Year in (food) review: The 8 best dishes in Singapore restaurants in 2024 

2024 saw the mushrooming of pizzerias,a new exciting wave of wine bars and the birth of a lifestyle complex, New Bahru that houses many made-in-Singapore dining concepts such as Somma, One Prawn & Co and Morning Coffee. It was also a year of rooftop entertainment and dining hotspots, Sushisamba, Baia, Highhouse and C.O.T.U., taking nights out to the next level (with killer city views to boot). 

Power was passed to diners at fine-dining restaurants. Hello shorter (and less pricey menus), a more flexible and relaxed dining environment, and a la carte options.

Well, not that the industry has a choice — it has been a sluggish year for restaurants, with the most Michelin-starred restaurant closures in a year and erratic business for the survivors. Ever so resourceful, restaurants pivoted to new menu formats (group dining sets and trolley concepts) and branched out to event catering to stay afloat. We also mourned the untimely deaths of two young, up-and-coming chefs, Tariq Helou of Fleurette and Stefan Liau of Hevel. 

On a more positive note, this year’s exciting openings included Le Pristine by Dutch chef Sergio Herman in Grand Hyatt Singapore and Air, a sprawling farm-to-table restaurant and food research facility (which started offering breakfast in a tie-up with Le Matin Patisserie recently). More light on South-east Asian cuisines was shed this year, with the opening of Filipino restaurant Hayop and Club Rangoon, a contemporary Burmese restaurant serving fresh takes on classics like Mohinga and Laphet Thoke (tea leaf salad). 

It looks set to be a thrilling 2025 for foodies, with upcoming openings such as Bon Broth, a new casual broth-centred concept by chef Andre Chiang and Firebrand by Tokyo yakitori restaurant, Makitori Shinkōbe in Mondrian Duxton Singapore. Violet Oon Singapore is slated to open its largest outlet in Dempsey Hill, while Odette, Singapore’s steadfast flagbearer at fine-dining restaurant awards, will turn 10. 

Before I close the chapter on yet another delicious year, here are eight of the best dishes I ate in restaurants across Singapore after making close to 90 restaurant visits in 2024. (The dishes are listed in no order or merit.) 

1. Slipper Lobster, Khorasan Spahettone, Red Carrot at Somma

One of the most invigorating meals that I had this year was at Somma, chef Mirko Febbrile’s modern Italian restaurant at lifestyle enclave New Bahru. At this long-awaited restaurant, the Puglian chef-partner is pushing the boundaries of Italian cuisine in today’s contemporary setting, breaking free of comfort food cliches associated with “nonna’s cooking”.

The dining experience and presentation have a sprinkle of Scandinavian influences, from the high-spirited team greeting upon entering the restaurant to a whole stem turnip (leaves included), celery and green apple cold soup. 

However, my favourite dish of a thrillingly unpredictable meal at Somma is the slipper lobster, khorasan spahettone, red carrot. First, the lip-smackingly rich and sweet red carrot and mantis shrimp bisque sauce is incredibly reduced from 20kg of raw red carrots and coated on the thick strands of spagettone. The flavours are so intense that no shred of prawn is needed. 

The other part of the dish boasts an ingenious flavour combination: sea snails with carrot scoby (from the by-product of kombucha on the restaurant’s beverage menu). They are dressed in a beurre blanc-style sauce with black mint and caviar.

The orange-red dip beams with bright notes of sourness and acidity, layered with an element of umami. The textures and flavours of this quirky combination somewhat reminds me of a ham and cheese mayonnaise sandwich. Very intriguing.

2. Manam’s House Crispy Sisig at Hayop 

Have you had a dish that was so good that you too engrossed eating and forgot to snap photos? That was what happened to me with this crispy sisig dish at Hayop, a Filipino restaurant that opened in July.

The brand is run by the same team behind Manam, a popular restaurant chain in Manila — which explains why the restaurant has been embraced by the local Filipino community. The crispy sisig is a gloriously golden carpet of deep-fried cubes of pork jowl and cheek tossed a la minute with a sisig sauce on a sizzling hot plate. 

The pork bits offer a maddening melange of lard-like crunch and springiness. The decadence is balanced by other elements in a chicken liver-based sauce with chilli, onions and calamansi. I could feel my cholesterol level spiking while digging into this dish, but who’s counting? 

(Pro tip: A Filipino dining companion advised me to drink a cold glass of Coca-Cola in between some of the heavier dishes as it gives a refreshing, fizzy break from the rich flavours.) 

3. Baby Back Ribs, Cola Glaze, Fruit Salsa at Pilot Kitchen

The basement level of Havelock 2 mall is eerily quiet after office hours, save for Pilot Kitchen, which is the only buzzing spot in the entire level. Over the past two years, diners have been going underground for some culinary highs. 

The fun, casual restaurant is helmed by a team of young chefs, who take a liberal and experimental approach to food. And it is totally delicious. One of the highlights is the barbecued baby back ribs that come with an intoxicating whiff of smokiness, charred edges and a glossy and gooey sheen from the cola glaze.

The hunk of meat is dressed up in a riot of colours — a fruit salsa of mangoes, strawberries and tomatoes that readies the palate for the next bite. Other must-haves are the chubby fried hasselback potatoes drenched in ras el hanout and chives, and brussels sprouts in whipped brown butter. Sometimes, the best things are kept… underground.

4. Taro dumpling canape and veal sweetbread in lap cheong essence at Ce Soir 

Since taking over the reins at contemporary restaurant Ce Soir late last year, chef Seth Lai is coming into his own, incorporating more of his food memories and favourite ingredients into his dishes. It has been a big year for the Singaporean chef, who received the Michelin Guide Singapore Young Chef Award in June.

Some of my favourite dishes on his summer menu include his take on a dim sum, taro dumpling. A moreish parade of deep-fried yam dumpling with a runny quail yolk, served with a spoonful of wagyu tartare, makes a convincing decoy.

Another hit was the veal sweetbread that is grilled tableside, and served in a garland with abalone, beetroot and a smoky essence of lap cheong (preserved Chinese sausages). I can’t wait to taste more of his creations. 

5. Seafood Orecchiette at Le Pristine

One of the most ambitious restaurant openings this year, Le Pristine, a contemporary Italian restaurant by Dutch chef Sergio Herman is surprisingly accessible, and lives up to what the chef promises: “Dining at my restaurant needs to be a party,” he says. And, it is an energising one, with smashed disco ball artwork on the walls and an enigmatic wine tunnel fitted with seats at sultry dark corners in Herman’s 120-seater stylish temple.

Gone are the cerebral, though-provoking dishes of fine-dining yore, the dishes at Le Pristine, which straddles between casual and fine dining, score high on likeability points with safe, tried-and-tested combinations. Sure, there is the Singapore-exclusive chilli king crab pizzette, but I fell for Seafood Orecchiette, a delightful pan of beurre blanc-coated langoustine, mussels, vongole and squid on petals of the ear-shaped pasta that soak up the sauce.

The dish see-saws between seafood and smoky and slightly spicy flavours from the XO sauce-spiked nduja sauce. 

I have to squeeze in a mention of the vanilla ice cream on the dessert menu. The heavenly smooth ice cream, infused with fragrant Tahitian and Madagascan vanilla, is churned a la minute and doused in chocolate sauce and a sprinkle of caramelised Sicilian pistachios and Piedmont hazelnuts. My McDonald’s chocolate fudge ice cream fantasies have grown up.  

6. Oyster Bao at Asu

Chef Ace Tan has resurfaced with his own restaurant — this time with Asu, a progressive Asian restaurant, which opened in October in an idyllic colonial bungalow near Labrador Park. His menu takes reference from across Asia — for the opening menu, Origins, he presents well-loved flavours from his childhood in Singapore.

The deep-fried fuzhou oyster pancake stall at Maxwell Food Centre seems to be a fodder of inspiration for some chefs. I have tasted three dishes that are inspired by the saucer-shaped pancake this year. The dough is airier and lighter as it is made with a tangzhong method and steamed, instead of being deep-fried.

The bao, loaded with pork jowl and oysters, bursts with umami goodness. It is crowned with a crisp tuille that mimics the crisp edges of a pan-fried pancake. I basically inhaled this seriously delicious treat. 

7. Double Decker Parotta at Podi & Poriyal

Mention South Indian cuisine, food such as dosa, idli and vada come to mind, so my eyes (and tastebuds) were opened at Podi and Poriyal, a charming South Indian restaurant in Little India that brings modern touches to classic dishes. The restaurant is named after two stalwart dishes, podi idlis (steamed rice cakes sprinkled with spices) and cabbage proiyal, and has quite a catchy ring to it.

The highlight of my meal is the Double Decker Parotta, a layered flatbread dish from Kerala. Think of it like a lasagna, but switch the pasta sheets with parotta (or prata), and curry instead of ragu.

The tasty curry parcel is then wrapped in banana leaves and steamed for a beautiful fragrance, and finished off on the griddle. What ensues is an aromatic parcel with an otak-like consistency.  

8. Samgyetang at Na Oh 

One of the year’s most talked-about restaurant openings was in Boon Lay. Incredible, but true. Hyundai Motor Group knows the Singapore market well — one needs a top-dollar draw to give demanding diners a good reason to visit the far west. Enter the sophisticated Korean cuisine by Korean-American chef Corey Lee of three-Michelin-starred contemporary Asian restaurant Benu in San Francisco. The group’s innovation centre also has a state-of-the-art vertical smart farm where visitors can harvest vegetables from and a test drive facility. 

Na Oh is a temple of Korean artistry, from the minimalist charcoal-black kitchen interiors, artwork to the vats of Korean jang, or sauces that greet visitors at the sleek entrance.

The dishes in the opening Summer menu were artistically executed, with the taste matching up to the aesthetics. The kimchi pancake sports rectangular aged kimchi sheets neatly lined up, while the main course and banchan are served in a Muji-esque style tray.

Samgyetang, a young whole chicken stuffed with glutinous rice and ginseng, is served in a flavour-packed broth without the oiliness or an overdose of cloying sticky rice that marred some of my previous experiences with the dish.

For its current winter menu, diners can expect seasonal dishes like galchi (beltfish) from Jeju with a stew made from the fish’s bones, pollock roe, winter cod milt, and chrysanthemum, and Hanbang-style braised beef short ribs infused with red dates, ginkgo nuts, and ginseng. Now, here’s a good reason to head to the west.

LISTEN: How restaurants in Singapore are navigating a challenging 2024