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ASK, and you will find yummy, interesting items that are off the printed menu at restaurants here.
A check with 16 restaurants revealed that 11 of them offer items that are not spelt out in black and white.
Sushi Tei's green tea waffle with black honey, for example, is one such 'secret' offering.
Encased in a soft sugar biscuit waffle, the gently flavoured matcha ice cream is enhanced by fragrant black honey drizzled over it.
Secret dishes unveiled
LIFESTYLE admits it's hard keeping secrets, so we?re sharing some off-the-menu items in restaurants here, with the blessing of the chefs. Just don't go to the restaurants expecting these items to be available as they are usually seasonal offerings or one-off creations.
1. Spicy dried scallop spaghetti, $21, at Wild Rocket, 10A Upper Wilkie Road, Hangout Hotel
2. Deep-fried baby kinki (a type of wild catch fish), $15, at Akashi, with outlets in Paragon, Tanglin Shopping Centre and VivoCity
3. Pregnant sweet fish, $28 for one fish, which weighs between 100 and 150g, at Robataya Yoyogi, 80 Mohamed Sultan Road, The Pier @ Robertson, 01-04
4. Preserved meat claypot rice, $32 for four people, at Romanee?s Kitchen, 18 Raffles Quay, unit 38, Lau Pa Sat
5. Mole poblano (chicken cooked in a chocolate sauce), $28, at Margarita?s with outlets in Block 11 Dempsey Road, 404 East Coast Road and 108 Faber Drive |
According to its spokesman, the restaurant does not receive regular shipments of this dessert from its manufacturer in Japan.
'We can't promise customers that we have the item so we don't put it on the menu,' she explains.
Over at Cantonese restaurant Romanee's Kitchen in Raffles Quay, its preserved meat claypot rice is an off-the-menu item that is sold almost daily, but only between eight and 10 orders are available.
According to owner Danny Lee, 35, the preserved duck and preserved pork used in the dish are usually available for sale only between December and February as they are popular Chinese New Year food items.
But once the festive season is over, it is hard to find them.
'In order to continue offering this dish throughout the year, I can sell only a limited number of it every day and having it off the menu allows me to control this number,' he says.
He adds that the time-consuming dish, which takes more than 30 minutes to prepare, cannot be ordered in large quantities or else it will hold up the kitchen.
In some cases, though, these hush-hush offerings are an open secret since restaurants recommend them to loyal customers as privileged treatment.
Willin Low, 35, owner-chef of Wild Rocket in Upper Wilkie Road, which specialises in modern Singapore cuisine, says: 'As with any business, regular customers enjoy certain perks. For us, we see them as our close friends and it's natural to treat close friends better.'
He adds that these offerings are not superior in quality to regular menu items.
'They are just dishes that I whip up on a whim when I'm feeling creative and they are usually in small portions.'
For chef Patrick Tan, 27, of Japanese barbecue restaurant Robataya Yoyogi in Mohamed Sultan Road, he recommends off-the-menu items - which usually feature seasonal produce - only to regulars because they are more expensive.
'I don't want first-time customers to walk away with the wrong impression that the restaurant is out to try and make them pay more,' he says.
Andy Yap, 47, chef-owner of Mexican restaurant Margarita's with outlets in Dempsey Road, East Coast Road and Faber Drive, says he reserves off-menu items to regulars because these dishes are usually an acquired taste.
One example is mole poblano (chicken cooked in a chocolate sauce).
'For someone who's not familiar with Mexican cuisine, they might be sceptical of a dish pairing chocolate and chicken together. Even I took a while getting used to the dish,' he says.
Still, Mr Lee of Romanee's Kitchen says that the menu is a good point of reference for any customer.
'Our menu does reflect our specialities, such as stewed beef ribs and oven baked sea perch, so there is no reason that customers should not depend on it when ordering at the restaurant.'
But customers LifeStyle spoke to are divided about restaurants with off-the-menu items.
Accountant June Cheong, 28, says: 'Regular customers deserve to get something for their loyalty. Besides, a restaurant with off-the-menu items feels more exclusive and would make a great place for business entertainment.'
Self-employed Timothy Cheong, 22, however, feels that all customers should receive the same treatment.
'How else does a restaurant build up a relationship with new customers and have them return?' he says.
Chef Mervin Goh, 35, of Japanese restaurant Akashi with three outlets in Tanglin Shopping Centre, VivoCity and Paragon, says he has at least 10 items that are off the menu.
He says: 'A good chef should have some personal specialities that are off the menu. They are his secret weapon and should allow him to stand out from the rest. If it's on the menu, it can be easily replicated.'
But he adds that he is more than happy to make them for first-timers should they request for it.
'It's a great privilege to have a first time customer trust me enough to want to risk a safe bet on the regular menu and try my personal creation,' he says.
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