With just a few more months before we bid 2023 adieu, MICHELIN restaurants in Singapore have been cooking up a culinary storm. This September and in the months to come, indulge in new restaurant menus, exciting chef collaborations, and exclusive chef residencies. Read on to find out what's new in the Lion City's MICHELIN restaurant scene!
The dessert of Born's sophomore menu is an ode to chef Zor Tan's favourite childhood cartoon. (Photo: Born)
Newly Minted MICHELIN-starred Born Unveils Its Second Menu
Having received its first MICHELIN Star in the recent MICHELIN Guide Ceremony Singapore last June 2023, Born has just recently launched its sophomore menu, a little shy over a year since the restaurant's debut.
Still rooted in his Circle of Life culinary philosophy, which translates life experiences into flavours on a plate, Tan's second menu presents dishes that are rooted in his personal rolodex of memories, those in particular that have sparked moments of flavour discoveries.
Five snacks open the palate including one called Pineapple/Liquorice/Chilli, which draws on Tan's childhood nostalgia of eating his favourite snack of canned pineapples from Pekan Nanas, a Pontian pineapple town known for its plantations. One of Tan's guilty pleasures — fast food French Fries — takes the form of Potato/Vanilla/Caviar, a refined take on the snack made with potato vanilla crème anglaise and finished with Oscietra caviar.
Tan's signature fusion of Asian-French cooking and techniques remains strong and consistent throughout the menu. For the mains, crab meat with white wine shallots and finger lime are nestled under thin fried popiah (spring roll wrapper) skin; and a returning signature of mala (Sichuan pepper) marinated vintage Wagyu beef tartare in a light golden brown "bao" on an oyster emulsion is served. Harping on more memories, the Monkfish/Fermented Capsicum/Chicken Fat is an ode to the flavours Tan fell in love with while working at two-MICHELIN-starred Sichuan Moon in Macau.
Closing the menu is a sweet treat that leaves an impression. Inspired by Tan's favourite carton show, Doraemon — whose favourite snack, by the way, is sweet potato — a dessert of Sweet Potato/Oolong/Sea Salt surprises guests with the many forms that sweet potato can take on.
Born's second menu celebrates the restaurant's growth since it opened in 2022. With its name a cheeky acronym for "Best Of Right Now", Born aims to deliver the best moment for its guests at any given moment.
Born is located at #01-01, 1 Neil Road, 088804, Singapore. Make your reservations here.
Simon Rogan at his restaurant farm in the Cartmel Valley (Photo: Christian Barnett)
Sustainability Forward Chef Simon Rogan to Present an Exclusive Dining Pop-up in Singapore
With a slew of MICHELIN-starred and MICHELIN Green Star restaurants under his belt such as L'Enclume in the UK and Roganic in Hong Kong, British chef Simon Rogan is coming to Singapore for an exclusive dining pop-up at The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore from 3 to 14 October 2023.
“I look forward to cooking in Singapore and bringing my farm-to-fork ethos to one of my favourite cities, which I love for its vibrant food scene," shares Rogan. "I’ll be cooking a menu in my signature style that includes some of my best-known dishes, alongside a few new ones, using ingredients local to Singapore and from the region."
Rogan's signature cooking style is described as underpinned by a strong ingredient focus, classical techniques, and a minimalistic approach to food. His incredibly complex and beautifully crafted dishes are known to burst with flavour and evolve as regularly as the natural world.
For starters, Berkswell, a flavourful hard cheese from the United Kingdom, takes the form of a pudding caramelised in birch sap, black garlic, and grated truffle. Onto the mains, a selection of dishes featuring fine ingredients such as A5 Wagyu and aged Cornish duck, to Gillardeau oysters with caviar and stuffed turbot with Hokkaido scallop are featured. And for dessert, creations include chamomile and bee pollen cake with iced milk, strawberries with fragrant cream. Dinner guests will also be treated to a grand finale of Rogan's classic "Anvil" dessert — a masterpiece composed of caramel mousse, quinoa, miso, apples, and pine. The signature creation is a tribute to the former 13th-century blacksmith’s workshop in which Rogan's debut restaurant, three-MICHELIN-starred L’Enclume, which also holds a MICHELIN Green Star, is situated.
This exclusive dining experience is by reservation only. Book your seats here starting September 2023.
Esora's ingredient profile for its autumn menu (Photo: Esora)
Esora Serenades Autumn with New Menu
The seasonal menus at Esora are more than just an expression of head chef Takeshi Araki's creativity; they are also representative of his artistic expression. And with autumn approaching, the season is marked as a tranquil interlude following the vibrant heat of summer, embracing a serene atmosphere. With its soothing coolness and the juxtaposition of nature's vivid colours against a backdrop of tranquility, this season radiates a profound sense of peacefulness.
Autumn in Japan is also known as "食欲の秋" (shokuyoku no aki), a season that ushers in a lavish abundance of culinary delights. It brings forth a cornucopia of ingredients, ranging from the revered matsutake mushrooms to the unassuming ebi-imo (shrimp potato); and from the abundant kuri (chestnuts) to the elusive kegani (hairy crab) sourced from the ocean's depths. The sheer diversity of fall's offerings provides ample justification for indulgence and feasting.
During this period in Japan, one can discover a diverse array of indigenous mushrooms that flourish during the cooler seasons. In Esora's signature Chicken Wing, this season's creation is filled with a medley of five mushrooms sautéed in garlic, including maitake, shiitake, kakinoki take, shimeji take, and tamogi take.
The cooler weather also welcomes something warm and inviting for the soul — a Duck Consommé Somen, featuring a twirl of silky somen noodles is served in a consommé made from chicken, duck, and beef bones. It is topped with a slice of duck Magret sous vide with sake and light soy sauce, shiro negi (white leek), and seasonal black truffle.
The meal's sweet ending comes in the form of a Chestnut dessert — a reinterpretation of the French classic creation of Mont Blanc. Esora's seasonal dessert comes in a layered assembly of hazelnut biscuit, honey, ice-cream, and shaved chestnuts — a popular autumn ingredient used in numerous traditional Japanese sweets.
Esora is located at 15 Mohamed Sultan Road, 238964, Singapore. Book a table for the autumn experience here.
Nae:um's take on "Mechuri", a pocha dish that left a strong impression on chef Louis Han. (Photo: John Heng)
Experience an "After Work Hideaway" at Korean MICHELIN-Starred Restaurant Nae:um
Now on its sixth episodic menu, one-MICHELIN-starred Nae:um centres its new culinary line-up on the delights found in Seoul's "pochas", short for "pojangmacha", which means "covered wagon". Pochas served as a respite to weary workers after a long day's toil, offering soul-warming snacks and delightful eats that bring back vigour and enthusiasm to the body.
Nae:um's chef, Louis Han, is never content to simply recreate dishes; rather, he is always striving to reinterpret with an innovative lens. His contemporary Seoul cuisine is formed at the intersection of the new and old.
Starting off with the snacks are bites such as the "Oksusu", which transforms simple corn snacks into a delicate tartlet filled with honey butter corn cream, char-grilled corn kernels, and puffed sorghum and millet. Highlights of the menu also include "Eomuk", a popular Korean-style fish cake stew. Han's take on the dish includes his own version of fish cake made with prawn and fish meat, draped with a marbled black and white scallop silk. It is served with anchovy velouté, white asparagus, braised daikon, and sweet razor clams.
An ode to Han's first visit to a pocha comes in a dish of "Mechuri", which is quail glazed with "yoridang" sugar cane syrup and grilled over binchotan — a rare dish to be found in such an establishment. Because of the strong impression it left on Han, he was compelled to recreate the dish his way. In Nae:um's version, the pigeon is caramelised on the grill until it reaches juicy perfection, and then, it is presented as a roulade along with its wing. The dish is completed by accompaniments of soy-pickled spring onion "jjangachi" and a leek "mandu" dumpling with a farce of quail leg meat, Korean glass noodles, and shiitake mushrooms.
To close the meal, not to be missed is the jujube dessert, which is available on the Signature tasting menu. A perennial favourite, this episode's version presents itself with Korean traditional wafers, or "Jeonbyung", that come with a quenelle of white chocolate ice cream, and wafer shards with alternating fillings of jujube truffle cream and date pastry cream.
Nae:um is located at 161 Telok Ayer Street, 068615, Singapore. Make your reservations here.
Chefs Chen Kentaro of Shisen Hanten and Hitoshi Yamanobe of Ginza Yamanobe Edo Chuka to present a one-night only, Chuka-Dim Sum (Japanese-Chinese style dim sum) feast (Photo: Respective Restaurants)
Ever Tried a Japanese-style Counter Dim Sum Omakase?
On 29th September 2023, and for one-day only, Chen Kentaro of MICHELIN-starred Shisen Hanten and Hitoshi Yamanobe of MICHELIN-starred Ginza Yamanobe Edo Chuka join hands to present a one-night only, Chuka-Dim Sum (Japanese Chinese style dim sum) feast.
It will be Yamanobe's first time in Singapore. Hailing from Tokyo, his dishes at his eponymous restaurant, Ginza Yamanobe Edo Chuka, showcase Chinese dishes that are crafted using seasonal ingredients from various Japanese regions, with one of his signature dishes being Tianjin Noodles, Botan Ebi with Shaoxing Wine.
Both Kentaro and Yamanobe will be working alongisde Kenjiro Hashida of Hashida Singapore. Guests joining the event can look forward to creative dim sum creations such as Horseradish Cake, Cold “ Inaniwa Dan Dan Mian Noodles”, Sea Eel Pie, and many more.
Interested parties can send a message via WhatsApp to 8129 5336 for booking inquiries. This Chuka-Dim Sum dinner will be available for one day only on 29 September 2023.
Chefs Nancy Silverton and Dave Pynt to cook together at Osteria Mozza Singapore on Saturday, 09 September.
Nancy Silverton and Dave Pynt Join Hands in Osteria Mozza Singapore Cookout
On Saturday, 09 September 2023, Dave Pynt of MICHELIN-starred barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends and Nancy Silverton of MICHELIN-listed Osteria Mozza in Singapore join hands in a very special Four Hands Cookout happening at Osteria Mozza Singapore.
From 1:00-10:00 p.m., guests can enjoy live grill and barbecue stations serving up Silverton's Chi Spacca Burgers and Pynt's Beef Katsu Sando and Loaded Sanger Fries. Soak up the weekend and dance to the tunes from a live DJ booth and rounds of cocktails at the pop-up bar.
Tickets are on sale here for S$99++.
Osteria Mozza Singapore is located at Hilton Orchard, Level 5, 333 Orchard Road, 238867, Singapore.
L-R: Barrumandi Harumaki and Nai Bai (Photo: Ichigo Ichie)
Ichigo Ichie Celebrates Sanpō Yoshi with Second Menu
Sanpō yoshi (三方よし) is an old Japanese merchant's principle that translates to "good for three". This code of social and commercial behaviour, rooted in Japan's Edo period, emphasises relationships, trust, and the act of "giving back" to the wider community. It is the sanpō yoshi principle that has guided merchants in their day-to-day business activities.
From 19 September to 19 October 2023, MICHELIN-selected Japanese restaurant, Ichigo Ichie, celebrates the harmony shared between seller, buyer, and community with a month-long sanpō yoshi menu that features courses that shine the spotlight on locally sourced produce, alongside other Japanese seasonal creations.
A dish to look forward to is the Barramundi Harumaki, served with fresh ginko, features Barramundi supplied by Singaporean fish farm Ah Hua Kelong. Wrapped inside a golden and crisp spring roll skin, the fish is sandwiched with a special house-made miso and an array of ingredients bursting with umami flavour such as grilled maitake mushroom, grilled eggplant, and pickled chilli leaf.
Another dish to watch out for is the Nai Bai, which is cultivated by Sungift Urban Farm. Ichigo Ichie's chef, Akane Eno, boils the vegetable in a kelp and bonito dashi. Then, fresh yuba is added, as well as a hint of Japanese Karashi mustard, and roasted sesame, just before the dish is served.
A portion of the proceeds from this year’s menu will be used to produce an exclusive beer made in partnership with homegrown craft brewery Rye & Pint, which, when ready, will be gifted to guests who have partaken in the sanpō yoshi menu.
Ichigo Ichie is located at Intercontinental Robertson Quay, #02-07A, 1 Nanson Road, 238909, Singapore. Book your seats here.
Header image is by John Heng for Nae:um.
