01: Blackwattle

Chef Clayton Wells unveils his first Singapore restaurant, Blackwattle, named after a native tree from Australia. The two-storey restaurant by the Unlisted Collection group serves up an ever-changing menu of modern Australian cuisine. The a la carte menu can be paired with drinks at the cocktail bar upstairs. There are, however, interesting options exclusive to the three- and five-course set menus for the more adventurous, such as grilled Fremantle octopus with XO sauce. Wells will be splitting his time between Blackwattle and his Sydney-based restaurant, Automata, to ensure the standards are consistent. When Wells is back in Australia, the restaurant will be in the safe hands of head chef Joeri Timmermans who was previously Automata’s sous chef.

Blackwattle

97 Amoy Street

Tel: +65 6224 2232

02: Restaurant Ards

At the new Mod-Asian Restaurant Ards. chef-owners Ace Tan and David Lee present Asian ingredients using both modern and traditional techniques. Three- and five-course set menus are available for dinner and lunch, but the 15-course tasting menu rightly showcase the capabilities of the kitchen team. In the menu is Mum’s Chicken Soup, as homely as it sounds, this is a flavoursome dish of laboriously concocted broth from steaming chicken stuffed with Chinese herbs. Another, the Fish on Fish?, sees poached red grouper together with flower clams cooked in Shaoxing wine over hot stones, homemade XO sauce and umami snow.  

Restaurant Ards

76 Duxton Road

Tel: +65 6913 7258

 

03: Shang Palace

Chinese restaurant Shang Palace is set on a new path with chef Mok Kit Keung on-board. Prior to this, Mok was executive chef of the two-Michelin-starred restaurant of the same name in Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong. The menu has also been revamped in favour of a more modern take on Chinese cuisine such as stewed coral trout with foie gras and black garlic or French quail leg fried with minced garlic. Dim sum is also another highlight here with indulgent choices such as lobster and seafood dumpling soup alongside the quintessential roast pork, buns and pastries.

Shang Palace

Shangri-La Hotel Singapore

Tel: +65 6213 4473 / 4398

 

04: Savourworld

Savourworld is a new dining enclave that combines both Asian and Western cuisine by featuring 15 restaurants, cafes and bars like Tokyo Joe, Blue Lotus Chinese Noodle Bar and Wildfire Chicken and Burgers. Guests can buy dishes such as chirashi don made with fresh salmon and tuna flown in from Japan every two weeks, chili crab pomelo xiao long bao, truffle noodles and burgers made from westholme wagyu beef, gherkin and beer caramelised onions. Different types of alcohol are also available, including brooklyn lager beer, sake and margarita cocktails. Dine in the restaurants or at the pavilion located right outside, with accompanying live music on Friday evenings. Finish the meal with dessert at ice-cream shop Licktionary serving creations consisting of gula melaka, coconut and pandan.

Savourworld

2 Science Park Drive
 

05: Blue Lotus Mediterranean Kitchen & Bar

Standing in the place of the closed Italian restaurant Portico at Alexandra Road is Blue Lotus Concepts International’s first foray into Mediterranean cuisine. Choose from a variety of dining spots, such as relaxing in comfortable sofas placed in the shade of the patio, outdoor tables where sunlight acts as a natural accompaniment or bask in the cheerful blue of the walls indoors. Aside from featuring Blue Lotus signatures such as the chili pomelo crab balls, guests can expect venus clams cooked with Portuguese styled white wine sauce, coriander, lemon and garlic butter as well as Spanish ‘Serrana pizza’ featuring pomodoro sauce, manchego cheese and iberico chorizo. Other choices include a giant Atlantic octopus leg that has been grilled with herbs and drizzled with extra virgin olive oil. Vegetarian lasagne is also offered for guests seeking an alternative diet option.

Blue Lotus Mediterranean Kitchen & Bar

991B Alexandra Road

Tel: +65 6665 0880

 

06: Shima Restaurant

Alongside serving teppanyaki, Shima, one of Singapore’s oldest teppanyaki restaurants since 1980, has delved into the world of kaiseki. Chef Fumihiko Hoshiba, a highly regarded kaiseki chef in Hokkaido, is at its helm with seasonal menus. Expect dishes that have been carefully crafted into works of art, such as prawn with caviar, yuzu steamed aigamo duck, matsutake mushroom rice cooked in a claypot and amberjack marinated in miso from Kyoto for three days. Finish off with dessert consisting of seasonal fruits and Japanese sweets such as ice-cream made with black sesame and mochi skin.

Shima Restaurant

Goodwood Park Hotel

Tel: +65 6734 6281

 

07: Wolfgang’s Steakhouse

The first Wolfgang’s Steakhouse was launched in Park Avenue, New York, in 2004. Founded by Wolfgang Zwiener (former head waiter at the iconic American steakhouse Peter Luger for over 40 years) his son, Peter (former investment banker), and several associates, the business has since blossomed into a chain of 18 restaurants in places such as Hawaii, Beijing, Seoul, Tokyo, and now Singapore. The 150-seater restaurant is located on level 2 of the new InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay hotel.

Prime USDA Black Angus beef that has been dry aged in-house for 28 days is the draw here, and must-tries include the porterhouse steak, which arrives on a ceramic plate piping hot and still sizzling in clarified butter and its own juices. The meat, best enjoyed medium rare, is perfectly tender, juicy, and flavourful. Other highlights include the Wolfgang Crab Cakes packed with luscious chunks of crabmeat, and the refreshing Beverly Hills Chopped Salad, which has romaine lettuce, red sweet pepper, corn (cut from the cob, no less), and feta cheese, among other ingredients, tossed in a house vinaigrette. For desserts, do consider the creamy New York Style Cheesecake and the delightfully tart Key Lime Pie.

Wolfgang Steakhouse

02-01, 1 Nanson Road, Intercontinental Singapore Robertson Quay

Tel: +65 6887-5885

 

08: Kyuu

The buzzing Keong Saik Road welcomes a new sashimi and robatayaki restaurant – Kyuu by Shunsui – a sister restaurant of  Kappo Shunsui at Cuppage Plaza. The restaurant’s 10-course omakase menu ($129) features the freshest ingredients sourced from Japan. The meal starts with appetisers such as fresh persimmon with sumiso (a mixture of miso, rice vinegar and sesame paste), homemade yam potato tofu, monkfish liver, plus an assortment of seasonal sashimi. At the robatayaki counter, ingredients are grilled over hot charcoal a la minute, and each item is served with a special homemade sauce. The procession of dishes include tuna belly with truffle ponzu sauce, king crab with vinegar and sudachi lime, fruit tomato with setouchi salt, and a serving of succulent Kagoshima A4 wagyu beef aitchbone with red miso fond de veau. The last savoury course is Hokkaido rice nanatsuboshi topped with ikura, pre-soaked in dashi, and generously showered over the rice bowl (the chef will keep pouring until you tell him to stop).

29 Keong Saik Road.

Tel: +65 6221-7098

09: Restaurant Lerouy

Chef Christophe Lerouy, formerly of Alma, has partnered with chefs Willin Low of Wild Rocket and Gwen Lim of Patisserie G to open up a brand new modern French restaurant at Stanley Street. The modern and sleek interior is specially designed by Low (look out for the unique cut-out wall feature – depicting the outline of Alsace, France, where Lerouy hails from). Diners get to sit around the long and winding counter which frames the open kitchen. There are three-, five- and seven-course tasting menus to select from for lunch and dinner. Depending on what’s in season, you may get to sample unique creations such as Lerouy’s version of ‘surf and turf’ comprising foie gras married with snow crab and goat’s cheese, and brightened with dill oil, apple vinaigrette and apple foam, or the sea trout with veal sweetbread, sauerkraut and shiso. The robust dish of black venere rice from Italy, crowned with a wobbly egg, and elevated with smoked eel, pimento and salty chorizo also impresses. To round off the meal, Lerouy adds a playful touch to his petit four creations: white chocolate with wasabi and beetroot powder; dark chocolate truffle wrapped with Alsatian bacon; and cotton candy topped with a sprinkling matcha powder.

3 Stanley Street.

Tel: +65 6221 3639

10: Bayswater Kitchen

Located at the Keppel Bay waterfront overlooking a shimmering marina dotted with yachts is the new Bayswater Kitchen. Dine on fresh seafood dishes like freshly shucked Irish oysters, smoky chargrilled octopus with borlotti beans, and crispy beer-battered cod fish and chips. Diners also get to tuck into a robust dish of Boston lobster with hand-rolled linguine, prawns, mussels and fish cooked in seafood stock and tomato. End your meal with a rich chocolate bar served with hazelnut and banana ice-cream.

Bayswater Kitchen

2 Keppel Bay Vista

Tel: +65 6776 0777

11. PS.Cafe Raffles City

There is no stopping this home grown brand and PS.Cafe’s 10th outlet in the city is its most striking yet. In spite of being inside a mall (Raffles City) it is a dramatic 3300 sqf, greenhouse-like space in the mall’s light-filled atrium. The restaurant boasts seven-metre high ceilings framed with large glass panels, industrial black arches and awnings similar to black and white houses. There is a sprawling green wall of trees and planters above the bar that creates a sense of lush greenery –all while being seated indoors. They serve breakfasts, an all-day menu with some exclusive to the outlet dishes like the buttermilk fried chicken served with smoked jalapeno aioli and bbq sauce.

www.pscafe.com/pscafe-raffles-city

Raffles City, #03-37

Tel: +65-8858 8728