Virtual fine dining, pizza-making kits for kids at home as F&B outlets get creative

SINGAPORE — For some, fine dining just isn’t the same with take-out. They miss it all: Tasteful decor, the ambience, catching up with friends and loved ones. But amid the circuit breaker measures, food and beverage (F&B) outlets from upscale places right through to pizzerias are working creatively to enhance the dine-at-home experience.

These innovations may not completely make up for lost revenue, but they will at least help, they reason.

Take for example, the two-Michelin-starred Saint Pierre at One Fullerton, an upscale contemporary French restaurant with Asian flourishes.

Saint Pierre’s virtual experiences enable diners to enjoy, say, an eight-course omakase bento set — a meal where the chef chooses the dishes — while chatting with friends. Chef Emmanuel Stroobant introduces himself to explain his choice of dishes.

But of course, in line with the circuit breaker rules, the chef and the various diners are kilometres apart, connected by a Zoom call. The food had arrived at their homes earlier and had been kept in their fridges.

Saint Pierre chef and owner Emmanuel Stroobant speaking to patrons via a Zoom call. Photo: Saint Pierre

Mr Stroobant, also Saint Pierre’s owner, said the idea for “Virtual Saint Pierre” was born when the restaurant was scheduled to host a birthday party on April 7, the day the circuit breaker measures kicked in.

“We had the choice of either cancelling it, or they asked if we could do something different,” Ms Edina Hong, the restaurant’s marketing director, said.

The bento set menu costs either S$180 or S$220 and is designed to be eaten cold so patrons need not worry about heating up the food.

Ms Hong said that this is a way for people to break away from the “doom and gloom” and get together to enjoy each other’s company.

She also sees it as a win for Saint Pierre staff who have been kept busy preparing these meals. “There’s nothing worse than going to work and it’s just quiet, it’s very demoralising.”

Saint Pierre regular Muwaffaq Salti, 53, chief executive officer of Mandara Capital, which trades financial instruments around the globe, tried it with seven friends and told TODAY that it was an “excellent fine dining experience”.

“Of course it is not the same as being in a restaurant, but Saint Pierre still managed to deliver very high quality dishes, flavours and service.”

Mr Colin Chia, owner of Nutmeg & Clove Singapore in Chinatown Complex, preparing drinks in front of a virtual audience. Photo: William Grant & Sons

Local bars have also suffered as entertainment venues have been closed since late March.

Mr Sam Wong, 36, head bartender of Shin Gi Tai, a bar at 179A Telok Ayer Street, said: “As much as we try to sell bottles and food from our place, it barely covers the cost.”

In response, British-based distillery William Grant & Sons (WG&S), with operations in Singapore, has started the 1887 Virtual Bar, held via Zoom on Thursday evenings.

Different bars from around Singapore are invited each week to make cocktails while patrons watch and interact with their bartenders from home. The patrons can mix the drinks at home if they have the ingredients and can seek the bartender’s guidance.

Hosts Charmaine Thio and Brett Bayly, ambassadors for gin brand Hendricks and Scotch whisky brand Glenfiddich respectively, appear via Zoom to keep things lively.

Mr Wong believes the interaction is a good opportunity to lift people’s spirits and give them something to look forward to amid the circuit breaker measures.

Patrons can buy vouchers for drinks prepared during these sessions for S$20 each, to be used when the bars reopen. WG&S matches the sales of the vouchers dollar-for-dollar, up to S$1,000, which goes to the bar operators.

Mr Sean Tan, 50, a director at True Group, a fitness and wellness firm, bought 10 drinks when he participated in 1877 Virtual Bar’s session with Tess Bar & Kitchen in Seah Street on April 23.

“If we don’t get behind each other and try to support each other in some way, shape or form, when this circuit breaker is over we may not have a bar to go back to,” he said. Mr Tan mixed himself a gin and tonic during the virtual bar session as he did not have the ingredients for the cocktails being mixed by the bartender.

Ms Liew Weylin’s twin sons on a Zoom call as they make pizza with Bella Pizza’s pizza-making kit. Photo: Liew Weylin

As many parents work from home and children engage in home-based learning, more families may want to bond after a stressful week working and studying, often in close proximity, but with everyone too busy to interact in a relaxed way.

Bella Pizza, at Robertson Quay, thought it would be fun to create a kids’ pizza-making set. Patrons can order the set together with other already-prepared pizzas from their takeaway menu.

Mr Tony Chow, owner of Bella Pizza, said he created the pizza kits, which are S$22, after noticing that parents were struggling to entertain their kids during the circuit breaker period.

“Having freshly-made dough and all the ingredients in front of you makes the whole process easy and fun,” he said. People need an oven, although Mr Chow has found that cast iron pans on a stovetop work well too.

The do-it-yourself pizzas take about 45 minutes to prepare and have proved to be a hit among parents and kids alike. Mr Chow has seen orders for up to 20 children from parents holding online pizza parties via Zoom.

Financial industry professional Liew Weylin, 38, ordered kits for her four-year-old twin boys twice.

“Even though we are spending so much time at home together with our kids, how much of that time are we actually doing a bonding activity to create something together? I think that’s quite rare,” she said, adding that her boys were “super excited” to make pizzas with their friends and cousin, albeit remotely.

For those who are a little more adventurous, there is a delivery service for do-it-yourself barbeques.

With Yak Kin! by Yaowarat Seafood, customers can order various cuts of meat with dipping sauces, and a disposable grill with a cardboard base. Charcoal ignites without fire starters or lighter fluids. Customers are reminded to do this only in appropriate, well-ventilated areas where such activities are permitted.

According to marketing manager Rayner Ng, the delivery service, which started three weeks ago, is the first of its kind in Singapore.

Mr Ng already had plans to launch the service before the Covid-19 outbreak, but he believes that the circuit breaker measures may have given sales a boost.

“People are actually doing the barbeque on weekdays. We wouldn’t usually do if they were working,” he said, adding that they now receive about 10 to 15 orders a week.