April is the cruellest month, T.S. Eliot once wrote in a favourite poem of mine.
To us foodies, this April “cruelty” manifests as the plate after plate of luscious temptations chefs taunt us with on their dinner menu, each dish flaunting fresh spring harvests from farmers across the Northern hemisphere.
April marks the arrival of sakura-accented creations in Japanese restaurants of all stripes; prized sponges of morel mushrooms from the Himalayas; and earthy, ivory-hued spears of white asparagus from Europe - the latter such a highlight of my year that I even make sure to have it pencilled onto my calendar annually.
For all of us at the Michelin Guide Singapore, April is all the more thrilling because it marks the the launch of our brand new gourmet lifestyle editorial section of the guide.michelin.sg website. It is a project that my team and I have been quietly toiling over, like farmers who work tirelessly under the cloak of winter, and we’re glad to be finally revealing the first fruits of our labour to you.
Powered by The Michelin Group and Robert Parker Wine Advocate, the Michelin Guide Singapore website is Asia’s first and only English-language lifestyle editorial platform that is officially endorsed by the Michelin Guide. It marks the progressive coming together of two of the world’s most established and powerful names in the food and wine circles, on an integrated, media-rich platform.
On this site, you'll be able to order the 2016 Singapore guidebook, book a seat at our prestigious dinner events, and eventually reserve a spot at any of the top restaurants in town after reading about your favourite chefs - all within a couple of clicks. Think of it as the Michelin Guide 2.0, if you will.
In the lifestyle section, particularly, we hope to provide a dynamic feed of fresh, locally sourced content on everything related to food: from trendspotting articles on the latest ingredients and techniques to watch out for in our News and Dining Out sections, to personal tips from Michelin chefs and prominent food industry experts on how to recreate the Michelin experience at home in Dining In.
In our Features section, you’ll find topical discussions and exclusive insights on the Michelin brand, from how we tracked down a food-obsessed couple who not only to live to eat, but to eat in Michelin-starred restaurants specifically; to a very, very rare breakfast interview we scored with the Michelin Guide’s highly secretive head inspector (check back soon to find out what we talked about!)
And in our People section, expect interviews with top chefs from around the world and, when the Michelin Guide Singapore guidebook is released later this year, with our first batch of Michelin-rated local chefs and street food hawkers.
But beyond the stars, the celebrity chefs, and the glamour of it all, we also want to celebrate the everyday food hero: the Singaporean farmers, food artisans and young and hungry food entrepreneurs who help to make our city the thriving dining hub that it is, and has always been.
And of course, we want to celebrate you, because good food always tastes better when you’re with the right company. Whether you’re a professional chef, an avid home cook or - like pretty much everyone in Singapore - you simply love to eat, we want you to be part of our growing online food community, and our brand new digital journey.
As with the adventurous drivers and diners who have trusted in the Michelin Guide to help them uncover treasured finds all these years, we invite you to join us yet again on our quest to chart new territory for our Singapore edition. We hope you’ll like what you find here as much as we loved putting it together - and that you’ll bookmark some personal gems to keep you coming back again, and again, and again.
This one’s for you. Santé!
