Since landing on the dining scene eight years ago, this charming restaurant along Amoy Street has built up quite a reputation as the place to enjoy Western plates with a Sichuan twist, and vice versa. Inspired by the laidback teahouses and landscapes of Chengdu, the restaurant’s elegant, eclectic design remains untouched even close to a decade later, and its gorgeous skylight is still our favourite part of the space.
Head Chef Eugene See switches things up in a refreshed menu which showcases creations that are lighter on the palate, to balance out the bold and robust flavours on the current menu. The new crab and avocado bruschetta ($18) and sea bass ceviche ($21) are prime examples. While cleaner flavours like avocado, crab tartare, sea bass and tiger’s milk are at the forefront, you still get a distinct hint of fragrant vine pepper oil – a quintessential ingredient in Sichuan cuisine – in the dishes. Another standout from the new menu is the Loup De Mer ($98), a hefty 700-gram European seabass seasoned with a spice blend of Sichuan peppercorns, fennel seeds and coriander seeds and doused in a European beurre blanc sauce.
Those who still prefer stronger and more pronounced flavours can go for the Chow Chow Prawn ($43) which sees tiger prawns oil-blanched then stir-fried with Sichuan peppercorns, dried chilli, dou ban jiang (broad bean chilli paste) and topped with Chef Eugene’s version of the tangy American South Chow Chow relish.
And you shouldn’t leave without ordering the signature ‘Find the Chicken in the Chillies’, or la zi ji ($19), a mainstay here at Birds of a Feather. The restaurant does not dial down the heat on this one, and the most fun part about the dish is picking out the chicken pieces buried underneath heaps of dried chillies and garlic – hence its name. If the heat proves too intense, cool down with a refreshing side of looye cherry tomatoes from Holland ($14) which burst in your mouth with notes of ume and white vinegar to reset you for another round.
End the meal Chinese banquet style with carbs in the form of a hearty braised pork belly rice with kale, mushrooms and an egg confit ($63), and top it off with the zesty citrus block dessert ($16) which features grapefruit and orange jelly terrines, spiced earl grey sabayon, and a sprinkle of popping candy for a touch of fun and nostalgia.
Birds of a Feather also offers several sharing menus, with the latest being the An Yi sharing menu ($103 per person) for diners who want to experience the restaurant’s house specialties in one sitting. And if you’re around the area in the day, business lunch sets are priced reasonably at $33.90 while happy hour runs from noon to 7pm on weekdays with two cocktails going at $28.