SINGAPORE, Nov 26 — Going by appearances alone, you would never guess that 5th Quarter is a restaurant under the Unlisted Collection group, which boasts Burnt Ends, Sorrel, Hotel 1929 and Majestic Hotel. Where are the motifs of industrial chic, the striking chairs, the exposed lightbulbs and such that have come to define the group’s style?
In their place is their very aesthetics’ antithesis: Heavy red drapes and low-slung armchairs, a gold tree in the centre of the room and ... is that a leopard-print carpet?
The restaurant is part of the new Vagabond Hotel, which built the space and then leased it out to Unlisted Collection. Suffice it to say, the overly dramatic vibe is incongruent to the food served here, which is centred on grilled and cured meats trotted out small plates-style by executive chef Drew Nocente.
The menu seems like a culmination of Nocente’s Australian-Italian heritage and his experience at W Hotel’s steakhouse Skirt, where he was most recently chef de cuisine. Designed for sharing (what new restaurant’s menu isn’t these days?), it is categorised by six sections, such as Salted & Hung, Fermented, Fried, Braised, and Smoked, Brined, Cured — you get the picture.
It feels almost cliched to say that the smaller dishes here are much better than the mains, but such is the truth. And if you start with the 5 Types of Charcuterie (S$22/RM65) platter, then your expectations for the rest of the meal are going to run high. Take it from this spoilt and jaded diner — this is a charcuterie platter that’s delicious enough to almost make you forget that you’re dining in a velvet-draped room among life-sized gold elephant sculptures.
There is lardo (cured pork fat), with the texture of shaved squid that melts on the tongue with a sweet end-note, and subtly gamey shaved duck ham that tastes like creamy prosciutto. The duck rillette is a thing of wonder — incredibly light and refined, yet still distinctly peppery and intensely flavoured. And then there are the crisp clove crackers, whose aniseed flavour complements and even transforms the taste of the cured meats in a good way.
Our second dish was also a hit — paper-thin slivers of beef tongue (S$12), as creamy and tender as pastrami, served with sharp, pickled onions and a gentle dollop of wasabi.
There is a tempting dish of Salt ‘n’ Pepper Tripe (S$10), which is first slow-cooked to tenderness and then battered and deep-fried. It is a good-enough beer snack, with its Chinese-y seasoning and too-mild caponata (an eggplant dish), but we would save our calories instead for the carabinero prawn (S$25), its rich, sweet natural flavours amped up by the saltiness of chorizo chips.
If you come for lunch, the smaller selection of sharing plates are priced at a flat S$10 each. At dinner, prices start at S$6 for a serving of duck prosciutto and go up to S$38 for a dish of pork tenderloin with beetroot and mustard, and S$42 for a platter of six oysters. — TODAY
5th Quarter
39 Syed Alwi Road, Singapore 207630
Tel: +65 6291 1936
Opening hours: Noon to 2.30pm, 6.30pm to 10.30pm
Closed on Monday and public holidays
