While planning our recent trip to Singapore, I just had to include a visit to Gordon Ramsay’s Bread Street Kitchen, which had only been open at the Marina Bay Sands shopping complex for three weeks.

We booked online for lunch prior to leaving Australia and our booking was confirmed via email – it really was that simple!

When we arrived a little early at BSK, we were greeted by friendly staff and only had to wait a few minutes in the bar area before being seated. There were five in our party: four adults and our eight-year-old son.

BSK has two levels; we were on level one, and looked out the large floor-to-ceiling windows. A lovely sight for our long lunch! The restaurant has an industrial warehouse design with black and metal dominating the space, offset by wood and caged light bulbs.

I was pleased to see they catered for children, with a kids’ menu and kids’ pack including a chef’s hat, colouring-in book and pencils. They kept our son busy.

The menu looked delicious! The kitchen staff of 27 is headed by Executive Chef Sabrina Stillhart, who previously worked at the original London Bread Street Kitchen and has been with Ramsay for near a decade.

We received a complimentary breadbasket of crackers, bread sticks, focaccia and bun, served with a slab of genuine salted butter. There was a good mixture of textures to nibble on while we talked and waiting for our first course. For entrée we tried three dishes: seared scallops with carrot puree, treacle-cured bacon, apple, and celery cress; tamarind-spiced chicken wings with spring onions and coriander; and our son had chicken wings with bbq sauce.

The scallops were plump and nicely caramelised, with a scraping of sweet carrot puree. The smoky salty bacon on top was a nice contrast to the sweetness and crispness of apple on top. An absolutely beautiful dish.

The tamarind spiced chicken wings were tart and spicy but very soft to eat. And you just had to use your hands! At least a moist hand wipe was supplied to clean up afterwards!

Unfortunately our son didn’t enjoy his kids’ chicken wings with bbq sauce, so we ended up sharing them. The sauce was sickly sweet and the flavour was overpowering, not really fun or pleasant to taste at all. He ended up finishing off the scallops, much to our disgust!

For main course we again tried three different dishes: slow-roasted Dingley Dell pork belly with spiced apple puree; roasted sea trout with summer vegetables, Lala clams, and aromatic broth; and our son had the kids’ fish and chips.

The pork was soft and tender with a crispy crackling on top. The spiced apple puree was accompanied with diced apple pieces. The spices weren’t too overpowering , just enough to add a savoury note to the sweetness of the apple. The jus was served separately allowing the diner to control how much to pour onto the plate.

The roasted sea trout had a lovely crisp skin and was still translucent in the middle. The broth, including the summer vegetables and clams, was light, perfectly seasoned and full of flavour. A wonderfully balanced broth.

The kids’ fish and chips came with smashed peas. Our son loved this dish – but I was too absorbed in my main course and didn’t try it.

We also ordered a side of mashed potato, which was silky and seasoned well. We didn’t want to fill up on sides as we wanted to keep some room for dessert.

And for dessert… chocolate fondant with salted caramel and mint chocolate chip ice cream – very rich but at least the ice cream cut through a little; Monkey Shoulder (Scotch whisky) Cranachan cheesecake with roasted balsamic strawberries, which was light and the strawberries full of flavour; coffee and white chocolate parfait with poached blackberries. Coffee is my favourite and this was perfectly balanced; banana sticky toffee pudding, muscavado caramel, clotted cream – it was a bit much! And our son had ice cream with honeycomb and Oreos! Perfectly kid-like.

The service was excellent, with out waiter friendly and chatty but not over the top. Our three courses came out in good time and the atmosphere was relaxed for a lunch-time sitting.

I was expecting to be blown away, as this is one of Gordon Ramsay’s restaurants. And while it didn’t have that effect on me, it certainly was an enjoyable and memorable experience with some fabulous dishes. If you’re heading to Singapore for business or pleasure, it’s worth making a booking.