The best private home dining experiences in Singapore

Led by chef-owner Ethan Khoo, who cut his teeth at renowned local restaurants including Morsels, now-defunct Pollen and Les Amis, Kanves is one of, if not the most coveted private dining establishment in Singapore. Inspired by different cultures across the globe, chef Ethan’s cuisine, which he describes as “borderless”, is both elegant and contemporary.

HOW IT’S LIKE A firm believer in using local produce where possible, chef Ethan works closely with local producers like Ah Hua Kelong and Spore Gardens to get what he needs for his menu, from vegetables and mushrooms to fish and more. A notable highlight is the local roast duck, which has been brined for 24 hours, dry-aged for five days and smoked with hay in a pot. We love that the skin kept is perfectly crispy and the meat tender, juicy, and full of flavour. The other dishes are also cooked to perfection, such as the zucchini, arugula, pistachio and cured egg, and the ocean trout, clams, tarragon and tomato.

Chef Ethan takes the same approach for his desserts, featuring no more than four main components in each dish, focusing  on layering flavours through the processes behind each element. The brown butter, miso, buckwheat and passionfruit, makes the perfect end to the meal, offering a delightful combination of sweet, savoury and tangy flavours. 

HOW TO BOOK Kanves has a waitlist that spans several months, and each booking requires a minimum single party of six persons, with a maximum of eight. Dinner starts from $170/person for eight courses. Visit the website or contact kanves.sg@gmail.com to book your dining experience.

Chef-owner Sam Chablani is no stranger to Singapore’s culinary scene. Prior to starting his own private dining stint, he was sous chef at Mediterranean-inspired Lolla, head chef at the now-defunct Fat Lulu’s and even consulted for Naughty Nuri’s in Bali, Indonesia. Apart from hosting private barbecues, chef Sam also sells his coveted umami butter online.

HOW IT’S LIKE True to its name, “no burn, no taste” is exactly what diners can look forward to when they book for chef Sam’s 10-course barbecue omakase, featuring Southeast Asian cuisine prepared with premium ingredients and grilled to perfection to bring out complex umami flavours. A self-proclaimed pyromaniac who has spent years perfecting his craft, chef Sam is fascinated by the mastery of balance it takes to make flame-blackened food taste pure, juicy, sweet and packed with flavour. Crowd favourites include his signature dishes like the garlic butter grilled crab and ribeye steak. The former, smoked over lychee wood, offers tender crab meat and a distinctive aroma, while the latter, smoked over mangrove wood, is juicy, flavourful and has a beautiful woody char. The menu is designed for sharing with a large group of friends and family, so be sure to gather a minimum of seven to eight people for this experience.

HOW TO BOOK Visit their Instagram for more information on how to book your dining experience. All bookings are for a minimum of 7-8 people. Groups of less than 7 will be required to hit a minimum spend of $1,050, not including additional drinks and merchandise.

A MasterChef Season 2 contestant, Sophia Yeow left her career in marketing to pursue her passion for cooking, starting private dining concept Butterfly Table, serving authentic Peranakan fare prepared with flair.

HOW IT’S LIKE Our maiden ‘tok panjang’ experience in Yeow’s sprawling home, located in the east of Singapore, is nothing short of spectacular. Look forward to a table full of scrumptious dishes like kueh pie tee, nasi ulam, buah keluak pork ribs, Nyonya chap chye, curries and more, all served on pristine enamel Peranakan tableware. For the uninitiated, tok panjang (Malay for long table) refers to an elaborate feast laid out on a long table, and Peranakan households usually host a tok panjang during special occasions like weddings and birthdays.

We love how Yeow makes it a point to use fruits and ingredients from her own garden for dishes like the rojak, which guests are invited to mix before it is portioned. Other notable dishes from the extensive menu include the buah keluak pork ribs, Nyonya chap chye, babi ponteh and sambal prawns with pineapples. Chock-full of flavours and textures, the dishes are great when you eat them on its own but even better when you pair it with the heritage nasi ulam. After an evening of scrumptious Peranakan cuisine, look forward to an insightful tour of Yeow’s personal collection of antiques, each with a story on its own.

HOW TO BOOK WhatsApp ​​+65 9008 9066 to book your dining experience.

True to its name, The Humble Pit serves up simple fare that’s cooked over the hot flames of a no-frills BBQ grill. And it’s all done on the roof terrace of a family home in Kovan. 

HOW IT’S LIKE Ultimately, the menu’s up to the whims of chef Eugene Sito – but whatever it is, there’ll be  open flames involved. At a cursory glance, it looks like he cooks up a storm for each dinner. Dishes are kept classic but with a hint of personal touch, with the likes of bacon cured pork belly smoked with orange wood, Australian wagyu rump, and grilled cod with soy bone sauce. The same goes for his desserts, like his dark chocolate mousse topped with caramelised pine nuts. 

HOW TO BOOK The Humble Pit has a waitlist that spans a year, and they accept bookings up to groups of eight, with a minimum of four people. Dinner starts from $120/person with a $30 deposit at the time of booking. He typically holds these dinners on weekends since he spends his Mondays to Fridays working at his dad’s automation company. You can make your booking here through an online form.

Kolabo isn’t quite like other private home dining venues. Its premise? A constantly changing lineup of chefs, all who have their fair share of experience such as Jintong Tho of Kuidaore by Konbini, who has worked at renowned restaurants including Saint Pierre, Cure, Whitegrass and Esora in Singapore.

HOW IT’S LIKE As Kolabo says “we believe in the power of collaboration”, and that’s because guest chefs are the premise of this dining space. We simply can’t predict what the next menu will look like. But if we were to go by previous meals, all dishes are strongly influenced by Japanese cuisine. Some chefs will have thinly-sliced seasonal sashimi as their piece de resistance, while others bring in more curious creations like a zesty lime chawanmushi or duck prosciutto. Kuidaore by Konbini’s eight-course tasting menu, inspired by different cultures and cuisines, is refined yet fun and delicious.

HOW TO BOOK You can find all of Kolabo’s upcoming dining experiences here.

You won’t find a more welcoming host than Raymond Leong, who’s happy to sit down and share more about Penang-style Peranakan food. The 74-year-old is Cantonese, but has always been intrigued by Nyonya food. After he retired, he embarked on an intensive cooking course at a small school in Kuala Lumpur. There, he learnt 74 recipes, which he still practises by catering for lunch and dinner parties.

WHAT IT'S LIKE Housed in a modern terrace, Ampang Kitchen's clean, minimalist dining room fits a minimum of eight people but can house a party of 28 if you're looking to throw a mini party. We recommend going for lunch, where there's a fixed set menu that includes Raymond's star dishes like the prawn noodle soup served with pork ribs and lard.

HOW TO BOOK Make your reservation on their website, bookings (from $70 per person for lunch and $140 per pax for dinner) are best made at least a month in advance. Alternatively, Ampang also has a takeaway and catering menu for those of you who'd rather dine in the privacy of your own home.

There is no home quite like chef Chris Choo and Dr Rose Sivam. The former is a historian, artist and explorer who has brought back many relics and timeless pieces to his home while the latter is a charismatic award-winning TV producer who has worked on shows like Phua Chu Kang and Growing Up. Step into their world with Relish.SG – a private dining experience that also lets you "Taste the World" as Chris prepares dishes that takes inspiration from India, Spain, Morocco and beyond.

HOW IT'S LIKE This isn't so much a restaurant experience as it is a historical and anthropological dinner that stretches your mind and fills your stomach. The home is a mini-museum, housing pieces like a 2000-year-old Buddha bust and a Ming dynasty vase. Dishes include Cantonese-style stir-fried duck, rendang that's a cross between a curry and jerky – focusing mainly of time-consuming recipes that you won't find in commercial kitchens. If you're lucky, you'll be treated to some after-dinner entertainment too, with guests performing acoustic renditions of The Beatles' greatest hits.

HOW TO BOOK Email Rose at rosesivam@pantheon.com.sg for more information or check out relish.sg for more information. They cook dinners for a minimum of four people but have also thrown themed parties for corporate events for a party of 52 at maximum capacity.