Travel tales: chef Dave Pynt of Burnt Ends Singapore

When you think of Australia’s culinary exports to the world, it’s generally Vegemite, Tim Tams and the quintessential Aussie barbecue that come to mind.

Less time-intensive than the ‘low and slow style’ barbecue in other parts of the globe, the Australian take is about simple flavours shared over a few laughs and several beers, and often finished with a squirt of tomato sauce.

Perth-born chef Dave Pynt was raised on that classic Aussie approach, with it later serving as part-inspiration for his award-winning modern barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends in Singapore’s Dempsey Hill, with an elevated twist. 

Burnt Ends features an open kitchen, with new menus daily.

Opened in 2013 and bestowed one Michelin star in 2018, an accolade which it has retained every year since, Burnt Ends was also voted #24 in the 2023 Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and #63 in the world in its global counterpart. 

What are some of your fondest food travel memories?

One big standout was while backpacking through South America, prior to relocating to Singapore. It was going to a Lima cevichería created by this rather famous guy named Javier Wong.

It was one of those experiences where you're in this huge, obviously foreign city and you need to take two buses to get out there. It ended up being in his actual house and remains the most phenomenal ceviche I’ve ever had.

Are there any standout Singapore restaurants or dishes you always return to?

There are so many great spots here. I always go back to Sin Hoi Sai for their amazing chilli and black pepper crab, as well as that late night zhe char seafood feast. Keng Eng Kee is another for their moonlight hor fun noodles, and also their claypot liver. The best!

Imperial Treasure Super Peking Duck at Paragon is some of the best duck you will ever have – anywhere.

Imperial Treasure's Peking Duck must be ordered in advance.

Have any of your signature dishes been inspired by your travels?

All of them have been inspired by my travels in some way. Being Australian too, it feels like we’ve bastardised almost every cuisine in the world, so growing up with that freedom of cooking and flavours – not being bound by tradition – has really built into me that this way of thinking and incorporating different styles or ingredients into a dish is acceptable.

Whether it’s taking the classic beurre noisette [brown butter] from Bordeaux or eggplant miso from Japan, spice mixes from the Middle East or street tacos from LA… all these dishes and memories just really pop out, and they always find a way into my cooking.

Where have you travelled recently and what surprised you about the trip?

It’d been about 10 years since I’d made it down in Margaret River, but managed to get there for 10 days over Christmas and was just blown away by the incredible produce and great cooking from all the chefs that have migrated down that way.

There’s just this concentration of thought about hospitality, food and wine. It really surprised me.

There's more to Western Australia's Margaret River than surfing and wine.

Last year, Japan. The idea of the late night izakaya. Big flavours and the variety of cooking techniques, all in a low-key, casual night spot really resonated with me. It’s a lot of fun.

I will add that people tend to go to some of the big restaurants and big name joints, but actually some of the best food you can get is down at an izakaya late at night and you’re exposed to all this phenomenal produce that people don’t know or think about.

What’s your favourite foodie city or country and why?

San Sebastian in Spain. I love the way they cook, the way they eat, the produce, variety of ingredients and different styles of cooking, whether it’s the pintxos [small snacks] or the brasas [cooked over coal]... it’s all just right up my alley.

Then you’ve also got these incredible seafood restaurants, amazing chuleton [rib-eye steak] restaurants all side-by-side among some of the most beautiful countryside in the world.

A wide view of San Sebastian.
Turespaña

Sometimes the best experiences happen by accident. Do any come to mind?

I always try to travel with an open mind. You know, if you think the path goes one way but it actually goes another, it’s ok to go down that path and explore.

Coming back to that backpacking trip in South America, there was a time when I had this preconceived idea of heading down to a local market and it was going to have X, Y, Z. But when I got there, it was actually this incredible seafood market where the fishermen were literally just unloading their catch – all this amazon produce.

We just bought a heap of food to take back to our hostel for ourselves and ended up getting way too much food, as you do, and pretty much ended up feeding the whole hostel on a barbecue after a bus ride to what we thought was a simple food market.

What’s the one dish you like to prepare that always makes you think of travel?

Pigeon. It reminds me of travel because they’re not native here in Singapore, but in Europe, you go to the markets in places like France and they’ve got the portable butcheries stocked with amazing produce like pigeon and it’s something I always gravitate towards. 

It reminds me of being in Europe, great barbecues and wine.