5 restaurants in Singapore win first Michelin star

Five restaurants were awarded their first Michelin star last night, at the launch of the Michelin Guide Singapore 2018.

They are modern Australian barbecue restaurant Burnt Ends in Teck Lim Road; Jiang-Nan Chun, which serves Cantonese and southern Chinese food at the Four Seasons Hotel; wine-centric French restaurant Ma Cuisine in Craig Road; Nouri in Amoy Street, which serves what it calls crossroads cooking; and Sushi Kimura at Palais Renaissance.

With the closure of Joel Robuchon Restaurant at Resorts World Sentosa last month, there is no three-starred establishment here.

Five restaurants - Les Amis at Shaw Centre, Odette at the National Gallery Singapore, Shisen Hanten at Mandarin Orchard Singapore, Shoukouwa at One Fullerton and Waku Ghin at Marina Bay Sands - kept their two stars.

L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon and Restaurant Andre were not on the list as they have closed.

Of the one-starred restaurants, Osia at Resorts World Sentosa was dropped from the list. The other establishments are unchanged from last year. Hawker stalls Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle in Crawford Lane and Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle at Chinatown Complex have kept their one-star status since the launch of the guide here in 2016.

In all, Singapore has 39 starred restaurants with a total of 44 stars, compared with 38 restaurants and 47 stars last year.

Ms Edina Hong, 46, co-owner of one-starred Saint Pierre and two-starred Shoukouwa, said: "I am very happy and relieved. I haven't been able to sleep the past two weeks.

"There was a lot of stress over Shoukouwa. Two Michelin stars is a lot to live up to, and this is only our third year of operations. Running a Japanese restaurant has been a steep learning curve, and I was worried we might lose a star."

Chinese executive chef Lam Hon Tim, 41, of Jiang-Nan Chun, said in Mandarin: "I do feel some pressure, but I am also motivated."

Nouri chef Ivan Brehm, 34, said: "We are breaking new ground. While the star feels like validation, it continues to egg us on to continue doing what we are doing, to remind people of their own humanity through food."

Chef and co-owner of Ma Cuisine Mathieu Escoffier, 31, said: "It is amazing because I think we are the first gastro wine bar in Asia to have this accolade of one Michelin star.

"It just means we are doing our job, and that is fantastic."

The awards were presented by Mr Michael Ellis, international director and chief inspector of Michelin Guides. He is leaving his position in September to join the Dubai-based luxury hotel group Jumeirah.

More than 400 guests, including restaurateurs and chefs, and members of the public who paid $595per person, excluding taxes, attended the event at Resorts World Sentosa.

They sat down to a six-course wine-pairing dinner prepared by chefs from Michelin-starred establishments. They were chefs Sun Kim of Meta in Keong Saik Road, Emmanuel Stroobant of Saint Pierre and Rishi Naleendra of Cheek By Jowl in Boon Tat Street - all with one Michelin star each.

They were joined by chef Alvin Leung of three-Michelin-starred Bo Innovation in Hong Kong and newly opened Forbidden Duck in Singapore; chef Lam Ming Kin of one-Michelin-starred Longtail in Taipei; and chef Arnaud Dunand Sauthier of two-Michelin-starred Le Normandie at the Mandarin Oriental in Bangkok.

Asked about Singapore not having a three-star restaurant, businessman Jon Chee, 43, who attended the gala dinner, said: "When there is so much movement, with restaurants exiting, I think everybody needs to maintain the status quo until a superstar is ready."

The guide is put out by French tyre company Michelin.

Its inspectors, who dine independently and anonymously, assess the restaurants. The judging criteria include food quality, cooking techniques and value for money.

Michelin-starred restaurants in S'pore

TWO STARS

•Les Amis

•Odette

•Shisen Hanten

•Shoukouwa

•Waku Ghin

ONE STAR

•Alma by Juan Amador

•Bacchanalia

•Beni

•Braci

•Burnt Ends

•Candlenut

•Cheek By Jowl

•Chef Kang's

•Corner House

•Crystal Jade Golden Palace

•Cut by Wolfgang Puck

•Garibaldi

•Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle

•Iggy's

•Imperial Treasure Fine Teochew Cuisine (Ion Orchard)

•Jaan

•Jiang-Nan Chun

•Labyrinth

•Lei Garden

•Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle

•Ma Cuisine

•Meta

•Nouri

•Putien (Kitchener Road)

•Rhubarb Le Restaurant

•Saint Pierre

•Shinji by Kanesaka (Carlton Hotel)

•Shinji by Kanesaka (St Regis Singapore)

•Summer Palace

•Summer Pavilion

•Sushi Kimura

•Sushi Ichi

•The Song of India

•Whitegrass

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.