As we go full steam ahead this brand new year, and come face to face with Lunar New Year festivities, many of us are deep in preparation for the upcoming CNY celebrations and yearly gatherings. But if you’re looking to spend a meal with someone special or meet your favourite people without the CNY bustle, here are the best restaurants to visit this January.
Cherki
Paying homage to our vibrant and unique Peranakan heritage, Cherki is a boutique restaurant bar that serves up modern Peranakan bites and craft cocktails. Bridging traditions with contemporary perspectives, their menu showcases flavours perfected over years and generations, enhanced with the restaurant’s contemporary fusions. As with our customs, they also present a variety of sharing plates for a communal, family-style dining experience. Head over to have a taste of highlights like their Braised Pongteh Lamb Shank, Pangium Beef Wellington, Black Nut Chicken Linguine, Yuzu Seafood Kueh Pit Tee, Flying Cempedak Prawns, and Baba Stuffed Squid.
IPPUDO
Renowned for their artisanal Hakata Tonkotsu ramen and rich soup base, IPPUDO Singapore welcomes a new year with their latest Kaisen Hotate Tonkotsu Ramen, available for a limited time only, the seasonal creation showcases a mouth-watering medley of umami seafood flavours from fresh scallops, shrimps, minced crab flakes, ikura, and black tobiko. Head over to your nearest IPPUDO outlet now to try it for yourself!
Kurohanabi
Bringing a new hotpot experience to Singaporean foodies, Kurohanabi presents their unique motsu nabe experience, making its way all the way here from Hokkaido. Along with their signature sesame miso soup, foodies can look forward to the bold flavours and delicate textures of Wagyu innards and offal at Kurohanabi, an often-overlooked but equally delicious element. Highlights at the restaurant include the new Hokkaido Motsu Nabe, a classic pot with beef intestines, the Natto Motsu Nabe, and Motsu Okonomiyaki. Sides such as Yakisoba, Lamb Tsukune, and Kamo Hanabi are also available to complement your meal.
Nouri
Situated along the bustling Amoy Street, this one Michelin-starred restaurant presents a brand new two-course weekday lunch programme so we all get to enjoy a refined meal even in the midst of a busy day. Keeping things fresh, diners can look forward to a menu that changes weekly, as well as add-ons for diners who wish to have a heartier portion or desserts to cap the meal. Taste an unabridged version of Chef-Owner Ivan Brehm’s Crossroads Thinking culinary approach with Nouri’s signature Bread & Broth and highlights such as Hamachi Tiradito with charred heirloom tomatoes, and Duck and Physalis, featuring 15-day dry-aged magret of duck and caramelised physalis.
Sampanman
Paying tribute to our region’s seafaring roots and the amazing flavours of fresh Singaporean seafood – the way our forefathers loved them – Sampanman is a new seafood concept by the acclaimed Arteastiq Group. Serving up authentic, refined, and simply irresistible seafood dishes that we’re all familiar with, look forward to the most succulent and freshest gems served “the fisherman’s way”, including highlights such as Truffle Buttermilk Crab Bee Hoon Soup, Har Cheong Squid Fried Rice, seafood boat platters and much more.
Yue Bai
Inspired by the elegant notion of home in classical Chinese literature, this Modern Chinese restaurant evokes the familiar comfort of home through refreshing renditions of Chinese culinary heritage, grounded in ancient traditions of dietary therapy for our body and health. The menu at Yue Bai reinterprets the core principles of Shi Liao from a contemporary perspective to present an array of offerings that prevent disease and enhance wellbeing, serving up highlights such as deep-fried burdock with sesame seeds and 7-spice powder, a Roselle Flower-infused Winter Melon tart appetiser, lamb jelly with black bean and passionfruit-infused pumpkin, poached rice with Atlantic cod, black fungus, and herbal Shaoxing wine, and desserts like the House-made Beancurd with Hashima, served with Pi Pa Gao on the side.
