Stew Kuche

Stew Kuche
119 Bukit Merah Lane 1
#01-40 Salute Coffee Shop / Salut Kopitiam

https://www.facebook.com/stewkuche


Hearty German Food With A Singaporean Twist

(Ratings: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = Worst and 10 = Best)
Overall: 8
Ambience & Setting: 4
Food & Beverage: 9
Service: 7
Value for Money: 8
Spent about SGD $22 per person.

Located within the modern hawker enclave of Salute Coffee Shop / Salut Kopitiam, Stew Kuche is the anchor tenet of the place, occupying the position normally reserved for a Chinese Zi Char stall in a normal coffee shop. Stew Kuche, whose name means Stew Kitchen in German, instead offers a range of European cuisine, in particular, German / Bavarian cuisine, featuring large portions at mid-range cafe prices.

Ambience at Stew Kuche is shared with every other stall in Salute Coffee Shop / Salut Kopitiam. Functional, decent furniture, bright lighting, and the garish, iconic, blue checkered tablecloth. Service provided by Stew Kuche is largely self-service, where ordering and payment is done over the counter, although staff will serve orders to your table. I also like that staff are knowledgeable and able to make recommendations, though they can be brusque due to the long queues that often form here.

Food at Stew Kuche is fusion European. There is an emphasis on German / Bavarian food, with some Swiss dishes thrown in, and several dishes incorporate and Asian / Singaporean element in the ingredients. Generally, I find taste of most dishes to be excellent, very hearty, with bold flavours. Portions are huge, and sharing is highly recommended. Prices at Stew Kuche are rather expensive, about an upper mid-range cafe / low-end restaurant price, so budget about SGD $22 - $40 per person for a meal here.

The menu at Stew Kuche is rather extensive, plus, they also function as the resident beer garden. They do have several beers on tap, as well as a nice range of craft beers available, mostly German / Bavarian brands. Peak period queues / waiting time can take up to 30 minutes though.





As the anchor tenet of Salute Coffee Shop / Salut Kopitiam, and resident beer garden outlet, Stew Kuche occupies the largest floor area.

Stew Kuche Signage

Stew Kuche Contact

Beer Hofbräu Dunkel (SGD $11) and Beer Hofbräu Original (SGD $11) are both brewed by Hofbräuhaus München in the city of Munich, in Bavaria, Germany. The former is the archtypical German beer, strong and dark amber with a robust flavour, while the latter is refreshing and light golden with a clean taste.

Beer Hofbräu Dunkel

Beer Hofbräu Original

The Oxtail Stew & Pretzel (SGD $20.30) is served as a set. The Pretzel is sturdy German fare, done in classic style, with a thick, firm, doughy texture and slightly salted taste. The Oxtail Stew features slow braised beef oxtail, soft and fork-tender, falling off the bone, in a hearty beef stock gravy. Flavoured with root vegetables, including zucchini, carrots, and celery, the dish is savoury and flavourful, warming and comforting. Excellent!

Oxtail Stew & Pretzel

Pretzel

Oxtail Stew 01

Oxtail Stew 02

The classic German Pork Knuckle (SGD $28.90 Whole / $17.70 Half) is a large, generous portion of carefully marinated and oven baked pork knuckle. Served with thick and semi-smooth mashed potatoes in a savoury brown gravy, and a Singaporean twist, Peranakan spicy pickled salad / achar. The pork knuckle has a hearty amount of meat, some of which tears off easily, but overall isn't too tender, though the taste is solid. The pork crackling skin really does crunch with a satisfiying sound, and the gravy is deep and savoury, but borders on salty. Still, this is an above average dish worth ordering.

Pork Knuckle 01

Pork Knuckle 02

The Bavarian Pork Sausage (SGD $8) is perfectly grilled, with a savoury, meaty taste, and still retains its juicy, plump texture. A simple sausage, but done very well, worth ordering! Served with slices of cucumber and cherry tomatoes, which were decent, but the novel scoop of chunky, mashed skin-on potato is pretty good.

Bavarian Pork Sausage 01

Bavarian Pork Sausage 02

The Linguine Pesto With Grilled Chicken (SGD $12.30) is a little too oily, though the oil used here is olive oil. The linguine pasta isn't al-dente, but the holy basil pesto sauce, with its minty fresh taste, makes up the majority of flavour in this dish. The chicken is somewhat flat, but well grilled, rather large, savoury, plus still moist and tender. An above average dish overall.

Linguine Pesto With Grilled Chicken 01

Linguine Pesto With Grilled Chicken 02