GLOBETROTTER
WORDS: RAEWYN KOH
SOUTHERN
COMFORT AT
THE EQUATOR
The Bird Southern Table & Bar promises to
transport diners to USA’s great SouthLast month, Marina Bay Sands unveiled the opening of The Bird Southern
Table & Bar by renowned restaurateur John Kunkel, who owns the James
Beard-nominated and award-winning Yardbird Southern Table & Bar. The
190-seater, two-storey restaurant serves Southern USA classic dishes,
including its famous 100-year-old recipe Lewellyn’s Fine Fried Chicken,
Shrimp ‘N’ Grits, Buttermilk Biscuits, and Fried Green Tomato BLT.
The Bird is a tribute to Southern cuisine and farm-fresh ingredients. It
stems from John Kunkel’s love of family recipes and wanting to share great
comfort food with the rest of the world. At The Bird, diners will enjoy
cuisine that ranges from simple but innovative dishes that focuses on
seasonal produce, like grilled fish and light salads, to more indulgent,
Americana comfort dishes like fried chicken, mac and cheese, and apple pie.Lonely Planet Asia spoke with John Kunkel before the opening of The Bird to
find out more:Q: How would you describe the food at The Bird?
A: It’s Southern cuisine where many of the recipes are family recipes that
showcase Southern ingredients. It’s Americana food with influences from
all over, such as Africa, France and Creole spices all mixed in together. It’s
very typical Southern fare but we do things a little bit different. We’re chefs
and we want to take inspiration from the classics and typical Southern
ingredients but elevate them and present them in a new and fresh way. Our
devilled eggs are the perfect example of this. They’re found throughout
Southern fare but we’ve added our own unique spin to it by adding a
beautiful smoked trout roe on top of the egg. It gives it a salty burst at the
end and it’s probably the best egg you’ll ever have.Q: The Bird emphasises comfort food and you’ve chosen to bring this
to Singapore where comfort is also a key characteristic in its local
cuisine. How do you marry the two?
A: From a culinary standpoint, Singapore is one of the most exciting places
in the world right now. There are so many cultures and cuisines that have
come together but most importantly, there’s an audience for new food.
Singaporeans love food and they appreciate great culinary skill so we’re
bringing something very diverse to the current dining scene that isn’t
represented.Q: With this in mind, is there anything on The Bird’s menu that’s been
catered to a more local palate?
A: We’re currently working on 20 dishes with our chefs that you’ll see on
the menu or be featured as specials along the way. One of the dishes we
have is the Low Country Laksa. It’s a Creole-inspired dish that you might
find in New Orleans. It has a beautifully light and flaky piece of fish with
crispy skin served on Carolina Gold rice, an heirloom species from South
Carolina, and a ginger and coconut broth. We also have our spin on chilli
crab that’s more of a traditional Maryland-style crab cake sitting in a black
pepper sauce with pickled cucumbers and Fresno chillies. We’re excited to
see what we can do with our interpretation of Singapore-style food.Make reservations at marinabaysands.com/restaurants/the-bird