A couple of years ago I visited the Bugis Restaurant in Gloucester Road, South Kensington and very fine it was, too. The extensive menu was, at heart, Singaporean which is a blend of Chinese, Malay and Indian cuisines and it then went quite a few steps further to include a few other influences – from Scottish Angus beef to Chocolate Lava with ice cream. The same team has now opened the Bugis Kitchen in the Copthorne Tara Hotel close to High St Ken tube station.
As you might guess from its name, the Bugis Kitchen is both smaller and less formal than the Bugis Restaurant. It’s set within an arcade of restaurants inside the hotel and there’s a mix of hotel guests and the general public who come in for an authentic Singaporean bite. It’s early days and there are a few teething troubles – there’s a great wine list and, on the first genuinely warm evening of the year, we went for a bottle of chilled white wine. It duly turned up in an ice bucket but there was nowhere for the bucket to go and it ended up on the floor.
They’re nothing if not able to improvise, though, and these teething problems will soon be fixed – you could tell this from the amiable, can-do attitude of the staff who couldn’t have been more attentive. They were happy to advise on the menu, too. For instance, on the word “spicy” which can mean different things to different people. My Singapore Laksa did have the spicy symbol next to it but, in fact, it was (as far as I was concerned) just in the right spot on the spectrum and I really couldn’t resist the idea of coconut broth with shrimp, king prawn, fish cake, chili, beansprout and fried tofu, though I was defeated by the quantity. I had actually begun with Gado-Gado (blanched vegetables, tofu and egg, served with prawn crackers) – which was good but of a daunting size for a starter. I nevertheless hung on to the last item (these were quite delicious) for the Laksa.
My companion, Anne, had a much more manageable Chicken Satay with cucumber, red onion and spicy peanut sauce which she declared delicious and followed with Hainanese Chicken which came with various sauces (including ginger, definitely the favourite). The menu at Bugis Kitchen is considerably smaller than the one at their main restaurant but still offers a variety of Singaporean delights. I particularly liked the sound of Chai Tow Kway (radish cake with beansprouts, cured meat and preserved turnip), Chilli Crab (whole crab braised in spicy-sweet egg gravy) and Mongolian Prawn (a starter with the prawn in a light batter stirred fried in a sweet, savoury sauce).
Just in case, you’re wondering Bugis Street is famous in Singapore. From its origins as a bazaar, it became the hub of the Indonesian archipelago, where seafaring merchants would come to trade in everything from sandalwood to spices, exotic feathers to gold. There were, of course, other rather shadier transactions going on but nowadays it’s best known for its street food and vibrant night life – all still going strong.
The Bugis Kitchen is a good spot if you fancy a quick bite of authentic Singaporean fare, an oasis of calm moments away from the hubbub of South Kensington’s shopping emporiums. Just ease back a little on those portions…
The Bugis Kitchen at the Copthorne Tara Hotel, Scarsdale Place, Kensington London, W8 5SR. For more information, and for bookings, please visit www.milleniumhotels.com.
