We started Singapore Restaurant Week Autumn 2023 with lunch at 13% Wine Bistro. It was located at 123A Telok Ayer Street, a short walk from Telok Ayer station on the MRT Downtown Line.
Upon reaching the entrance to the restaurant, I was immediately confronted by my arch enemy. Luckily, my knees managed to negotiate the flight of stairs to the second floor without too much protest.
Our reservation was for 11.30am and we were the first customers to walk through the door. The staff were very friendly and welcomed us in enthusiastically.
13% Wine Bistro
A big chalkboard was mounted behind the long and narrow bar counter, with a hand-drawn map under the tagline “The World is Wine @13% Wine Bistro”.
I had expected the map to be marked out with different wines, each categorised geographically. Instead, it listed out 17 different types of cheese. Only nine were familiar, confirming my noob-iness in the field of fermented diary.
The second thing that caught my eye was the row of champagne bottles that lined the bar counter. They were all labelled with the restaurant’s name and logo, which I thought was a nice decorative touch.
When I asked the restaurant manager about them, he proudly proclaimed that they were not just for display. They were actual drinkable bottles that were custom made for them by a champagne producer in France.
He ushered us to our table, just below a small window-facing mezzanine level. We’re not fans of high chairs and it took some finesse to get seated, but they were comfortable enough.
Plenty of natural light came in through the windows, supplementing the warm yellow lights from the overhead lamps. Even though the entire space was small, it came across as nice and cosy.
Restaurant Week Menu
The Restaurant Week lunch menu was priced at S$48++ and featured four courses. There were two choices of mains but the entrée, soup and dessert were fixed. Naturally, we each chose a different main dish.
13% Blanc de Noir
Noticing my initial interest in their house champagne, Steven, the restaurant general manager, came over with their wine list. He shared that the 13% Blanc de Noir champagne was produced by Phillipe Fays using only Pinot Noir grapes.
I suddenly remembered that the last Blanc de Noir we had was several years ago, during a memorable kaiseki dinner at a beautiful ryokan in Kyoto. It was from a Canadian winery called, coincidentally enough, 13th Street.
We weren’t planning to day drink that day, but to come across another Blanc de Noir with “13” in its name was simply too uncanny to ignore. Especially since it was also available in a petite 375ml bottle that was just the right amount for us.
The “Extra Brut” dosage was not as dry as expected, and the overall taste was light and refreshing. I was expecting a richer and creamier mouthfeel, similar to the 13th Street bubbly, but the 13% had brighter acidity.
Steven could tell that we enjoyed the drink, and informed us that he could offer us a 20% discount if we bought a bottle home that day. I have to say that I was seriously tempted.
Especially by their hefty 1.5 litre magnum, which is truly an impressive bottle to bring to any house party. Just look at how big it is, compared to its baby brother.
Sanity prevailed, and I reluctantly passed on the offer. Though I now know exactly what to get, if I ever need to make a grand entrance to a friend’s house.
While waiting for our food to arrive, I browsed through their wine list. It was really quite extensive, featuring reasonably-priced wines from all over the world, including those from Switzerland that are hard to find in Singapore.
Entrée
The Trio 13% Signature was served quickly and consisted of pork terrine, Oysters Kilpatrick and beef tartare, all in bite-sized morsels. Both the terrine and tartare were nicely seasoned and tasty, but the oyster was too salty for us.
I’ve had Oysters Kilpatrick in Australia, where it originated, but don’t recall it being this salty. It was likely due to the choice of bacon, a heavy hand with the Worcestershire sauce and the relatively small (and dry) oyster.
Still, 2 out of 3 ain’t bad. Although calling the oyster a signature item is probably too much of a stretch.
Soup
The Seafood Bisque, though, was completely the opposite.
It had a deep, rich and complex flavour that could only have been achieved by long hours of boiling down generous amounts of prawn heads. The entire tail of prawn that came in the soup was fresh and crunchy, as were the pieces of squid.
The soup tasted like something that could have been served at a fancier restaurant, and not in a wine bar with a tiny kitchen and minimal staff. We were quite impressed, and would gladly return just to have this one dish again.
By then, we were running low on our champagne and wanted to save some to have with our dessert. Steven somehow managed to arm twist us into a glass of red wine each.
The first was a Pinot Noir and Gamay blend and the other a straight-up Pinot Noir, both from the same vineyard in the Loire Valley. Between the two, we preferred the more interesting blend.
Main Course
Both our mains arrived soon after. The Duck Confit was drier than I expected though, probably because it was a fairly small and lean piece.
What was quite interesting was the pineapple sauce, which imparted a nice fruity element and provided much needed hydration.
It came with a side of “espuma” potato, which would explain why it was oh so smooth. This was not your run-of-the-mill mashed potato. Because if it was, it must have been whipped to just before its dying breath.
The Seabass Sabayon was cooked just right and came with its crispy skin detached, served as an accompanying wafer. When we first saw photos of the dish on the Restaurant Week website, the colour of the sabayon sauce confused us.
It made the fish fillet look like a mound of scrambled eggs. Perhaps you can understand why we were mistaken after looking at the photo below.
Our confusion was cleared when the actual dish was served, and I’m happy to report that it tasted really good. Sabayon is technically a dessert, but worked quite well when used as a sauce for grilled fish.
The ratatouille gnocchi that came with the seabass deserves special mention.
I’ve only ever had gnocchi in a heavy cream sauce, but partnering it with the tomato-based ratatouille was a great idea. It was good enough to be a separate item on the menu, and would be something I’d happily order.
Steven, the Restaurant GM
We had the chance to chat a bit with Steven, and found out that he’s a veteran in the F&B industry. He’s spent more than two decades in places like the Fullerton Hotel and various European restaurants in Singapore.
Steven shared that while 13% Wine Bistro has been around for more than a decade and had three branches at its peak. It has since consolidated down to just the one outlet, with ownership changing hands several years ago.
He was hired about a year back by the new owners and has assembled a team to make it more than just a wine bar. Even managing to convince a former chef from the now defunct Joël Robuchon Singapore to join him.
From the attentive and warm service we received from the waitstaff, and the interesting food produced by the kitchen, I would say that he’s done a good job so far.
Dessert
Finally, it was time for dessert. A jiggly Mango Panna Cotta, which went nicely with a glass of sweet, but not too sweet, tawny port.
“How jiggly?” you might be wondering.
Very, as you can see.
On the way back from the washroom, The Wife noticed a small poster on the bar counter. It was advertising an entire wheel of baked Vacherin Mont D’or, served with accoutrements.
It was effectively a mini cheese fondue, a Swiss dish that she happens to love. There was no way we could have finished it on our own, especially after a four course lunch, and she had to park the idea for our next visit.
Saturday Brunch
The ever-observant Steven noticed her lingering gaze at the baked cheese, and immediately shared that they would be bringing back the popular 13% Wine Bistro Saturday Brunch (S$69++) in November.
Instead of the Vacherin, there would be unlimited servings of gooey Raclette cheese, melted and served à la minute. The rest of the menu also looked really appetising, not to mention the option of free-flow alcohol (S$49++).
It sounded like an ideal brunch for our friends JM and SL.
When it comes to wine and cheese, they’re like a non-overlapping Venn diagram. JM drinks like a fish but doesn’t eat cheese, while SL loves cheese but is allergic to alcohol. Making this an ideal one-stone-two-birds situation.
The many glasses of wine that we had during the meal started to take effect, and both of us were feeling quite tipsy by the time we settled the bill.
We carefully dismounted from our high chairs, bade a warm farewell to Steven and his wonderful team and carefully navigated the stairs. Thankfully there was a sturdy handrail we could use to avoid losing our footing on the way down.
After each season of Restaurant Week, we usually take a break from eating out. But I guess this November will be an exception, as it’s almost certain that we’ll be making a return visit to 13% Wine Bistro.
