If you’ve done any exploring around Orchard recently, you may have noticed a striking building adorned with lush greenery and intriguing architecture tucked away along Claymore Road. What I fondly refer to as “that futuristic plant building” is formally known as Pan Pacific Orchard, a verdant hotel that recently opened its doors in June 2023. But we’re not here for the sights; cloaked away in the forest terrace of the building houses a hidden gem called Mosella.
A dimly lit hallway opens to a dramatic three-storey high area with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Natural light flitters in, bathing the space in a welcoming hue. At the centre of the restaurant stands a giant mirrored monolith plastered with a layer of reflective glitter, amplifying the vibrant energy throughout.
Mosella takes you on a modern Mediterranean journey under the guidance of Executive Chef Pedro Samper. Think fresh vegetables, seafood, and of course, plenty of olive oil. The idea here is a delicate dance between experimentation and tradition, blending modern influences with time-honoured techniques.
To truly grasp Chef Samper's vision, try their Artichoke. This Mediterranean vegetable is transformed into a delightful textural contrast. Confiting renders it beautifully crisp, while the accompaniments—Iberico ham, Manchego cheese, and a cured egg yolk—add layers of richness and umami. Prefer a lighter start? The Burrata & Heirloom Tomatoes offers a refreshingly vibrant alternative. The ingredients used are so fresh I’m convinced they're harvesting herbs and vegetables from the greenery hanging around the hotel. Thankfully for us, this dish is also available as part of a budget-friendly three-course set lunch menu.
After you’ve had your palate tantalised by the starters, pick from three mains: Barramundi, a pan-seared sea bass, Aglio E Olio Mushroom Spaghetti, and my personal choice, Beef Tenderloin. Succulent, explosively juicy, and emboldened in flavour by a thyme jus. What more could one ask for in a steak?
Be sure to save room for dessert, though. You won't want to miss a dish that has held its place on the menu since its introduction, and for good reason. The Burnt Basque Cheesecake is Mosella’s signature dessert that feels like a hybrid between a souffle and a cheesecake. Pair it with an apple compote and house made vanilla ice cream, and you’ll understand why I warned to save space in advance.
If you’re looking to impress, the Cacao delivers just the right amount of showmanship. It features a 70 per cent Guanaja dark chocolate mousse and blood orange waffle that’s flambéed tableside with Cointreau, creating a dancing display of flames. A fitting way to cap off a meal of dramatics.
Mosella is located at Level 2, 10 Claymore Road, Singapore 229540
It all began when the Michelin brothers (great name for a video game spin-off, if any) created a small guide filled with practical information for travellers. It would detail info such as maps, tips on changing tyres, petrol station locations, and, delightfully for weary sojourners, a list of places to eat or stay overnight.
In 1920, they began selling the guide for seven francs. As the guide's popularity grew, the Michelin brothers hired a team of mystery diners—now known as restaurant inspectors—to anonymously review eateries. And that evolved into the Michelin Guide that we know of today.
So, this year. This year, the Micheline Guide Singapore celebrates its eighth edition and reveals notable updates: Meta earned two Michelin stars and four new restaurants received their first Michelin star.
The guide features a diverse range of top-rated restaurants, Bib Gourmand venues, Michelin-selected establishments as well as introducing Singapore's second Michelin Green Star.
Here is the list of restaurants that have recently joined the Michelin Selection.
Helmed by Chilean chefs Araya and Fernanda Guerrero, the couple previously operated a restaurant in China. Showcasing an eclectic mix of Chilean and Japanese ingredients, their dishes bring a South Pacific theme and are inspired by Araya’s experiences in Spain and Japan.
This restaurant showcases executive chef Masahiko Kawano’s culinary vision through an exquisite 10-course dinner menu. Kawano combines French and Japanese ingredients, elevating his creations with his mastery of French techniques. His meticulous attention to detail shines in the daily refinement of his duck consommé, demonstrating his commitment to perfection.
Just a stone’s throw from Singapore's major attractions, this dining experience by Chef Bjoern Alexander combines Italian cuisine with bold Asian influences. Enjoy watching what goes down in their open kitchen as well as the stunning views of Marina Bay Sands and the Esplanade. The signature dish—whole red prawn—features perfectly smoked, juicy crustacean paired with crispy prawn toast for a delightful contrast in textures.
Led by Singaporean chef-owner Malcolm Lee, Pangium offers an exquisite menu exploring the potential of Straits cuisine. Named after the Pangium plant—which gives us Buah Keluak, an essential ingredient in Peranakan cuisine—Pangium celebrates Lee's family heritage. Through meticulously crafted dishes, guests experience exceptional flavours that reflect generations of culinary tradition.
For something that's kinder to the wallet, consider exploring some of the hawkers recently added to the Michelin Guide:
Their kway teow mee bursts with wok hei, blending ribbon rice noodles, egg noodles, bean sprouts and scrambled eggs in their secret sauce. Toppings include either clams or a seafood medley of fish, squid, shrimp, and clams. Remember to bring cash, as it's the only payment method accepted.
Chinatown Complex Market & Food Centre, #02-173, 335 Smith Street, 050335, Singapore
Despite its name, fried carrot cake is actually made with radish and is not a dessert. It comes in two varieties: black, which offers a caramel-like sweetness, and white, which is savoury with an eggy flavour. For the best experience, try a combo of both varieties.
Albert Centre, #01-59, 270 Queen Street, 180270, Singapore
The second-generation owner continues to fry oyster cakes à la minute, just as her mother did in the 1960s. Though slightly darker than usual, the minced pork, oysters, prawns, and coriander remain soft and juicy beneath the crispy crust.
Maxwell Food Centre, #01-05, 1 Kadayanallur Street, 069184, Singapore
In addition to pork offal, the menu includes marinated pork trotter, kway chap, and bak kut teh. However, the standout dish is the noodle soup with pork liver and kidney, where the offal is perfectly cooked and the broth exudes rich herbal aromas.
Clementi 448 Food Centre, #01-26, 448 Clementi Ave 3, 120448, Singapore
Discover the full selection of the MICHELIN Guide Singapore 2024 on the official website and the MICHELIN Guide mobile app, available for iOS and Android.
For the past two years, this sister outlet to Wolfgang’s Steakhouse Singapore has catered primo cuts (100 percent USDA Prime beef) for their burgers and steaks. Now, the joint is shaking things up with a new menu for the weekend and the weekday. Crafted by Peter Zwiener now offers a weekday lunch menu (11:30am to 4pm) and a weekend special, where the USDA Prime Black Angus Ribeye will be available all. Day. Long. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Here's what you can expect:
You have six dishes to opt from. These include three popular choices seamlessly transitioned from the restaurant’s takeaway lunch boxes. Also, each dish is accompanied with a daily cold-pressed juice.
You've the Huli Huli Chicken plate that includes a sweet smoky grilled boneless chicken leg paired with grilled pineapple, white rice and macaroni salad. The USDA Beef Bolognese Rigatoni boasts a Prime Black Angus ground beef and slatherd with tomato-based sauce. The Loco Moco has Prime Black Angus hamburg steak nestled over Japanese rice and topped with a sunny-side up egg. The Hokkaido Pork Belly Burnt Ends Plate is spice-marinated for 48 hours. You get a side of white rice, macaroni salad and Japanese Pickled Cucumbers. If you're looking for something lighter, there's a USDA Prime Rib Eye Steak Salad, a light yet satisfying salad that is served with honey mustard sauce on the side.
Crafted by Peter Zwiener got the vegetarians covered with a Mushroom Arrabbiata Rigatoni. This dish features White Button Mushrooms cooked in a savoury Arrabbiata sauce and served with Rigatoni Pasta.
As an added incentive, for those who are ordering to-go, if you bring your own takeaway containers and tumblers, you'll get SGD2 off for each ordered set. Not a bad deal—you get to save your wallet and the planet. This is only applicable for the weekday lunch menu.
Between Fridays to Sundays, the all-day USDA Prime Black Angus Ribeye (250gm) steps into the spotlight. Priced at SGD48++, you get premium cut of the ribeye and it's only available for dine-in. To further brighten up the plate, diners can pick from an array of side dishes at an additional cost. Side dishes include the Roasted Chat Potato; Mac ‘N’ Cheese; Grilled Datterino Tomato on vines; Steak or Sweet Potato Fries; Sautéed Mushrooms; Garden Salad and Grilled Jumbo Asparagus.
Crafted by Peter Zwiener has your midday and weekend hanger issues on the ropes. Other than their specialised menus, patrons can still order from the standard menus. The special weekday lunch and weekend menus won't be available on public holidays. Diners can reserve a table here.
Crafted by Peter Zwiener is located at 26 Beach Road, #B1-21, South Beach Avenue
There is this pervading sense that once you’ve had one omakase, you kinda had them all. I don’t speak for native Japanese, or self-proclaimed connoisseurs (ace a blind taste test and I’ll be convinced). It’s a sentiment observed and shared with the ground, and not necessarily a bad one.
After all, it is the epitome of premium Japanese produce expressed in time-honed tradition. Apart from seasonal offerings and rare creative deviance, the over thousand-year-old culinary craft is not liable to accommodate great change. As a consumer, neither would you want it to.
The gleeful anticipation of getting to sit down for one though, never fades. In bid to experience it all afresh once again, I invited my mother, frequent patron of sushi chains but rookie partaker of the higher art form, to join me on this adventure.
It’s no spoiler to reveal that the courses were served in pretty standard sequence. Your zensai, onmono, -insert number here- kinds of nigiri, etc. As expected, you can’t fault the cuts that come your way. It was almost déjà vu seeing a newcomer’s reaction to seared kinmedai exactly mirror mine years ago—sheer delight.
If anything, you’ll discover that each omakase takes its distinct style after the chef whom the restaurant bears its name. At risk of sounding like a painfully obvious statement, supplement it with this. Not only do chefs display skill taught by the particular regions they understudied at, all those years of influences both inside and outside the kitchen forms the type of menu they envision best to share with their guests.
Or as my life-giver so profoundly articulates, “It’s not like the sushi sushi.”
It’s always fun to be reintroduced to familiar dishes prepared in a different way. While not squeamish, my first acquaintance with shirako i.e. fish semen was less than impressive. Here at Suzuki, lightly scorched and bedded with spinach sauce, its texture was able to shine with the flavours.
Another unique dish was Chef Suzuki’s signature palate cleanser. Perhaps stemming from common childhood indoctrination to “eat your greens” or a personal penchant for a healthy diet, the unconventional maki of shiso and wasabi leaves with white radish wrapped in nori was simple and brilliant.
The Shizuoka-born chef, who moved to Kyoto at the age of 18 to train at three Michelin-starred Kikunoi, inherited a respect for simplicity from its owner and head chef. Lessons on focusing on the original character of ingredients and keeping seasonings to a minimum are principles he carried through his career up till the most recent stint as head chef at Ishi, InterContinental Singapore Robertson Quay.
Reflecting this regard for purity are the interiors. As you may be familiar, most of these esteemed establishments come in an intimate setting. It’s no different at Suzuki, save the thoughtful designs by renowned Tokyo-based architect Kengo Kuma, whose work here marks his debut in a commercial project in Singapore.
Daylight filtered through Kyoto bamboo weaved along the full-height glass allow for a relaxed seating than an otherwise dark and intimidating environment. This is matched with a petite courtyard garden centering the restaurant, complete with faux skylight overhead, which was a surprise to learn given how natural it looked.
The fountain within is made from a solid piece of Nagano stone, and the pebbles surrounding the kakehi water feature are collected from Gifu, allegedly millions of years old. The largest however, would be the 600kg ancient plinth from the same region that serves as the reception desk you see at the entrance. Statement piece indeed.
Of the private rooms encountered thus far, the one here is certainly a choice. As the chef’s backdrop from where guests face, bottom panelled glass discloses an odd, below-the-knee peek at diners inside. Hello, foot fetish. Still, the half scrim is made of washi paper, and every single piece of furnishing in the restaurant is either bespoke or handmade.
Cloth napkins embroidered in hiragana by celebrated Kyoto-based calligrapher Tomoko Kawao. Antique soup bowls and classic modern birch chairs Kuma first created for Tokyo’s Nezu Museum café. All these curated touchpoints together with quality Japanese cuisine make a nice rendezvous that any beginner can appreciate.
Suzuki is located at 83 Neil Road, #01-09 Mondrian Hotel Singapore.
