Find out if your favourite restaurant made the list!
It’s award season for Singapore’s gourmet figures. The Singapore Michelin Guide 2017 has just been announced, after the Bib Gourmand results were revealed a week earlier.
Assessed by anonymous food inspectors, this culinary honour is bestowed based on quality of the products, mastery of flavour, chef personality and mastery of flavour. Our second Michelin Guide saw a total of 38 recipients from last year’s 22, but the most interesting developments were the 11 newcomers to the ensemble.
Here’s a list of the 11 newly-minted restaurants with both Asian and Western-centric cuisines.
1. Summer Palace
Arguably one of Singapore’s most revered Cantonese restaurants, the award-winning Summer Palace known for being the grande dame of Cantonese cuisine has finally been awarded one Michelin star. Helmed by two chefs from Hong Kong, the greatest lure of this oriental restaurant is its repertoire of classic yet modern Cantonese fare.
With a menu ranging from a Chef’s Tasting Menu and their ‘Imperial Tales’ 8-course feast to a Dim Sum Buffet, it’s a place that is fit for every occasion. The signature dishes of the experienced head chef and his well-drilled kitchen include Five Spice deep-fried frog’s legs, crispy roast pork, braised minced crabmeat in spinach soup and fried chicken with almond flakes. The hallmark of a good Cantonese meal is double-boiled soup, and Summer Palace’s gluten-free soup of soon hock fish does not disappoint.
2. Braci
Perched atop the taller shophouses on the stretch, Braci is the latest concept of restaurateur Beppe De Vito, which serves modern Italian fare. The restaurant features a luxe 16-seat dining area on the fifth floor, as well as a 30-seat rooftop bar with a fantastic view of the Singapore River.
For appetizers, the menu features classics like Millefeuille – a french custard found in desserts – reinvented with tuna, truffle and mushrooms ($28). When it comes to the mains, don’t expect a typically long list of pastas and pizzas variations.
Some of their signature mains include Grass Fed Beef Tenderloin with chanterelles and truffles ($58), Sea Urchin Sabayon that comes with the Miyazaki wagyu sirloin ($88) and Fettucine with razor clams. Alternatively, surprise your tastebuds and let the chef guide you with their 5-course omakase at $100 per person.
Braci, 2 Boat Quay, #05-01/ #06-01
3. Cheek By Jowl
They famously hold the envied top spot on Burpple Hot 100 list, and will probably continue to do so for a while. This modern Australian restaurant, helmed by a husband-and-wife team, Rishi Naleendra and Manuela Toniolo is a replacement of The Unlisted Collection. It’s not a terrible replacement, seeing as how they’ve managed to earn a nod from the Michelin Guide.
A meal at Cheek by Jowl is full of surprises. Their delightful starters will appease even the pickiest of eaters; try their chopped veal tartare ($22), which combines a Japanese-style fermented plum dressing and Wasabi to cut through the meatiness of the wild New Zealand hunted deer.
Asian influences reign supreme in the food, especially with its signature “Duck & Waffles”, which comprises a duck confit drenched in five-spice and chili caramel, and served with crisp waffles.
You definitely don’t need to dress to the nines, or find a special occasion to eat here. It centers around delivering humble ingredients to satisfying perfection without the fuss; in a way that doesn’t bust your wallet as well.
Cheek by Jowl, 21 Boon Tat Street
4. Chef Kang’s
Fans of Chef Kang of the defunct Canton Wok will be ecstatic to know that this Cantonese Chef is back, this time running his own boutique restaurant and doing what he does best – sparring with the wok.
For a minimum of $80 (minimum 5 pax), the chef will plan a 5 to 6 course communal-style dinner based on the freshest ingredients he acquires from his personal, thrice-weekly trips to the market. A la carte options are available too but what better way to experience his repertoire of dishes than a chat with the chef himself.
They all come for Kang’s rustic Cantonese cooking – dishes like deep-fried goby fish and Wok-fried Kai Lan with pork lard in a piquant shrimp paste – honed over the decades since the Hong Kong chef landed in Singapore.
Chef Kang, 25 Mackenzie Road
5. Garibaldi
Priding itself as an authority on Italian cuisine, Garibaldi is considered one of Singapore’s most popular and respected Italian restaurants, being voted 7th best restaurant in Asia in 2003 by the Miele Guide. Their top-notch Italian fine dining is also made accessible with its new $39 set lunch menu.
On the other hand, the a la carte menu, hand crafted by Chef-Owner Roberto Galetti, is a force to be reckoned with. Bringing together fresh produce and authentic recipes to create traditional and delightful Italian dishes – the team here has definitely mastered the art of pasta making. Kick off your culinary journey with grilled polenta cakes or buffalo mozzarella; for mains, choose from a scrumptious selection of Spagetti Aglio Olio with Scallops and Sardinian Bottarga, or milk-fed veal tenderloin with braised Savoy cabbage and chestnut.
From the complimentary olives and cheese spread to the attentive service and remarkable dishes – this hidden gem on Purvis street is a sure treat from the get-go.
6. Iggy’s
One of the first fine dining restaurants to put Singapore on the gastronomy map, 12-year old Iggy’s might have missed out on the inaugural Michelin stars last year, but with a revamp from a head chef barely six months on the job, they’ve managed to snag the star this year.
Iggy’s signature dish is undoubtedly its Cappellini with sakura ebi, kombu, and shellfish oil, which has been around since its days in The Regent. If you’re feeling indulgent, they have a four-course lunch menu ($85 for a starter, a pasta dish, a main and dessert), which changes every one or two months. Expect elegant dishes like venison with pumpkin and coffee and Ebi Two Ways, which is simple yet effective demonstration of the sweet-savour.
Iggy’s, Hilton Singapore, 581 Orchard Rd
7. Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine
With their move from Takashimaya to Ion, the restaurant has also gone a bit more upmarket and its name has been upgraded to Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine. Its menu has gone finer too.
Expect indulgent signatures such as Chilled Flower Crab in Teochew Style, Diced Abalone and Chicken Wrapped with Egg White and Teochew Marinated Selections. The Teochew restaurant also offers other family-styled dishes at more affordable prices. The Deep-fried Prawn Ball and Deep-fried Black Moss Roll (both $5 a piece) boast delightfully springy textures that avoid coming across as plasticky.
Imperial Treasure also does a very good tau suan (S$4.50) – tender but firm mung beans in a sweet sticky syrup with water chestnut and gingko. Smooth yam paste with gingko (S$5) is equally enjoyable.
ION Orchard, #03-05, 2 Orchard Turn
8. Meta Restaurant
Aiming to push the conventional boundaries of cooking, Meta’s creations will excite tired palates and refresh underwhelmed senses. Chef Sun Kim, who worked in the acclaimed Tetsuya (Sydney) and Waku Ghin (Singapore), leads the team in this venture.
The restaurant offers a seasonal choice of three set dinner menus, either five or eight-course Tasting Menus and a five-course Vegetarian Menu. Think Asian-inspired dishes with modern techniques like Oyster with Pomelo for starters and Wagyu Tartare with Egg Jelly and Korean Pear Kimchi for the mains.
Spaces at Meta are limited, so be sure to book a table at this Keong Saik hotspot in advance to avoid missing out!
Meta, 9 Keong Saik Rd
9. Labyrinth
Labyrinth is particularly known for its avant-garde renditions of local cuisine, elevating Singaporean classics with a fine dining spin.
Their five-course meal goes for $98 – which is a real steal. You get progressive starters like a vegetarian-friendly tomato “steak” tartare with mango yolk and soft shell crab with chili crab ice cream and mantou crumbs. For the mains (you get a choice of two), try their elevated Bak Chor Mee, with the egg noodles being replaced with squid, and fish cake with fresh Hokkaido scallops or the siew yoke fan with roasted pork belly and ramen-flavored risotto.
The desserts are good, too: chendol xiao long bao with gula melaka syrup that comes disguised in a vinegar pot, and a deconstructed apple crumble with white chocolate crumbs and yogurt ice cream.
Labyrinth, #02-23 Esplanade Mall, 8 Raffles Ave
10. Saint Pierre
Birthed from Chef Emmanuel’s ethos of “cooking from the heart”, the Saint Pierre experience is a highly personable one. From ensuring your napkin is never crumpled to the removal of breadcrumbs from your table, not once do you feel that the service is amiss.
Only two menus are available at Saint Pierre, both reflecting the methodology of “Essence-centric Cuisine”, using the essences of natural ingredients for base, stocks and seasonings to bring out the flavours in a natural way.
‘The Nature’ set is dedicated to vegetarians, whilst ‘The Earth’ set is for those of you who can’t do without meat. The latter will feature thin slices of well-marbled Matsusaka A5 wagyu. Simply char-grilled, the blushing pink meat is elevated with black garlic puree and smoked eel mousse, alongside veal jus and a touch of ginger.
Saint Pierre, #02-02B One Fullerton, 1 Fullerton Road
11. Whitegrass
Situated in the historic building of CHIJMES Caldwell House, Whitegrass is a modern Australian fine dining restaurant that has been generating a lot of buzz lately. After all, it’s Sam Aisbett’s own place, and he has an quite the resumé – with well-regarded stints at some of Down Under’s most influential restaurants, including Quay and Tetsuya’s in Sydney.
His menu is constantly changing, and there’s only fixed course meals, which means that you’ll be guaranteed an experimental and artisanal feast.
Besides flaunting the good stuff from native Australia, like fiddlehead fern and to-die-for wagyu imported from Limestone Coast, he also plays around with local produce like century egg, jackfruit and longan. The hundred-year egg makes its appearance with the perfect butter-poached quail; while our local fruits made its way to a refreshing dessert starring young coconut mousse, jackfruit ice cream, longan, almond and ginger cake.
Whitegrass, #01-26/27 Chijmes, 30 Victoria Street
