This restaurant has closed.
One of the longest-running student-run venues in town, SHATEC’s institutional restaurant has been in operation since the school’s inception in 1983 at Nassim Hill. First branded as the SHATEC restaurant from 1983 to 1989, the vocational school frequently updates its restaurants to keep up with restaurant trends of its day. Recipes – a Bistro by SHATEC is the fifth iteration of the school’s student-run practice restaurant. Now located between bustling City Hall and Chinatown, Recipes continues to be staffed by students in the F&B service and culinary skills course at the same institution that counts local industry bigwigs like Justin Quek, Pang Kok Keong and Ignatius Chan as alumni.
The dining experience at Recipes definitely feels more dressed up than its desired bistro concept, with brown, carpeted interiors, mood lighting and white tablecloths taking it to the border of fine dining. The attentive service does a one-up on more casual bistros in town, though the food leaves more to be desired.
While portion sizes in the three-course set make for great value ($14.90/lunch, $25/dinner), the meals here need to pay a little more attention in its execution. Rock-hard discs of raw carrots and zucchini accompany the main grilled fish course, while the mashed potatoes taste oddly of crème brûlée with flavours of vanilla and sweet cream. Understandably, the students are here to learn, and with these issues ironed out, Recipes will make a great choice for when your wallet wants a break from heavy spending – even wines are affordably priced from between $6.80/glass to $72/bottle of red or white. Natasha Hong