The next time you find yourself at Marina Bay Sands with no clue what to eat — you’re probably better off steering clear from the ridiculously expensive food court, FYI — consider dishing out a couple more bucks for American comfort food. The Bird Southern Table & Bar is the first international outpost of the critically-acclaimed Yardbird Southern Table & Bar, and it pays homage to the classic Southern dishes of the US.
Taking up a two-storey space in the swanky mall, the 190-seater is designed with a rustic, industrial vibe in mind. Features like an open kitchen, a chill alfresco seating area and live telecasts of major sporting events make it less stuffy and intimidating than some of the other celeb chef restaurants in the vicinity — but this being MBS, you’ll still have to fork out a good chunk of money for a meal here. Sorry.
Menu-wise, The Bird offers a line-up of dishes that includes the famous 100-year-old recipe of Lewellyn’s Fine Fried Chicken ($35) with honey hot sauce, as well as other Southern favorites like shrimp ‘n’ grits ($39), and sides such as buttermilk biscuits ($10), deviled eggs ($14), mac and cheese ($14), cornbread ($10), and fried green tomato BLT ($18).
Since it’s the restaurant’s first venture overseas, they’re also including a Singapore-exclusive item that puts a pricey spin on a beloved local dish. The Low Country Laksa ($38) is a bowl of skin-on snapper fillet with Carolina gold rice pirlau, sweet corn, spiced pecans, and crispy poached egg swimming in a broth of caramelized ginger and coconut. We’ll leave you to decide if it’s anywhere close to (or better than) the original.
On the dessert side, Southern sweets come in the form of the peach cobbler ($25) with marzipan crumble and vanilla ice cream, salted caramel bread pudding ($15), and flower pot Mississippi mud pie ($18).
If you’re craving for a cocktail, try popular concoctions like blackberry bourbon lemonade ($27), Old Fashioned with bacon-infused bourbon ($27), or watermelon sling ($24). For locally-inspired drinks, options include The Ong Bak ($25) of Wild Turkey 81, lime cordial and Chang beer; The Sloe Plum Shrubble ($22) made with gin and lemon sherbet; and The Japanese Porkchop ($26), a blend of citrus, thyme, dijon mustard and unfiltered apple cider with Japanese whisky.
The Bird Southern Table & Bar is at B1-07 & L1-82 The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands. Daily 11am-11pm.
