Here they are: the winners of our Readers’ Choice Awards 2015!

 

Dethroning sky-high fine dining temple Jaan this year is this homegrown French establishment, which took in an impressive quarter of the votes this year. We’re not sure what has caused the upset. Could it be chef Julien s departure from Jaan? Or could it be that the pitch-perfect French fare (and delicious butters) at Les Amis are just that good?

 

Last year, it was chef-next-door Willin Low. This year, it’s all about the loveable bad boy. He’s had quite a year with a slew of pop-ups around town, and the addition of a gourmet creamsicle stand Neh Neh Pop next to the eternally-packed Artichoke. The icing on the cake is the opening of his Thai grilled chicken place Bird Bird over at Ann Siang Hill just this month. You can read more about the local dining scene’s golden boy in our interview with him.

 

Best Brunch: Artichoke

We’re scratching our heads over this one. We thought you loved eggs benedict, syrup-soaked waffles and other Instagrammable goodies? No, turns out you actually love cauliflower sabbich, lamb shakshouka and far more exotic late-morning foods. Good for you!

 

One of the coolest places for coffee snobs to brunch, this industrial-chic spot is packed to the gills most weekends, with hip folks clamoring for house-roasted beans (prepared pour over or Aeropress style, of course) and daintily portioned, hippie-chic plates of ox cheek eggs Benedict and pancakes

 

We thought the opening of Colony at the Ritz-Carlton would give this long-beloved classic a run for its money, but not so, at least not this year. The tick-allthe-boxes international buffet (with a free-flow Champagne option on Sundays), with a bunch of live kitchens is still your favorite.

Best Food Event: Singapore Restaurant Week

It turns out that what you really want is not a high-end food market, but just the opportunity to dine as usual at your favorite restaurants, except with slightly more affordable set menus. What could be more ideal, then, than SRW’s $25-40 lunches and $35-55 at places like Bacchanalia, Garibaldi and UNA.

Best Drink Event: Oktoberfest (Clarke Quay)

There were a bunch of exciting new contenders in this category this year, chief among them the debut of Singapore Cocktail Week. But at the end of the day, there’s nothing quite like after-work pints of beer, lederhosen, bratwurst, big hats and live cover bands at Clarke Quay.

Best Cocktail Bar: Anti:dote

Speakeasies come and speakeasies go, but a solid hotel bar with a creative signature cocktail menu and an adorable head bartender (hi, Tom Hogan!) is a rare thing. Anti:dote went from Best New Bar last year to Best Bar this year, toppling Tippling Club. Also: check out their newly launched Revivals, a new menu of jazzed-up classic cocktails.

Best New Bar: Club Street Social

 

Ok, it’s not new exactly, but it’s got an all-new menu, a complete moody, manly makeover and a brand new bartender and sommelier–Tomas Gejodos of Restaurant Andre and Burnt Ends fame–at the helm, whipping up barrel-aged cocktails like Sazeracs, Last Words and Espresso Martinis, as well as stocking some hard to find spirits and 11 wines by the glass. The food menu is solid comfort food and drinking snacks like pickled Czech cheese, pork and veal meatballs with romesco and oxtail orecchiette.

Best Wine Bar: Wine Connection Cheese Bar

For yet another year, Wine Connection’s affordable artisanal cheese and charcuterie boards, bottles starting at a sweet $35 and friendly service prove unbeatable for the fancier competition.

Best Craft Beer Bar: Brewerkz

Local pride for the win! This long-standing microbrewery does pilsners, IPAs and stouts, along with a slew of seasonal brews and single-hops specials. They’ve got outlets all over town, but our favorite has got to be the Clarke Quay standby. 

Best Club: Zouk

It’s moving to Clarke Quay in 2016, and also changing ownership from Lincoln Chen to the much bigger Genting Group—but that hasn’t diminished your love for Singapore’s longest-running nightclub in the least. See you at ZoukOut next month.

Best Party Setries: Endless Summer

Not block parties in the streets, nor beer pong tournaments on the beach. What you actually love (this year) are cocktails, bubbly, bean bags, DJs—all happening poolside at the W Singapore Sentosa Cove. The next one is on Nov 29, and entry is $35. 

Best Beach Bar: Tanjong Beach Club

Singapore’s chicest beach club wins another year, thanks to its gorgeous wood-and-glass restaurant (serving a classic but delicious menu of mains and snacks), the nautical blue-and-white color scheme, the abundant lounge furniture and DJs spinning on the evenings.

Best Rooftop Bar: 1-Altitude

It’s been the year of low-slung, cozy rooftop bars, but there’s no comparison to ridiculously gorgeous panoramic views of the city and the Straits beyond. 1-Altitude’s garden terrace vibe, great food and pretty people here have beaten out last year’s winner.

Best New Local Store: In Good Company

This womenswear label really upped the ante for local online retailers going brick-and-mortar: a 3,300 sq ft space at Ion Orchard that stocks not only their garments, but also international glossies by Magpie, local fiction and poetry by Math Paper Press and an in-house cafe managed by Plain Vanilla Bakery.

Best Local Online Store: The Assembly Store

A go-to for dapper dudes, this multi-label e-commerce site stocks well-curated garments and accessories from Benjamin
Barker and Happy Socks, along with local labels Gnome & Bow and Hypergrand and many others. They have a brick-and-mortar boutique at Dhoby Ghaut, but with free shipping Singapore, you could just stay home. 

Best Budget Airline: Scoot

For a second year in a row, Singapore Airline’s budget option comes out on top. Not resting on their laurels, they’ve been wildly expanding their routes, this year starting flights to Jeddah, Hangzhou and, perhaps most excitingly, Melbourne. One-way tickets in January start at $408. 

Best Regional Destination: Japan

We really thought it would be Thailand again like last year, but we guess you’re taking a break from amazing markets and spicy food and planning ahead for cherry blossoms and skiing. Who can blame you? Visit here for tons more travel ideas.

Best New Hotel: The Scarlet Singapore

The entire buzz lately had been about The Club just up the street, but this other boutique hotel, housed in a heritage building and reopened early last year has won you over with its new rooftop restaurant, Aria.

Best Hotel: ParkRoyal on Pickering

It’s one of our favorite parts of the Singapore skyline, with its vertical gardens and curvy facade. It doesn’t hurt that the spa is by St Gregory, many of the rooms overlook Hong Lim Park and that the lunch buffet at Lime is both affordable and solid. 

Best Local Attraction: Gardens by the Bay

Of course it doesn’t hurt that the billion-dollar, 101-hectare green zone hosts exciting concerts and music festivals and houses some of our favorite restaurants. But the big highlight, we think, is the impressive Flower Dome, a high-ceilinged, temperature—controlled structure housing Mediterranean and semi-tropical flora.

Best Outdoor Activity: River Safari

Observe nocturnal animals on foot or by tram if you’re lazy like us. And if you go in the next couple of weeks, you can catch their annual themed event Mystica, which will involve bioluminescent decorations, LED light twirling and more. See page 8 for more info.

Best Gym: Fitness First

A mainstay at our Readers’ Choice Awards, one of Singapore’s biggest and most popular gym chains wins again, thanks no doubt to its abundant number of branches (17 islandwide) and its good mix of standard equipment, complimentary towel service and diverse classes.

Best Wellness Studio: True Yoga

With two well-placed branches—one at Pacific Plaza on Scotts Road and the other at Ocean Financial Centre—True Yoga has all the advantages of a big brand but without compromising on a relaxing atmosphere. Pair that with diverse yoga offerings, off-beat dance classes and visiting big-deal teachers, and it’s easy to see why it has won again this year.

Best Boutique Gym: R-evolution

This VivoCity gym not only does yoga and Pilates classes, but also more intense MMA and TRX classes (the latter uses bodyweight and resistance to get you all toned and strong). They’re most proud of their proprietary RIOT, a 45-minute class involving cardio, calisthenics and weight training. 

Best Museum: ArtScience Museum

The lotus-shaped, Marina Bay Sands museum has more than kept up with the high-quality programming of last year (we still miss Annie Leibovitz), with its super-arty ArtScience late events, the beautiful Deep Sea exhibition and, showing now, an interactive walk through the workings of the Large Hadron Supercollider.

Best Art Gallery: Opera Gallery

The Orchard stalwart has won again this year, thanks to its regular programming of huge-name, often long-dead artists. On display till Dec 6 is a group show by Chilean artist Eduardo Guelfenbein and French sculptor Marie-Madeleine Gautier and French painter Jean-Francois Larrieu (all alive, thankfully).