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Eighteen Chefs – Be Your Own Chef!

Rating:

By Veron Ang

I’m not a great cook. But I sure can eat.

So Eighteen Chefs’ “Be Your Own Chef” concept is extremely appealing to someone like me. Simply choose between baked rice or pasta, pick from 8 sauces and 12 ingredients, indicate your preferences on the order chit, and the chef will do the rest. Easy peasy Japanesey! Now, that’s fuss-free and personalised dining for you.

The founder of this restaurant has an interesting background, too. Uncle Benny, as he is known, was formerly a drug addict. Through willpower and strength, he beat the odds to finally become an entrepreneur. He was the first Singaporean to train at Jamie Oliver’s (yes, the Naked Chef) restaurant, Fifteen, before starting Eighteen Chefs. Such real-life stories of determination and human triumph are indeed inspiring!

But how’s the food? Let’s find out.

Baked Rice and Pasta

Cheese baked rice with salmon in Japanese curry

Cheese baked rice with salmon in Japanese curry
S$10.90+
Rating:

Here’s my customised baked rice with salmon, smoldered in Japanese curry and loads of cheese. The best part of the dish for me is the curry which I find I really like — thick and sweet, and not too spicy.

Cheese baked rice with salmon in Japanese curry

It is great that they are very generous with the ingredients, too. Ample chunks of salmon can be found tucked deep in the rice. To be frank, salmon and curry don’t exactly go well together, but that’s all on me for picking this mishmash combination. Next time round, I’m opting for sliced chicken!

Cheese baked pasta with chicken slices and minced beef in spicy tomato sauce

Cheese baked pasta with chicken slices and minced beef in spicy tomato sauce
S$10.50+
Rating:

As for the baked pasta, we have picked the spicy tomato sauce to go with it. My preferred sauce for pasta is always tomato-based. The sauce here is sweet, tangy and bursts with flavour. With the added spice, it excites the taste buds even more. Out of the 8 sauces available, this is one we would recommend most. But let us know your recommendations, too!

Oh yes, aside from the baked pasta dishes, they do a mean seafood Aglio Olio, too.

Side Combos

When you order a main course, you can top it up with drinks, ice cream, soup and/or garlic bread:
- Combo A (S$2.50+): Drink + Ice cream
- Combo B (S$3.20+): Drink + Soup of the day
- Combo C (S$4.20+): Drink + Soup of the day + Garlic bread

Cream of mushroom soup

Cream of mushroom soup
Rating:

On the occasions we pop by, the soup of the day is usually a rather bland rendition of cream of mushroom soup.

Iced lemon tea

Iced lemon tea
Rating:

The iced lemon tea is worth mentioning here. I think they add honey to it and the whole concoction is very tasty and thirst-quenching. That’s a great tip: Add honey to your lemon tea!

Chocolate ice cream

Chocolate ice cream
Rating:

The ice cream that comes in Combo A is chocolate-flavoured, which works for most people. It is already a little melted when it arrives because it is served in a heated bowl, probably due to the dishwasher. Forgivable, it is, because the business here is really brisk!

We have visited Eighteen Chefs a number of times and to date, they have yet to disappoint. It would be marvellous, though, if they ever decided to introduce my favourite pasta dish with crayfish. That would make my day!

Pause, ponder over the menu

View: Food menu | Drinks & desserts menu

Attached here is the restaurant menu. Go on, peruse it before your trip there. With literally thousands of possible permutations, it may take a while before you can decide on your very own personalised baked dish!

Have Your Say!

What do you think of restaurants that allow you to customise your food? Are there any others that you know of? We love the concept and are dying to find more! Share with us in the comments!

Eighteen Chefs (

)
- Eastpoint Mall
- Fusionopolis
- Tiong Bahru Plaza
Website | Food menu | Drinks & desserts menu

Tags: Buona Vista, café/bistro, casual, dinner, Eastpoint, Fusionopolis, Halal, lunch, pasta, seafood, Simei, Tiong Bahru, Tiong Bahru Plaza, western

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About the Editor

Veron Ang is the Founder and Chief Editor of Sparklette, a Singapore restaurants guide, lifestyle and travel blog. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in computer science from the National University of Singapore and runs a web design firm at Sparklette Studio. To get in touch, head on over to the contact page or follow @Sparklette and @VeronSG on Twitter.

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Responses Leave a comment

Sparklette
195 tweets

Casual Italian/Western food at Ei8hteen Chefs: http://sparklette.net/food/eighteen-chef...
Reply
Tweeted February 22, 2010 at 5:33 am
kitsune_shoujo
1 tweet

@sparklette just commented on yr blog ^ ^ might wanna try the new joint @kichn too – similar customisation concept (which i am all for!)
Reply
Tweeted February 22, 2010 at 5:45 am
- Sparklette
  195 tweets
  
  @kitsune_shoujo I saw your comment! Yes, @kichn looks very interesting and promising :) Excited to do a review
  Reply
  Tweeted February 22, 2010 at 6:28 am
Dave -nibbleanibble
13 comments

Customization is good, both for the restaurant and customer. Customer gets what they want exactly and the restaurant save the hassle of thinking of different names and dishes.
Sadly, the only thing remotely similar to this that I know of here in LA is subway (which serves sub sandwiches only.)
Reply
Posted February 22, 2010 at 7:42 am
- Veron
  3439 comments
  
  Oh yes! How can I forget Subway?
  Sometimes, I find ordering sandwiches at Subway can be a stressful activity in itself. You have to make quick decisions on the spot… type of bread, ingredients, dressing… Sometimes I just want to pick one right from the menu and get it done and over with!
  Reply
  Posted February 22, 2010 at 1:41 pm
- kitsune shoujo
  1 comment
  
  i’ve a thing for restaurants that are open to customisations – sometimes the simplest and most basic concept works the best! ^ ^
  i’ve yet to try eighteen chefs, though i’m incredibly tempted to now!
  there’s also the newly opened kichn at Albert Court Hotel which offers a similar concept –
  http://www.kichn.com
  Reply
  Posted February 22, 2010 at 1:42 pm
  - Veron
    3439 comments
    
    Ha ha their menu looks fun! Thanks for the recommendation!
    Reply
    Posted February 22, 2010 at 2:11 pm
X-Wings
50 comments

Hi,
for someone who been eating out 4 meals a day, i really dont know why i have not eaten at any of these outlets…
Good intro, will give it a try after all the CNY meals and appointments r sorted out and maybe gyms for a couple of weeks after that…
A lot of Chinese restaurants let you “customise” your food once you have been there often enough and if you bother to chat n get to know the chefs n bosses…
Some japanese restaurants r the opposite, u go in n sit down, and the chef will keep serving the freshest ingredients of that day or season until you ask him/her to stop…
A lot of top chefs in Hong Kong is going this way, not sure who come up with it first though…personally, i tried the japanese version first then the HK…
Curry with salmon seems a good combi but only if they fried the salmon first…raw salmon in curry would be pretty gross…
Just one suggestion…if only they give an extra column allowing their guests to mix in some cheese, breads or wines to go with the food…
That would be great…
But a bland cream of mushroom is a big big turn off as its a very basic soup that can be easily done right
Regards
Reply
Posted February 23, 2010 at 12:14 am
Crystal
20 comments

If I remember correctly, there’s a Japanese restaurant also at Tiong Bahru Plaza that let you choose how hot you want your ramen (a “hot” rating out of 10).
Reply
Posted March 2, 2010 at 8:25 pm
- Melissa
  133 comments
  
  O ya this Japanese place came out in the newspaper some years back. Someone apparently went for the hottest #10 and fainted on the spot! lol!!
  Reply
  Posted March 2, 2010 at 8:26 pm
  - Veron
    3439 comments
    
    I remember going there a few years ago and opted for a chilli rating of 3-4. Even for a chilli fan like myself, that was enough to make me perspire. I still remember having much difficulty finishing the soup! Can’t imagine what anything hotter than that would be like, much less a 10!
    Reply
    Posted March 2, 2010 at 10:22 pm
- Veron
  3439 comments
  
  You must be referring to the Beppu Menkan Japanese Noodle Restaurant! It is just opposite Eighteen Chefs at Tiong Bahru Plaza. They have an outlet at Far East Square, too.
  Reply
  Posted March 2, 2010 at 10:20 pm
  - Crystal
    20 comments
    
    Yup. Never knew there’s another one at Far East… can try it then.
    Reply
    Posted March 5, 2010 at 3:49 am