Skyve Wine Bistro

From the same people behind defunct Table 66, Skyve Wine Bistro occupies the canteen space of former Monk's Hill Secondary School beside Anglo Chinese School (Junior). Formerly known as Skyve Elementary Bistro & Bar, it is tucked away from main roads Clemenceau Avenue North and Bukit Timah Road. According to the website, it "offers a quiet refuge from the city bustle without any compromise on accessibility". Indeed, it was quiet the weekday evening I visited but would not recommend walking from Newton MRT Station in the current haze conditions. For the same reason, my dining companion and I gave the outdoors a miss and sat at the indoor dining area with wooden and green metal chairs. White placemats and plates with metal cutleries blended in with the white mosaic tops of black square tables, on which were Fiji water bottles in metal containers. Retro-looking lamps and wall dividers reminiscent of metal gates gave the place an old-world charm.

In confirming that the Fiji water was chargeable, staff did not highlight that complimentary water was actually also available until I later saw it being served to other tables and asked. As we only ordered a main course each, were told our food would take a while to prepare and whether we would like to start with appetisers. Could not help but feel as if the self-described mod bistro was trying to earn as much money from us as possible. Was famished by the time our orders finally arrived despite a basket of two buns – only one each is considered very little when I usually stomach 2-6, before that. Though I must say the warm bread had a nice crisp outside, soft and fluffy insides with a tinge of salty taste. Lobsters were unavailable so my dining companion had Lamb Rack instead and was not impressed with the grilled marinated meat done medium-well (neither too bloody nor dry), curry spiced roasted pumpkin and roulade of savoury cabbage, mint and mango chutney.

And now for the Asian Inspired Confit of Duck Leg I ate. Immersed in Asian five spices for both flavour and preservation, and prepared using the sous vide technique to evenly cook meat and retain its juiciness. The former resulted in subtle Asian accents which did not overwhelm while owner-cum-chef Vincent Teng is a master of the latter, cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath of not more than 100^oC. Loved its well balance of taste and texture – crackling crispy skin, tender and flavourful though a tad salty meat, tangy (yet stopped short of being too sour) pickled fennel and orange segment salad with bitter grapefruit slices and more-sour-than-sweet orange slices. Felt the polenta fries, made of coarsely or finely ground yellow or white cornmeal, was weird but still palatable. Other than familiar and comforting food, Skyve Wine Bistro also has its very own walk-in glass wine cellar with good quality yet affordable wines spanning across 70 labels.

Skyve Wine Bistro

No.10 Winstedt Road, Block E #01-17