Ce Soir means “tonight” in French — as in, all who dine at the MICHELIN Selected restaurant on Portsdown Road will be given a night to remember by way of flavours, flowers, freshness, and fantasy.
On 25 June 2024, that romantic vision came full circle for chef-owner Seth Lai, when he received the 2024 MICHELIN Guide Singapore Young Chef Award.
“It is still very unbelievable that it came to me,” says the soft-spoken Singaporean chef. “I would like to thank my partner and my team for always believing in the vision and direction that we’re going for.”
This award cements the 30-year-old’s status as a rising star in the culinary world, even as he joins other talented young chefs from around the world in the annals of MICHELIN Guide history.
Presented by Blancpain, the Young Chef Award is an accolade given to chefs under 36 years of age who display exceptional talent and great potential, while working in a restaurant within the selection.
(Left Image: Lai receives the Young Chef Award from Carrie Poon, Blancpain's Regional Brand Manager; photo by MICHELIN)
Simplicity Makes Perfect
Lai’s win is the latest in a string of extraordinary achievements for an up-and-comer, who only started his formal culinary career at the age of 22.
Long before taking roost at his current perch of Ce Soir, and even before he cut his teeth at MICHELIN institutions such as 28 Wilkie (now defunct), Iggy’s, and Esora, the chef was brought up in Teluk Intan, a town tucked deep in the countryside of Perak in northwest Malaysia.
There, living in a home with its own backyard farm, Lai developed a strong affinity for hearty local flavours, built around seasonal ingredients prepared simply, but well.
One of his favourite childhood memories — reaching into his family’s chicken coop to grab ahold of freshly laid eggs, still lukewarm from the heat of the chicken’s body — exemplifies the narrative that he would go on to weave at Ce Soir — that is, “presenting and celebrating everything that is beautiful in life”, even something as perfectly simple as an immaculate bloom on every plate.
Friends and Family at the Heart
Our MICHELIN Guide inspectors laud Ce Soir’s impossibly romantic floral theme and visually stunning plates, along with the attention to detail in its deftly crafted French fare with Asian accents.
There is no doubt, however, that many a chapter of the restaurant’s tale has been authored by Lai’s connection with friends and family, as it was friendship that led him into the culinary world, almost entirely by accident.
“I didn’t do well academically. So I went straight for a job and just started trying different culinary posts out. Along the way, I started cooking for friends — it was very homely, very typical food you’d find in any Asian family. But I found that I loved it,” he explains.
And it was family — especially his late grandfather — and the flavours they’d share at reunion dinners for Chinese New Year that would later inform the flairs he’d adopt at Ce Soir.
“My grandfather would always cook for us, and one of the dishes he’d always cook is crab stir-fried with kam heong (a popular sauce in Malaysia inspired by Chinese, Malay, and Indian cuisine; dried shrimp, curry powder, curry leaves, and oyster sauce are typical ingredients),” says Lai.
“This inspired me to come up with a dish, and it is the first dish I ever created in my earlier career — a Kam Heong Risotto with Sakura Ebi and Daikon,” adds the chef. “And it has always been in my menu, until now.”
Perseverance and Iteration
To Lai, a good chef is and always will be their own worst critic — for that is the only way for one to continuously hone their craft.
“Always pick on your own dishes. Just find something that is not right and keep improving from there.”
“Yes, I always find faults with my own dishes, too!” Indeed, the one dish he is most proud of — a taro dumpling cradling a quail egg served alongside a beef tartare — took him almost 25 iterations to get just right.
“There are a lot of techniques at play for just this one dish, so it requires a lot of care from us. To get the right thickness, the right crispiness; and of course, blending it together with the flavours of the beef tartare. All of these have come together and work hand-in-hand,” he says.
It’s no wonder, then, that his advice for other aspiring young chefs — and especially those who have the passion for gastronomy, but don’t wish to enter an industry hallmarked by its austerity — goes something like this:
“Persevere through hardship. I know that it’s not easy to start off as a cook. Hang in there and keep failing — that’s okay. Whatever you do, just don’t give up.”
As we wrap up the interview, we ask the chef one final question — what would you cook for your grandfather, if he were still alive today?
Lai, without missing a beat, replies, “I’ll cook the exact same dish he used to cook for me. That would be the best way to honour what he’s done for me.
It’ll be showing him that, ‘Hey, I have done it.’”
(Right Image: Lai, when he was a teenager, and his grandfather)
Ce Soir is located at #01-03, 5B Portsdown Road, 139311, Singapore. Make a restaurant booking here, or follow them on Facebook and on Instagram for updates.
All images are courtesy of Ce Soir. Image of Seth and his grandfather is from Seth Lai and his family.
Interview conducted by Mikka Wee.
