The one-Michelin-starred restaurant list saw the most movement this year with five restaurants making their debut in this year's Michelin Guide Singapore 2018 results . The one-star rating is bestowed upon restaurants with “high quality cooking that are worth a stop”, according to the MICHELIN Guide.
These new entrants add more diversity to the line-up of Michelin-starred establishments in Singapore. The new additions also celebrate a few firsts — Burnt Ends is the first modern Australian barbecue restaurant to enter the list, while Ma Cuisine is possibly the first gastro wine bar to be recognised with a Michelin star.
Here, we compile what the MICHELIN Guide inspectors say about these new one-starred restaurants.
1. Burnt Ends
20 Teck Lim Road
Meat is what they do best at this Australian-styled BBQ restaurant, thanks to its array of heavy-duty wood-fired ovens and grills — counter seating opposite the kitchen lets you take in the aroma and feel the heat. Don't miss the beef, marmalade and pickles; the flank with burnt onion; the suckling pig; and the bone marrow bun. The funky soundtrack is suitably hip and the all-Aussie wine list offers a concise and esoteric choice.
Four Seasons Hotel, Level 2,190 Orchard Boulevard
The exquisite space, reached via a marble staircase, is warm and welcoming, and its heavy leather chairs are especially comfortable. In 2017, Chef Lam, with over 20 years' experience in Cantonese cooking, joined the kitchen. Apart from traditional dishes, his signatures like deep-fried chicken with fresh lemon sauce and wok-fried star grouper fillet with superior soy sauce are obvious highlights. Reservations recommended.
3. Ma Cuisine
38 Craig Road
This red-brick shophouse, with its traditional bistro décor, is heaven for oenophiles —- the first thing diners are offered upon being seated is a phone book-like wine menu. Servers are keen to walk you through every vineyard and vintage, and their deep knowledge makes the experience unique. By comparison, the food menu is concise with French classics sitting alongside daily specials and a cocotte of the day, to complement your wine choices.
Related: First Look: Ma Cuisine
4. Nouri
72 Amoy Street
5. Sushi Kimura
01-07, Palais Renaissance, 390 Orchard Road
The owner-chef certainly pays attention to details: a hinoki counter crafted from one 150-year-old tree; organic sushi rice from one specific farm in Yamagata Prefecture cooked in Hokkaido spring water; and 100% of ingredients shipped from Japan. He excels in ageing raw fish in various ways, but the abalone cooked in sake for eight hours deserves a mention. The rice bowl with uni, ikura, chopped toro and onsen tamago is rich, creamy and well-balanced.
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