THREE STARS Exceptional cuisine, worth a special journey

• Les Amis (P)
• Odette (P)

TWO STARS Excellent cooking, worth a detour

• Saint Pierre (P)
• ✔ Shisen Hanten
  • peking duck
  • with second course (wrapped in lettuce, sautéed with ginger and spring onion, sautéed in black pepper sauce)
  • some kind of tofu egg drop soup thing?
    • food: was okay; not quite two michelin stars; nothing to shout about here (although the meat/lettuce wrap was really good).
    • company: was also okay. not the easiest to get along with, though. no dessert, sadly.
    • bill for two: ~$200?
• Shoukouwa
• Waku Ghin
• Zen (N)

ONE STAR High quality cooking, worth a stop

• Alma
• ✔ Basque Kitchen by Aitor (N)
  • 8 course experiential menu, pairing of 4 glasses (2 whites, a rose, a red)
  • food: sadly, nothing to shout about either. the turbot was slimy than not (and also slimy because of the gel it was served witih?). the squid rice was strangely hard/had a bit of a bite to it, but it worked because the squid was nice (and was covered with a sweet-savory soy sauce of some kind?). tenderloin was great (the little piece of fat on top was nice; i appreciated the showmanship of shaving truffle side table). i really enjoyed the incredibly cold blood orange palette cleanser of some kind; dessert of pears, honeycomb, and banana ice cream was lovely too.
  • company: my favourite person now, pretty much, so it was a great time, as usual. learnt tons of interesting things about this person (who's led such a rich life!!!).
  • bill for 2: $689? or $698? thereabouts.
• ✔ Beni
  • 6 course lunch, supplement of scallop (a huge scallop!).
  • food: nothing to shout about, actually. the scallop with celeric was nice, as was some kind of truffle mushroom soup with an incredibly smooth custard at the bottom. they had an open kitchen and a counter; would've been quite exciting were we seated at the counter, but we were not. we were seated in the dining room behind with 2 other tables; it was small so i could actually hear the conversation of the couple behind us (seems like she might be a SB? casually dressed, high-pitched, very saccharine; relatively articulate, but you can always tell someone has a strange accent when you hear how they articulate their /a/ or /æ/.).
  • company: was very interesting; refreshing to have lunch for a local who's intelligent (and a reader!) for a change. dude had a lot of thoughts about the country and was quite hilarious.
  • bill for two: 297.
• ✔ Braci
  • bread they claim the flour was special or something? but good bread all the same.
  • amuse bouche of 3 things (Tomatoes, Bottarga and Celeriac?)
  • beef tartare, bone marrow and baby gem (quite forgettable?)
  • mieral pigeon, radicchio and burnt apple (first pigeon!)
  • capri torta chocolate, coffee and bay leaf gelato (bay leaf ice cream was really good!!!)
  • petit fours of 2 things: basil yuzu cardamom; can't remember.
    • food: my first michelin restaurant experience(!) and first time having pigeon(!), both of which were lovely.
    • company: made everything so much better. he wore a grey suit, pink shirt; looked at me and went "it's just bread, right?" after the hostess spent time explaining the pretentious production process (which was really quite funny); ate the amuse bouche in the opposite order. we loved the bay leaf ice cream. it was such a good time, and i was giggly throughout the entire meal. i recall this experience very, very fondly (including the hanky panky in the lift...).
    • bill for two: ~$212
• Buona Terra (P)
• Burnt Ends
• ✔ Candlenut
  • Tasting menu: https://www.comodempsey.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/CN_Taste-of-CN-Dinner_Digital-1908.pdf
  • I also had the soup (Bakwan Kepiting Soup; so hearty!)
  • and the Limau Assam Boi (it was sour and fizzy, and even the lime pulp at the bottom was fizzy! delightful, but incredibly sweet imo).
  • food: i can see why they got their michelin star: it's good food in a relatively casual/relaxed setting, with everything served communal style. the curry crab is my favourite (the curry is on the sweeter side), and the stay ayam bakar was juicy and tender. everything was really quite spicy though, so the 4 desserts were a nice respite. the first (crushed ice, honey syrup, peach gum, goji berries) was a good palette cleanser and went so well with the decadent(!) buah keluak chocolate tart, and ended with two nyonya kuehs (a brown one with coconut; a more honey-cakey one).
  • company: he was okay; polite, widely travelled, and we mostly spoke of travel for the whole meal (including space travel). but dude was a talker/talked for a good 15 minutes before we ordered(!). he seemed bored at some parts, but actually texted to say he "enjoyed your company very much and would love to see you again sometime soon". we'll see.
  • bill for two: $205. actually not too bad!
• Cheek Bistro (N)
• Chef Kang's
• ✔ Corner House
  • food: i loved the breads, actually: sourdough’s par for the course, there was youtiao with squid ink (oily though), and my favourite was a chicken curry puff pastry swirl (flakey!), which went so nicely with the sambal balachan butter. amuse bouche was crab on papaduum (very good!), beef tartare with crispy rice on a little lettuce, and otah brioche (very soft). there was: 1. achaar granita(!!! refreshing) that went with cured hamachi and little dollops of burrata // 2. seared scallops with kway teow noodles and p’tit l’ail (something similar to koo chye) that was light; // 3. foie gras with fried cereal and quince, with quince puree (my favourite!!! it was melt-in-your-mouth soft but the crunchy fried cereal gave it some texture, and the little piece of quince was lovely); // 4a. sukiyaki beef with a small sous-vide egg yolk (omg the texture of the egg yolk was incredible); 4b. some rice with beef tartare and a spicy furikake, and the waiter poured jasmine dashi over it (so floral and fragrant!) // palette cleanser: a deconstructed pineapple tart: mango and passionfruit sorbet with pineapple filling and crushed crunchy biscuit; // 5. dessert: a deconstructed mont blanc, with azuki red bean ice cream and shards of the pastry tart(?), azuki cream, raspberry couli.
  • company: a local who studied overseas and is critical of sg (what's new); wine distributer. meh. it was a once-off meeting, and i never saw him again.
  • bill for two: approx $300+?
• CUT by Wolfgang Puck
• ✔ Garibaldi
  • bread (lightly cheesy; great with sauces) + breadsticks (lovely snap)
  • mozzarella di bufala (mozzarella, tomatoes, basil)
  • spaghetti mare (tomato seafood spaghetti; very generous with the scallops and prawns)
  • angus beef tenderloin (with wild mushroom ragout & green pepper sauce)
  • roasted potates (side dish)
  • tiramisu
  • nespresso “shakerato” (baileys, homemade salted caramel, milk, nespresso ristretto coffee)
    • food: very good; unpretentious, filling, decent italian food. would return to try different things. tomato pasta was bright (for the lack of a better word? it's the right mix of sweet + acidic); roasted potatoes skin was crispy, and the medium-rare tenderloin nicely done. not sure about the chocolate chips in the tiramisu, though.
    • company: was okay. we shared everything. unfortunately he's a brisk eater and conversationalist, basically scarfed down his food (so he ate most of the potatoes), and ruined the pacing of the meal imo. quite a shame; the only thing i really got to savour was the tiramisu, which i ate alone.
    • bill for two: $257
• Hawker Chan
• Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle
• Iggy's
• Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine (Orchard)
• ✔ Jaan by Kirk Westaway
  • my birthday lunch! (8.1.2020) actually the dude had to rush off because he recognised somebody he knew, so i ate alone. it was not awkward (although the staff were understandably sympathetic), but a lot of fun. it was also a 2.5hr lunch for 6 courses.
  • food: bread was nice; i like the crispy/toasted shell. was at first kinda meh about the garden salad (english roots; was just kinda carby and had a strange mushy texture after eating all of it), but i really like jerusalem artichoke soup that was on the side. the rectangular slice of turkey with a little bit of pistachios(?) on the top went very well with the cranberry sauce (it was rather christmasy), and i appreciated the onion being plated as a rose. i really enjoyed the ribena/yuzu palette cleanser. chocolate dessert was interestingly plated (mousse balls with different levels/darkness of chocolates), some biscuits, vanilla ice cream.
  • bill: not sure, since it was settled outside. but it's at least 168*1.117 (so, ~187?) for me.
• Jag (N)
• ✔ Jiang-Nan Chun
  • 2 set menus: the winter set menu and another one of the set menus, which we shared.
  • petit fours of pineapple tarts and chrysanthemum jelly.
    • food: decent; like a more atas, better prepared and more interesting chinese wedding banquet meal. actually i'd be happy to attend chinese weddings if the standard/quality of food was like that. the egg white + cod fish was lovely, as were the roasted meats. desserts from both menus were quite dismal, though: there was one with almond cream and egg white pudding which was strange; the peach one was just... sugary without really tasting of anything.
    • company: delightful, affable, sensitive (in a good way!). it was a lovely, quiet and restful dinner. it's also a good place/time to get to know somebody better.
    • bill for two: didn't see but i'd think ~$350+?
• ✔ Labyrinth
  • labyrinth's chef tasting menu: https://labyrinth.com.sg/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/2020-Chefs-tasting-menu-2.pdf
  • food: modern interpretation of singaporean food. it was okay; some parts strange. the risotto-like chicken rice was very good, though. i had a glass of white wine to go with my meal; no wine flight/pairing, unfortunately (because my company was cheap? already had too much alcohol? who knows; doesn't matter.)
  • company:...this was with whom i thought would be(/was?) the man of my dreams... and it turned out to eventually be more disappointing than not, sadly. company was in no mood to eat/hardly touched the food, doesn't seem to know how a degustation menu works, and i just felt bad for feeling like i'd blind-sided him when the bill came.
  • bill for two: ~$450
• Lei Garden
• Lerouy (N)
• Ma Cuisine
• Meta (N)
• Nouri
• Putien (Kitchener Road)
• ✔ Rhubarb
  • dinner degustation, with 3 starters (the full menu; sans cheeses)
  • half a bottle of white (don't recall the wines, sadly; it was crisp, creamy; i enjoyed this)
  • half a bottle of red (...this was too spicy for my liking; quite acidic after a while/being oxidised)
    • food: this place has my heart. the truffle emulsion!!!! is the best damn thing i've ever eaten, and i was incredibly moved/touched almost to the point of tears. it's jerusalem artichoke & black truffle puree, with extra truffle shavings on top (+$20), and it's like diving into a savoury cloud. i love it, and hope they serve it in hell because we all know i'm not going to heaven.
    • company: delightful. we held hands (and i squeezed his) while we ate the emulsion, and he appreciated that i "seem to have a deep appreciation for these things". he also gave me his blazer because i was cold :>
    • bill for two: $726 (+$26 tip) — think the bill's super inflated because of the wines...
• Shinji (Bras Basah Road)
• ✔ Shinji (Tanglin Road)
  • chef's special omakase, a bottle of great white wine to share! i don't recall what the white wine was, but it was sparkling and crisp and bright and lovely.
  • food: fresh ingredients. i remember the crab(!) with the vinegar on the side most fondly. there was also 3 types of uni with a small bowl of caviar roe. and the ginger was absolutely marvellous: pickled, somewhat fizzy, sweet, and delectable.
  • company: sgrean dude who went overseas and had quite a few choice things to say about the country, the culture, and singlish. he's not wrong, though, but they were slightly more educated uncle complains, and i felt like i'd actually learnt a fair bit. also got me there, and sent me home in a grab premium.
  • bill for two:~$1400(!!!!! it's already 500/each for the chef's special! and the bottle of wine was about 375 or something.)
• ✔ Summer Palace
  • gold menu. unimpressive, actually (despite their michelin star), and not actually the menu i’d wanted (fortune menu, with the lobster); i’d swapped dessert for the mango sago and pomelo instead. i actually don’t have very much to say about what i ate. the best thing was the wasabi prawn, and everything else was just kinda boring and unexciting. fish maw didn’t really taste like anything; the goose web was just really just skin and bones, and the sea cucumber was tough/chewy; the crab fried rice was ok but only had a few bits of shredded crab in it. i also had a more interesting time talking to the sommelier about the coravin he used. also just realised the dude ordered the cheapest wine (Famille Perrin Côtes-du-Rhône ''Réserve''), lmfao.
  • company: boring, mansplainy, pagro. not a good time, and i just wanted to go home. and dude's a talker (which isn't a bad thing) but he was just so horribly condescending.
  • bill for two: probably approx 300ish after gst?
• Summer Pavilion
• Sushi Ichi
• Sushi Kimura
• Table65 (N)
• Terra (P)
• The Song Of India
• Vianney Massot (N) (previously Bacchanalia)

(N) = New (P) = Promoted