Appetite at Amoy Street marries captivating vinyl lounge moods with exquisite gastronomy
It’s a Friday night and I sat waiting for my friend in the cosy dimness of Appetite, a chicly placid bar hiding away from the stir of pre-weekend Amoy Street, nestled in a loft sitting two storeys directly above its sister restaurant, Nouri.
Reticent orange lampglow softly creeps into the dusky crevices of the lounge, instilling an aura of intimacy. Silken ribbons of jazzy notes brush across my ear, prompting my body to slump further into the snug embrace of the couch.
Plush beats suffused the air, perpetually flowing from a pair of sleek white bookshelf speakers perched up high and linked with a turntable where a copy of Tom Misch and Yussef Davis’ collaborative “What Kinda Music” LP rotates at a steady 33 1/3 revolutions per minute.
My concentration is soon broken as our host — JK, an affable middle-aged man clad in a sharp black long-sleeve sweater— chaperones my company for the night to my side of the communal sofa. They’d finally found their way to the bar amidst the gloomy downpour.
Feeling their spine warmly embraced by the soft sofa, a conversation spurred on how cosy everything was and how gorgeously moody the ambience at Appetite was. Abandoning traditional configuration, the lounge is sagaciously set up in a way that perfectly imitates a living room.
Split between two halves, our side was a sparse collection of guests all lazily slunk into a communal U-shaped sofa —pillowy soft, slate grey, and lavish in size— arranged to encircle about a large textured coffee table at the centre.
A congregation of modular shelves sat on the other half, on which Appetite’s sound system is housed, dead centre, and flanked by a repository of over 3,000 vinyl records.
Slotted into various covings on the two shelves to the side, the eclectic LP library greets guests with many nostalgic sights, celebrating all styles of music from Nina Simone to Billy Holiday.
Revelling in the atmosphere and warm analogue beats, we quickly felt at home. Noticing us finally settling in, our astute host then approached to elucidate the concepts driving Appetite, before promptly proceeding with drinks service, marking the start of our “Living Room” experience.
It’s Friday, I’m in Love
The boozy refreshments were part of a Happy Hour ($68) deal where Appetite promises to pamper guests with a triad of its most popular snacks, accompanied by a tipple. A sip of my Pear Fizz revealed a crisp pear-tinged effervescence. Not too flashy but dependably refreshing.
More than adequate, since all expectations for the visit were for the gastronomy. Appetite is the designated R&D kitchen for Chef Ivan Brehm’s patented style of “Crossroads Cooking”, after all — where seeds of ideas are given time to sprout and take shape.
Not long after the Pear Fizz, a plate of Tortilla de Camarones with Amaebi came chasing. This dish acts as a slick matchmaker of two disparate cultures — its base is a Mexican-style shrimp fritter but is accoutred with amaebi, sweet shrimp commonly found in premium Japanese omakases.
In a bite, it crackles with our while a fabulously luscious shrimp sweetness commanders the palate. Small bite but tremendous flavour.
But the plaudits were quickly halted then when we were presented with the next snack, Appetite’s Foie Gras & Chicken Liver Parfait. The prepossessing snack, embellished with a garden of flowers and chives, is an icon claiming synonymity with the bar itself.
Exquisitely velvety in texture, the furrowed squiggles of parfait brim with a potent earthy richness blended with the distinct flavours of foie gras and chicken liver.
Besides umami euphoria, the snack is also imprinted with a kiss of funk and unctuousness, then balanced out with streaks of caramelised onion sweetness and chive sharpness — utterly bewitching as we surrender our dignity to the indulgence.
After the parfait toast was obliterated in record time, our attention shifted to the Indian-inspired Seafood Bhel Puri, a puffed-rice favourite transplanted from the streets of Mumbai but with Appetite’s Crossroads flair added into it.
Digging through the dish yields dredges of Norwegian crab, interspersed throughout a bed of puffed rice and striking yellow foam. Piquant with a jolt of tamarind, it’s a comforting dish with nuances but with a tad less grandeur as compared to the preceding dish.
I’m having such a good time, I’m having a ball
Briskly waltzing through the trio of happy hour snacks, our palates were whetted and ardently demanding for the feast to continue. An enquiry with JK yielded an interesting proposition: ordering one of the specials from the “Kitchen” menu which peacocks the more progressive experimentation of Appetite.
Enthralled by his persuasiveness, we entrusted the rest of the night to the Potato Roulade ($45). This was touted as a more simple dish that was an alter-ego to the beloved rosti, exploring the same crunch-laden textures through a coiled-up puck, almost reminiscent of a kouign aman.
It’s light, impossibly light — unfurling into layers upon layers of mesmerisingly airy potato strands, all underscored by echoes of rambunctious crackles. Yet it magically avoids any risk of being tediously heavy or oily, even when punctuated with sparse explosions of caviar.
A few dollops of the creamy wasabi skyr —a type of Icelandic cultured dairy— onto the roulade then imbues an elegant and balmy depth, while completely eradicating traces of heaviness. Despite a simple premise, this reconstruction is quietly ingenious, particularly since its reference is a straightforward and humble classic.
To end, dessert was the Strawberries & Skyr ($16). The farrago of white and red outwardly resembles the all-too-ubiquitous yoghurt and fruit combination but the substitution of skyr, milder and cleaner in flavour and seemingly weightless, provided a delightful elevation in textures.
After the dessert, we lingered for a few more moments to take in more of the ambience before finally departing with a wistful twinge in our eyes. Despite being an incubator, Appetite is unmistakably one of the most stylish and meticulously crafted spaces around.
More details hide under the surface, including a devotion to exploring culture and arts, but Appetite remains a top bar experience even when just brushing the surface.
A beautiful ambience and a suite of sumptuous bites with hints of quiet ingenuity? This must be one for the bucket lists.
Make a reservation online before heading down to Appetite.
Appetite
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- Address: 72A Amoy St, Singapore 069891
- Hours: (Tues–Sat) 6pm–12am