Highland Rice, Pickles, Consommé

Smoked duck was really good. At least this protein didn’t disappoint. The cook and the skin was delicious. The Hua Diao Jus was also done just right which complemented the duck nicely

Glutinous Rice, Lemon, Duck Confit Leg, Broth w Spring Onion Oil

They also use the duck leg to create a rice dish which in my opinion wasn’t quite as nicely done as the first one. The duck leg was very tough, making it very difficult for me to chew. I would think this dish would be more palatable if they had cooked the duck a little more differently

Glutinous Rice Wine, Rice Balls, Crispy Paper

The flavours were a little too contrasting in my opinion. The rice puff was salty and it didn’t complement with the sourness of the rice wine. I think the tang yuan was the nicest. It was a very strange dessert in my opinion

Indonesian Vanilla, Brioche Pandan, Coconut, Burnt Sourdough

Moving on to the main dessert which was inspired from kaya toast. Made using homemade kaya and egg yolk jam, burnt sourdough icecream on top a nicely made brioche. This really tasted like kaya toast. I felt they had incorporated the flavours and textures very smartly, to bring out the intention they wanted to give

Black Pepper Financier, Seasonal Candy

The financier was quite interesting. It’s the savoury kind and you can really taste the distinct black pepper taste though I must say I liked it. The mango candy with chilli powder was something I never had before though I wouldn’t say I liked it exactly. Like I thought the financier had more wow factor

Priced at $168++, I do think it’s quite value for money but there are dishes that definitely need to be improved on. Though through my conversations with the chef, it does seem like they are looking to change their concept soon given the difficulty in the F&B industry. This menu runs through November 2027 so if you would like to savour some local classics with a twist, do head down to give them a try

Province Singapore

153 Joo Chiat Rd, Located in: 808 eating house, Singapore 427431