Without much fanfare, House of MU, Singapore’s first restaurant fully furnished with Burmese teak wood furniture (hence the “木” mù in its name) has opened along Mohamed Sultan Road.The restaurant not only doubles up as a bar with its well-curated collection of wines and spirits (for gin-lovers, there is a solid collection of rare and award-winning gins here), it is also a retail space with every piece of its wood furniture available for purchase.

Helmed by Chef Tyrell Joon, who brings with him an impressive resume from working in Michelin-starred kitchens under Les Amis and Justin Quek of defunct Sky on 57, the restaurant’s menu boasts of affordable modern European cuisine with a touch of French elegance and Italian influence. Joon uses Josper grill with apple wood so that meats retain their natural moisture and flavours.

For starters, the soup of the day ($9), cream of mushroom with Spanish Cristal bread, is light and aromatic, bearing components of shitake and button mushrooms, milk, cream and butter. It resembles a “mushroom cappuccino” with foamy top, reminding me of the mushroom tea at Jaan and Odette. It has all the makings of a delightful bowl of soup, except it lacks texture; The soup is all liquid (and air) and will be more satisfying if there are actual bits of mushrooms added. The Cristal bread, although paired with the soup, is good to have on its own as it is thin and crusty, and especially appetising when it is fresh out of the oven and spread with a dollop of butter. For more of the in-house baked bread sticks and rolls, you can order the fresh bread basket ($6).

Pan-seared scallops ($19) with cauliflower puree and julienned fresh apples: Chef Joon sous vides the French scallops in order to retain its juiciness. There is a play on flavours, with slight acidity drawn from the apples, however, the puree is rather tasteless and does not have an impact on the dish as a whole. Perhaps it is the Chef’s intention not to have any flavour on the same plate that might overpower the natural sweetness of the scallops?

One of the highlights on the menu is the MUnster platter for 2 pax to share ($78). This meat platter consists of Josper oven grilled lamb, roasted chicken topped with mushroom cream sauce, US pork tenderloin, smoked cheese sausage, roasted vegetables and baby potatoes, served with black pepper sauce. There is also an option of topping up $32 for 300 grams of US Black Angus ribeye steak, accompanied by bearnaise sauce.

The platter is divine. The lamb is notably more outstanding as it is not gamey or too tough to chew, as many lamb dishes tend to turn out. The beef is slightly charred on the outside and cooked to a perfect medium-rare doneness. Even the pork tenderloin has managed to retain a thorough tenderness with a pinkish centre. If you have a party of 3 to 5 pax, you can also request for a larger portion of this MUnster Platter at $138.

The restaurant allows their guests to create their own risotto or pasta ($14) (you can choose either the linguine or spaghetti). First, you select a base sauce of either Tomato, Aglio Olio, Squid Ink (+ $6) or Truffle Cream (+ $6). Next, you can opt to add on either the Veg Lover (+ $5), Chicken Breast (+ $5), Vongole (+ $5), Crayfish (+ $6) or Bacon (+ $6). Premium choices of Duck Breast (+ $8), Scallops (+ $12) and Uni (+ $12) are also available.

Recommended by the Chef himself, we had the risotto with truffle cream base and crayfish ($26). The risotto, neither too runny nor mushy, is made with careful measurements. Each mouthful of the risotto is flavourful and has a decent bite of each grain of pearl rice. The crayfish is whole (not shredded) and succulent, only mildly absorbing the flavours of the truffle cream. Like the soup, this main dish was also served with milk “foam” and makes me wonder if this is necessary to par the dishes in this restaurant to those served in fine-dining restaurants. Regardless, Chef Joon’s years of experience in top-notch restaurants is definitely displayed here with this delightful combination.

The dessert platter ($48) comes with a creative plating on a massive wooden board. There is an assortment of bite-sized oreo cakes with hazelnut cream, green tea macarons, ramekins of crème brulee, caramelized bananas, bittersweet dark chocolate ice cream quenelles and peanut butter “Magnum” popsicles ‘standing’ amidst beds of raspberry granita which add a balancing contrast of sourness to the sweets. Every morsel of these desserts is heaven for the sweet-toothed.

House of MU is classy and cosy, and is located in an area saturated with Japanese cuisine so the modern European cuisine it offers has much potential for growth. Not only can this restaurant appeal to couples who fancy fine cuisine without paying the hefty price tags, it also caters to groups of friends who like to connect over large sharing plates. Although Chef Joon threads carefully with his style of cooking, keeping his dishes safe and not too complex in flavours, he somehow manages to incorporate his roots from working in fine-dining restaurants into every item we tried.

Food: 6.5/10
Décor/Ambience: 7/10
Service: NA
Value/Price: 6.5/10

You may be interested in…
–Nude Grill, Marina One: Contemporary Asian Grill House Serves Fantastic Food
–RVLT, Carpenter Street: A Natural Wine Bar Housing the Best Sommelier in the World and the Former Chef of Moosehead
–Farm and Fables, Savourworld, Science Park: Good and Simple Western Food
–Caffe B, Club Street: New Location, New Chef, Itameshi Better Than Before

Written by Clancie Ng. Clancie is curious about the gastronomic world and will try almost anything at least once. She believes in the yin and the yang of striking a balance between being a glutton and working off the calories.