From a revamped fine dining menu by Emmanuel Stroobant to a grungy gastro park by the Timbre group, this month is all about exciting transformations on top of new restaurant openings.
Aryaa
Aryaa
Some of us might cringe at theme restaurants, but this joint paying homage to Alexander the Great and his conquests across continents tries to avoid kitschy cliches with nary a portrait of the Macedonian in sight. Aryaa whips up authentic Greek, Moroccan and North Indian cuisine amid an elaborate space with flamboyant scarlet Moroccan tents and modern oriental interiors. Thankfully, the food has none of that dramatic flair—you’ll be dining on classic dishes like the garides saganaki with baked prawns, tomato and feta cheese ($17), Moroccan tagine served with slow-cooked lamb ($26), and pasrur malai tikka ($16), which has chicken kebab drizzled with cheese, lemon juice and coriander.
Curate
Curate
Resorts World Sentosa is upping its Michelin game with Curate, a restaurant with an ever-changing menu by visiting Michelin-starred chefs, who will be collaborating with a resident chef and wine reviewers from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. For its opening this month, chef Massimiliano Alajmo of Italian restaurant La Calandre is making an appearance and the three Michelin-starred culinary wunderkind is known for his focus on seasonal ingredients and molecular plates. Only advanced bookings are accepted and prices range from $220-280 for a four-course lunch to $380-480 for an eight-course dinner.
Full of Luck Club
Fusion bao is hitting Holland Village this month with East-West renditions of the popular Chinese pulled pork bun. For now, there are five different types of bao on the Cantonese-inspired restaurant’s menu: salted egg yolk with prawn, braised pork, smoked duck, kung pao fried chicken and white pepper minced pork patty. Full of Luck Club will only be opening mid-April, so keep an eye on updates on their Instagram.
Mo’mor Izakaya
Pan-roasted Chilean seabass, Mo’Mor Izakaya
The folks behind Maca have roped in veteran chef Martin Woo, who has worked with hotels like Hilton Singapore and Rome Cavalieri, and his fine dining experience is obvious here. Carefully-plated tapas and grilled items like the Australian wagyu on skewer ($22) and apple-cured salmon sashimi with yuzu gel, pickled cucumber and olive oil caviar ($16) offer an indulgent start to your meal and the main courses—slow-cooked charcoal-grilled Iberico pork collar ($30) and the Australian grass fed prime rib with truffle jus and onion confit ($12 per 100g)—use premium cuts sourced from Swiss Butchery. Of course, what’s an izakaya without booze? While their drinks menu is still being finalized, we were told diners can look forward to Japanese whiskies like Yamazaki, Hibiki and Hakushu, and Japanese sakes and shochu.
Saint Pierre
Saint Pierre
Relocating from Quayside Isle to One Fullerton, Saint Pierre may have moved from laid-back Sentosa to swanky downtown, but don’t expect a fancier menu. This time, chef-owner Emmanuel Stroobant has gone back to basics with a simple degustation menu that focuses on Asian produce. There are six and 10 courses available for dinner that are categorized into two sections: Earth (with meat and seafood) and Nature (vegetarian). You’ll find uncomplicated dishes named after key ingredients, such as seabass (wild seabass, tomato, shallot, tamarind) and sea water (sea water, edamame, kohlrabi, cauliflower, chlorophyll). The restaurant also offers lunch menus at $85 and $100 per person, with a choice of starters, main course and dessert.
Shoukouwa
Another new venture by the Saint Pierre group, this intimate sushi restaurant at One Fullerton might make your wallet cry with its pricey menu, but the omakase-style, degustation experience may actually be worth every penny when it comes to quantity. At $380 per person, you get two appetizers, three different types of sashimi, 13 pieces of sushi and four cooked dishes by chef Koji Okada. The restaurant is still in its infancy so to get your money’s worth, wait until it’s past its teething phase before booking a table.
Timbre +
Timbre +
This 24,000 sq ft non-air conditioned food court by nightlife group Timbre has all the elements of a cool dining hall—graffiti-ed shipping containers and gleaming caravans house hawker stalls like Wong Kee Noodles & Roasted Delights, with areas set aside for restaurants like Portico Platos, a tapas eatery by the Portico team, The World Is Flat by Tanuki Raw, which specializes in gourmet pizza, and Teppei Daidokoro, a yakitori place by chef Teppei Yamashita (of Teppei at Tanjong Pagar). We are particularly excited about a hush-hush new venture by veteran chef Damian D’Silva formerly of Immigrants Gastrobar. It’s also where you can unwind after work—the gastro park is open until 12am from Mondays to Thursdays and 1am on Fridays, with live music from Wednesday to Saturday nights and a bottle shop and bar offering craft beers and whisky.
