Fatfuku x Raffles Hotel Courtyard

~Invited Session~

In the latest edition of the Private Chef Series, Raffles Hotel Courtyard teams up with renowned food writer Annette Tan, who is the chef behind private dining establishment, FatFuku. 

 

I have always wanted to try Annette’s dishes and her menus ares rooted in traditional Peranakan family recipes and brought forward to modern times with whimsical additions and surprise techniques and ingredients.

 

She has been in hot demand since starting FatFuku in 2017, and brings with her several of her signature dishes to the Raffles Courtyard.

 

 

 

Mee Siam Rosti was a great hit of the night.

 

We started the night off with Mee Siam Rosti. Think of a traditional pan fried rosti with the potato swapped out for a cake of mee siam. Sambal prawns and quail eggs adorn the little cakes and topped with a gravy heavy on peanut flavours, this is definitely a crowed favorite. Don’t worry if you cannot handle spicy food, this one is quite mellow and won’t leave you sweating in the humid courtyard evening. 

 

 

 

Nasi Lemak Buah Keluak, another of Anette’s signature dishes

 

What happens when you combine 2 of the most important dishes in Peranakan cuisine? You get a Frankenstein dish of epic proportions that would leave a Nyonya either amazed at your creativity, or shaking her head in disappointment that you chose to defy traditions. And for this, it’s the former, luckily. 

 

The buah keluak sambal is enhanced with minced dried shrimps and pork, and served on top of a fragrant tower of nasi lemak rice wrapped in a conical banana leaf package, the same type that you will see often in roadside stalls in Malaysia. Speaking of which, I do miss eating nasi lemak in Malaysia. This dish made me long for traveling once again.

 

 

 

Pandan Kueh Koh Swee to satiate that sweet tooth

 

And who can end of a Peranakan meal without desserts? Annette has decided, in true matronly Nyonya style, to include 2 desserts instead of just 1 to make sure you round off the night rolling off your seat.

 

These tender squares of kueh are infused with natural pandan juice and coconut, and bursting with gula melaka flavors, are a great introduction of the myriad world of kuehs, and leaves one wanting to explore this rabbit hole even further.

 

 

 

It’s been a while since I have had ice cream in an old school biscuit cup like this!

 

And for those of you of the more ang-moh-nised disposition, Annette has got your back. She came up with the Roasted Banana Ice Cream with Gula Melaka Syrup, which is a sugar explosion in your mouth. The caramelised goodness of the bananas reminded me of Goreng Pisang, but in a very frosty and delightful way. 

 

 

 

If you also want to try Raffles Courtyard’s signatures, they are also available for order!

 

For super hungry folks, the menu at the Raffles Courtyard is also available, so if you are still feeling peckish after Annette’s dishes, you could always round out the evening, with some crab cakes, satays, etc.

 

The collaborative menu will be available at the Raffles Courtyard daily from 12 May to 11 June, 3:00pm to 9.00pm. Annette herself will be there every Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm, to make her appearance and mingle with everyone there, and making sure you have had a great time.