Maggie’s on Keong Saik Road draws cues from familiar Chinese flavours and cheekily weaves them into a riotous, contemporary dining experience.
“We strive to be the least authentic Chinese restaurant in town,” our smiling server tells us.
It’s hardly an inspiring start to a meal. But Maggie’s, one of the latest additions to the Keong Saik dining stretch, is irreverent that way. The modern Chinese bistro takes over what used to be progressive European restaurant Hevel after the tragic passing of its chef-owner Stefan Liau, the Pleasurecraft Group – which also runs dive bar Parliament and seafood-centric brasserie Marcy’s – remodelling the entire space to reflect its new identity.
It’s hard to describe Maggie’s.
The bones of Hevel are still there. But what was previously retro-modern velvet and suede is now lurid, full-blown chinoiserie. Imagine your Chinese grandma having an end-life crisis and redecorating the whole house with gleefully reckless nostalgic abandon, except that the result is so stunningly fashionable that her Gen Z granddaughters now want to move in.
Like the beautifully-decorated, fun-loving interiors, the food at Maggie’s is confusing, yet comforting and clever: a ‘meta’ take on Chinese flavours that’s almost certainly to be disdained by traditionalists. But if you come with an open mind and palate, Chef Ryan Nile Choo’s creative culinary chaos will blow you away.
The Seabream Crudo, for example. This is reimagined Sichuan hot and sour fish: Japanese madai aggressively dressed in a piquant pickled sauce served atop Chinese-style sauerkraut, but its flavours and textures so reminiscent of local raw fish salad it’ll leave you hankering for a piping hot bowl of Cantonese congee.
You’ll want some crunch-worthy “Golden Gun” Cigars too; what looks like deep fried spring rolls here are crisp pastry cylinders that lovingly embrace a filling of hand-chopped tuna tossed in creme fraiche, spring onion, and Chinese preserved olive vegetable.
If you love fish, the Roasted Pomfret is a must. Here you have a perfectly seared filet of pomfret – there’s a whole fish option for those with larger appetites or looking to share – smothered in a spicy, fresh, and piquant peppercorn-based sauce that’s deliciously reminiscent of the flavours from 藤椒鱼, or Sichuanese pepper fish.
Then there’s Maggie’s Southern Dirty Rice, or what is best described as the love child of Creole dirty rice and Cantonese claypot rice. Be sure to stir the creamy monkfish liver parfait through the rice for maximum flavour impact.
The dish that probably most defines Maggie’s? The Furu e Pepe. This very liberal and iconoclastic take on the cherished Italian cacio e pepe sees the use of hand-pulled la mian in place of the usual pasta, but what’s truly shocking – whether you’re Italian or Chinese – is the use of 腐乳, or fermented bean curd, to flavour the dish. It’s a big umami bomb that you’d either embrace or love to hate.
While there’s a nicely-curated wine list available, it’s the cocktails that provide for a better fit with the eats. Drinks are bright, fun, and just left-of-centre enough to surprise — the tangy fruitiness of tangerine and plum in the Lucky No.8 gin highball, a touch of heat from Sechuan pepper in the (Ma)rgarita; or even some nori seaweed and white soy to soil your Dirty Empress – you guessed it – a dirty Martini.
Well I guess it’s good that the jovial front-of-house warned us accordingly. Maggie’s isn’t trying to be traditional. Far from it. It’s trying to be right here, right now with the increasingly fickle dining crowd looking for the same same but different.
And Maggie’s nails it. For diners who appreciate bold Chinese flavours, cultural wit, and a good dollop of nostalgia reworked for contemporary appetites, Maggie’s is a standout addition to Singapore’s ever-evolving dining scene.
[Photo credits: Maggie’s (main), Joel Lim Photography]
Maggie’s
Address 1 Keong Saik Rd., The Commons, #01-04, Singapore 089109 (Google Maps link)
Opening Hours 5.30pm to 11.30pm Tuesdays to Sundays; closed on Mondays
Web www.maggies.sg
Facebook maggiessingapore
Instagram @maggies.sg
Reservations book here
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