Keystone Restaurant

Keystone restaurant

It’s always nice to visit new restaurants run by young and talented chefs who are truly passionate about their food.

I first learned about Keystone Restaurant at Stanley Street a few months ago through my journalist friends. They told me about the excellent work Chef Mark Richards is doing at the restaurant, and it is one of the few places that use sous-vide cooking for most of the dishes on the menu.

I went there a while back, and ever since my visit, I’ve been recommending it to my friends. I’ll cut to the chase. If you like hearty meals with big portions, Keystone Restaurant is probably not suitable for you. But if you enjoy dining in a classy restaurant that serves refined and sophisticated food, this is the place to go.

Keystone has a small menu with just several items under each category. Prices range from $29-34 for appetisers, $40-125 for main courses, and $20-23 for desserts.

Georges Bank Sea Scallop

We started with the Georges bank sea scallop ($31) which came with confit of cherry tomato and Hummus puree. It was good, but not life-changing. This was followed by the delightful Les Landes foie gras ($34) – a combination of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ goose liver. I particularly loved the yuzu concentrate which gave the dish a good balance.

Snake River Farm Pork Belly

I was eyeing the confit of duck ($30) under the appetisers menu, but I decided not to be greedy, so we proceeded with the main courses.

The highlight of the meal was the Snake River Farms pork belly ($58). It came highly recommended, and it was indeed very good. The sous-vide pork belly was perfectly cooked. Easily one of the best I’ve ever tasted. My only complain is that the chef could have given more of the delicious yukon chips.

Chilean Seabass Confit

Next up, the Chilean seabass confit ($46). While good, I liked the pork belly a lot more. We also tried the beautiful 58 degrees rangers tournedos ($61) which you see in the first photo of this post. It was well-executed; good but nothing to write home about.

Nutella Bar

Desserts at Keystone, were equally impressive. I almost wanted to order all five desserts on the menu, but my dining companion managed to convince me to stick with three. We had the nutella bar ($20), acquerello pudding ($21), and Valrhona genoise ($23). My favourite was the nutella Bar – it managed to hit all the sweet notes when it came to taste.

Valrhona Genoise

Then, we had the Valrhona genoise, which was nicely paired with a yuzu sorbet.

Acquerello Pudding

While I wasn’t a fan of the corn used in the acquerello pudding, the tarragon meringue caught me totally off guard. The foam literally vanished into thin air the moment it came into contact with my tongue. It was like magic.

A meal at Keystone Restaurant is not cheap (Palate card with its 50% discount will come in very handy here). But for the quality of the food, and the wonderful dining experience, I dare say it is worth saving up for that special occasion. The talented Chef Mark Richards and the restaurant definitely deserve your support.

Keystone Restaurant
11 Stanley Street
Tel: +65 6221 0046
Mon to Sat: 12pm – 3pm, 6pm – 10.30pm
(Closed on Sun)

Note: This was an invited media tasting, arranged by the good people at Palate. Visit their website to find out more about the membership where you can enjoy up to 50% discount.