Cuisine: Peranakan fusion
Address: 1 Straits Blvd, #01-02, Singapore 018906
Nearest MRT: Tanjong Pagar Station (East-West line)

Cherki is your gateway to modern Peranakan inspired cusine and craft cocktails. Located at the heart of town along the CBD, Cherki is housed at the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre.

Embarking on a gastronomic adventure, Cherki infuses South Asian ingredients which are predominantly found in Peranakan cuisine into Western dishes, bringing forth modernity with a touch of tradition.

The brand “Cherki” is named after the forgotten Peranakan card game, which was once commonplace among many Peranakan households as a form of leisure and for relaxation.

For happy hour, the cocktails were going at $17 instead of the usual $21 to $25. Beer was at $10 instead of $14, so this seems like a good place for drinking. I ordered Date with the Devil which already sounds devilish (U.P $24). It has wolfberry whiskey, red date fig syrup, hellfire Habanero bitters. It was supposed to taste like a chinese traditional medicinal trip but the drink was surprisingly smooth with whiskey as the main ingredient. There was a smoky flavour with the drink served in an ancient relic-looking glass to complete the experience. Cocktails here are so unique you’ll find them almost nowhere, each imbued with stories of Peranakan heritage and culture, and each painstakingly crafted with dedication and love. 

The madame ordered the Laksa Lobster Linguine ($27) which comes with a generous serving of half lobster and linguine in savoury Singapore style Laksa cream. The pasta was very pasta with the laksa sauce, without being too thick that after a few bites, you would get too sick of it. The sauce consistency was just nice and the portion of pasta given is enough to pair with the fresh lobster meat.

For me, I saw many positive reviews of the Pangium Beef Wellington ($30), so I decided to order it. It did not disappoint as the beef I ordered came in medium cooked style, with a special pangium nut paste and mushroom duxelle which is Peranakan style. The beef was wrapped in a light fluff pastry and oven roasted. It remained juicy with every bite, the only gripe is the puff pastry as it was soggy after being cooked with the beef. I enjoyed the mix of Asian and Western flavours in this dish.

With the bar right in front of you, with the stellar backdrop of spirits and tipples, there is a chance to watch some cocktail mixologist to prepare the drinks with precision. It is recommended to make a reservation in advance, especially during Friday to Sunday nights when it can get crowded. Patrons who walk in would either have to wait for seats or be allocated a bar seat.

After dinner, we were quite full and decided to take a walk around the open exhibit, which happened to showcase the Chinese New Year customs and traditions of the various dialect groups in Singapore. The Discovering Chinese Singaporean Culture exhibition is only open till 6pm, so if you want to visit the museum, it is advisable to come earlier and then head over to Cherki for dinner.