Damian D’Silva is no stranger to Singapore’s avid foodies. In a career that’s spanned almost two decades, the 63-year-old Masterchef Singapore judge has built a loyal following who’ve schlepped across Singapore just for a taste of his food. From Soul Kitchen in Purvis Street, which he established in 2002, to hawker stall Big D’s in Holland Grove and Bedok South, and the boisterously fun Immigrants Gastrobar along Joo Chiat Road, Damian’s steadfast fans have always been happy to go along with him for the often wild gastronomic ride. At these eateries, Damian served everything from his grandfather’s feng (an Eurasian offal curry) to his grandma’s Peranakan-style yong tau foo, buah keluak fried rice, a mean anchovy pasta, and beautifully char-grilled steaks. In 2017, he settled into Folklore at the four-star hotel Destination Singapore Beach Road, where he refined his menu to a list of Singaporean heritage dishes (mostly Peranakan and Eurasian) to much acclaim.

So it was a surprise to many when he announced that he had left Folklore several months ago to start Kin at private members’ club Straits Clan. “I needed to move on because I knew that at Folklore, I had reached a limit and I had to find the right partners to ensure that I climb to another level,” he explains. If nothing else, the years have taught him that it’s important to work with the right people. “I’m good at the food I cook, but I need somebody to look at my food and help me elevate it to another level.” And those people happened to be The Lo & Behold Group, behind eateries like the newly-minted three-Michelin-starred Odette, and Tanjong Beach Club.

Kin takes over the stylish members-only Dining Room at Straits Clan, which served a mix of local and western staples like hor fun and burgers. It’s currently serving Kin’s preview menu to members and their guests until the middle of October. It will then close for minor renovations, mainly to make the dining room more suitable for Kin’s communal concept and install a couple of woks in the kitchen. “This kind of food how to cook without woks, right?” said Damian with his trademark grin. “Chef Damain D’Silva’s work is a national treasure,” says a spokesperson for Straits Clan. “And in the spirit of celebrating local [cuisine], spreading education and awareness, we will be opening a limited number of tables at Kin to the wider community (when it debuts in mid-November).” Members of the public can start making reservations at www.restaurantkin.com from 14 October 2019.

Beyond the Peranakan and Eurasian classics that he’s known for, Damian will serve dishes that draw from the Malay and Indonesian canon as well. The upcoming menu is described as “a retrospective look at the origins of Singaporean cuisine, showcasing time-honoured cooking methods, recipes and ingredients that have been left behind”.

In other words, Damian — who is widely regarded as Singapore’s keeper of heritage recipes — will offer food that harks back to a time when street-peddlers roamed the island, and playtime involved catching guppies in kampong drains. “I’ve always talked about how Singaporeans haven’t lost their identity per se, but rather, we’ve forgotten who we are,” he says. “We’re so fixated on searching for our shared identity that sometimes we lose sight of the differences that make us beautiful. I want to bring out this sentiment through my food, by resurrecting forgotten recipes and showcasing underappreciated local ingredients.”

An a la carte meal is expected to cost an average of $60 per person (about the same price as Folklore), while chef’s tasting menus will be priced at $48 for lunch (five courses) and $98 for dinner (also five courses, but with larger portions).

We got a preview of some of Damian’s upcoming signatures at Kin.

We love this twist on the traditional Peranakan wingbean kerabu salad. Damian freshens up this old favourite with the addition of finely diced seasonal fruit like green mango, pineapple and jackfruit to the crunchy wingbean, and pretties it with a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds. Besides a complex mix of sweetness and tart notes, the fruits provide a lovely mélange of juicy textures. A citrus-spice dressing redolent of sambal belacan, torch ginger flower and calamansi lime juice lifts all those flavours, making this a great palate opener.

For as long as we can remember, Damian has been serving a sweet-sour-sticky babi assam topped with sliced green chillies and garlic. So that’s what we expect when we see this Peranakan dish on the menu. What arrives at the table, however, is a babi assam with more Chinese influences. This version, with its thin, soupy gravy, is lighter and more nuanced, anchored by mild tau cheo (fermented soybean), spiked with lots of tamarind and strewn with salted vegetables. These provide a nice sourish foil to the rich chunks of meltingly tender pork belly and ribs. Damian wanted to serve something lighter and different from what he was doing at Folklore.

“I’d been serving rendang for a long time, so I wanted to do something different with beef, and I thought, why not gulai? I’ve been wanting to put it on my menu for a while and I finally have the chance,” explains Damian. Gulai is an Indonesian curry spiked with Indian spices, reflecting the influences from the country’s time under Majapahit rule. This version comprises beef cheeks slow-cooked with a mix of 15 spices to yield spoon-tender meat bathed in a silky curry. It is reminiscent of a smoother rendang, with warmer, savoury flavours thanks to the addition of nutmeg, cloves, star anise and cinnamon.

Damian has always been a proponent of the seasonal fish available in nearby waters, and here he features the freshest catch from a kelong located between Terengganu and Kuantan in Malaysia. The fish (top left in pic) — caught in the evening — arrives in the morning and is cooked in the simplest of ways. At our lunch, he serves it steamed with slivered ginger, chopped coriander stems, cherry tomatoes and taucheo that he buys from a small-batch maker. We’ve had Damian’s taucheo steamed fish in the past and are surprised to find that this version is way less punchy than it used to be. He explains that at Kin, he’ll pare down and refine the flavours of some dishes to reflect the more refined surrounds and the growing call for lighter, more healthful food. Beautifully cooked, but very lightly seasoned.

Damian’s kosui has practically redefined the way other Peranakan restaurants serve this classic kueh. His version, fragrant with gula Melaka, is soft, wobbly and melts on the tongue. Since we first tasted his version at Folklore, which is almost as good at Kin, we’ve never gone back to eating the stodgy old-school renditions sold at traditional kueh stores. The kueh bingka, however, was dense and a tad dry. With time, the pastry kitchen, which had only just began working with Damian’s recipes when we visited, should get it right.

Kin represents a new dawn for Damian, who feels that with the right partners, his food can be elevated to Best Restaurant territory (hello, Michelin and Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants people). To that end, he’s lightened and refined much of his food, from flavours to presentation — even his popular sambals have been heavily spiced down so that the feint of palate (like a foreign Michelin inspector, perhaps?) doesn’t break out in sweat at first bite. As long-time fans of Damian’s food, we miss the unapologetically punchy flavours for which he is known and hope he finds that sweet spot between robust and refined when the restaurant opens. The prices here seem reasonable for the generous portions.

Kin is slated to open in mid-November at Straits Clan, 31 Bukit Pasoh Rd, S089845. Tel: 6320-9180. Open daily except Sun. Mon-Sat noon-1.30pm (last seating); 6pm-9.30pm (last seating). http://www.restaurant-kin.com/

Photos: Straits Clan