The Michelin Guide awards, saw 11 new restaurants entering the one-starred panel. Supporters of local nosh will be pleased to know that Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodles and Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodles, both hawker stalls, retained their one Michelin star. Meanwhile, powerhouses like Odette, Andre, L’atelier de Joel Roubuchon, retained their two stars, with Joel Robuchon Restaurant retaining bragging rights as the only restaurant in Singapore boasting three Michelin stars.
Award winners aside, we present to you the 10 new restaurants that won their first star this year, plus their signature dishes to check out, pronto. Of course, if your budget only allows for a Bib Gourmand experience, we’ve got the guide for you as well.
Dish: House-aged duck
Grilled heirloom carrots that lend sweetness to the savoury house-aged duck breast. The delicate and tender flesh makes a great foil to the crisp skin.
Dish: Duck and Waffles
A favourite amongst many, this is one of the permanent fixtures on the menu. A thoroughly East-meets-West kind of dish, you’ve got duck confit that has been prepared with five-spice (a mix of five or more spices used mainly in chinese dishes) and chilli caramel. Accompanying the duck are slabs of artisanal waffles, which are great for cleansing the palate in between bites of the robust and subtly sweet duck meat.
Dish: Crab with Glutinous Rice
The sweetness of the crab complements the glutinous rice and savoury Hong Kong sausage. Not too hefty or mushy, you could easily wolf down a large bowl of rice without feeling too stuffed (which is a plus with glutinous rice, if you ask us). Find out how to cook your own glutinous rice here.
Dish: Cappellini with Sakura Ebi
With a sprinkling of beautiful Sakura Ebi, Konbu and doused with shellfish oil, the al dente capellini is exceedingly umami. The crunchy sakura prawn really draws out the flavours of the lightly tossed angel hair pasta.
Dish: Angel Hair pasta with Hokkaido Scallop
Many of the dishes are seasonal (we miss white truffle season so much) as the restaurant uses only the freshest ingredients available for that period. Here’s a tip: When you do see the Angel Hair pasta with Hokkaido Scallop on the menu, order it without any hesitation. The cold al dente Angel Hair is accompanied with fresh Hokkaido scallops that are tender and chewy. The Japanese sweet prawns and oysters lend an extra layer of complexity, and everything is topped with briny and indulgent Bafu sea urchin and Carelian caviar.
Dish: Diced Abalone and Chicken Wrapped with Egg White
Bak Zhang (which refers to traditionally Teochew dumplings that you can read more about here) season is almost here. If you’re looking for something out of the ordinary, try Imperial’s version with diced abalone, chicken, prawn, ham and chinese mushroom all wrapped up elegantly in a homemade egg white sheet that is so very crisp. Savoury and sweet with multiple layers of flavours from the ocean and meat, this is drizzled in a hearty chicken stock that has been prepared for eight hours before being laid on a soft nest of steamed spinach.
Dish: Chili Crab
This is a theatrical experience with a visually stunning presentation. A deconstructed rendition of our very popular chilli crab, this dish brings out the best of both worlds by contrasting hot with cold. You have a crisply fried soft shell crab, then a dollop of chilli crab ice cream and finally a sandy mantou (bun) ‘beach’. All of these components come together in such an intriguing and complex manner. Want more of Mod-Sin? Read our guide to Mod-Sin restaurants in Singapore.
Dish: 40 hours cooked beef cheek
The dishes served are all seasonal as well, but you can be sure to find innovative contemporary Asian dishes with a heavy Korean and Japanese influence. Here, we have tender beef cheek cooked for 40 hours in a sous vide bath. Accompanying the slab of protein is a potato pie and puree that help to cleanse your palate in between meaty bites. We love the touch of Doen Jang (Korean soybean powder; one of the most popular ingredients used in Korean dishes), which adds texture and toothsomeness to the dish.
Dish: Superior Bird’s Nest with Lobster
When you pair two luxurious ingredient together, it’s hard not to take notice of it. Sitting in a delicate yet nourishing broth, the classic bird’s nest soup gets an innovative touch courtesy of lobster meat. Adding the freshly steamed lobster lends sweetness to the soup, making this a thoroughly heart-warming dish to slurp on.
Dish: Grass Fed Beef from Scottish Highlands
After sourcing grass-fed Angus beef tenderloin from the Scottish Highlands, this tender slab of meat is roasted over bincho-tan (white) charcoal and rubbed with high quality white sesame oil that has been lightly roasted. Served sitting on a bed of fermented mushroom puree made with Swiss brown mushrooms and shiitake mushrooms, you also get a supporting cast of wilted wasabi leaf, ice plant tips and a crispy charcoal and shiitake ‘lace’ made from rice.
Tender and juicy, the beef has an exceedingly robust flavour. We love the soy sauce that is sourced specially from Japan, and served separately in its own flanker. As the soya sauce is very rich, we recommend only a few drops of it; you don’t want it to be overpowering the beef. Bonus: Whitegrass makes for a really romantic dinner venue.
This story first appeared on www.herworldplus.com
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