Jon Tay, who heads Pugners home dining, has experience in Michelin-starred and fine-dining kitchens such as Rhubarb, Buona Terra, Gunther’s, and Garibaldi. At his own establishment, he combines Southeast Asian flavours and Western cooking techniques. His wife Krystle assists him.
They serve a 9-course meal at $150/pax.
Besides being talented, they are a hardworking duo, making things from scratch as much as possible; these are the things they could purchase but they go the extra mile.
What works
The food is innovative and delicious. For example, in the lobster roll, they substitute mayonnaise with masak merah, the classic Malay paste. It also comes with a mint sauce. While I don’t think the mint and masak merah necessarily go together, the mint could assuage the spiciness. If you prefer, you could ignore the mint completely.
To me, the home-baked roll has the right density, not too soft and fluffy but also not too heavy, although I know some people may prefer a soft roll. Baking and cooking are two different fields so it is actually difficult to be a good cook and a good baker at the same time. And I think they achieve it.
The other standout dish is the seabass otah taco, the shell of which is homemade. The otah has no fillers, just fish and spices – so tasty. I could have 100 of this.
The third dish that impressed me is their play on Hong Kong’s classic dish, Typhoon Shelter cheese baked rice, laced with prawn chilli. The cheese rice pairs superbly with the sweetness of the lobster. 10/10, no notes.
What doesn’t work
There are three things that did not work for me.
First, many dishes are spicy. I’m a 小辣 for mlxg, so I am fine but some people may not take even a little bit of spice. The food at Pugners reminds me of the Michelin-starred restaurant Beta at KL. It’s also modern Malaysian cuisine but Beta’s degustation menu had varied taste profiles with only one boldly spicy dish that made me sit up. I think in time Pugners may blossom to be like Beta.
Second, usually in a fine-dining menu, ingredients shouldn’t repeat themselves. However, I also understand that Pugners is a small outfit and they have to have zero-waste to make a little profit. Although some items do repeat, it is repeated in refreshing and even unconnected ways. For example, the seabass appears in the spicy otah taco and the main as steamed seabass in a coconut broth. However, it doesn’t feel like the dishes are similar since the flavours are different. I thought it was quite smart and innovative that way.
My last suggestion is to get rid of the petit fours completely. Pugners’ rationale, as they explained to me, is that they think that petit fours are often an afterthought in most restaurants and they want to present good ones. While it’s an admirable idea and the chicken rice madeleine is interesting and full-flavoured (albeit a bit dry), I think it’s best to scrape it off the menu. Perhaps in the future when they have a restaurant, they could include petit fours. But for home dining, I find it unnecessary.
Conclusion
As I grow older, I become more avuncular and worry about talented young people. I want them to be successful. Pugners’ chef, Jon Tay, is talented and has technical skills and vision. I believe that, with a little bit of luck, opportunities, and more worldly experience of seeing what other chefs are doing, they will make it big. Pugners is a place I recommend unreservedly.
Pugners
Contact number: 8840 8680
reservations@pugners.com
Address: 327 Hougang Ave 5, #09-156 Singapore 530327
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