Ryan Yuan rounds up the three newest gastronomic clusters in town to get your chow down
JAPANESE FOOD COMES TO SUNTEC
Suntec City’s recent revamp nestles a new Sky Garden at the top of the mall’s North Wing – and it’s gonna get all you ardent Nippon-philes salivating. Izakaya Sumiya claims to serve Singapore’s first vertically grilled skewered fish (irori genshiyaki). Eat at Seven also hosts seven dining concepts imported from Japan. Enbu, another izakaya, grills food warayaki-style with charcoal and a special type of straw. NikuNohi brings its famed yakiniku, and Maguro-Donya Miura-Misaki-Kou Sushi and Dining brings fresh catches from the Miura Misaki harbour. Japanese-Italian cuisine also gets its time of day at Nigiro Café, led by Iron Chef’s youngest-ever challenger, Kensuke Sakai.
Level 3 Suntec City, 3 Temasek Blvd. Various opening hours.
HAVE ART, WILL EAT
When the National Gallery Singapore opens on November 24, you’ll find an impressive array of eateries. Modern Indian restaurant SAHA shares a space with Asian drinks-focused bar The Altimate. Alongside them in the Supreme Court Wing is the Lo and Behold Group’s fine dining restaurant Odette, helmed by former JAAN genius Julien Royer.
Over in the City Hall Wing, Aura plates refined yet homely Italian food, and high teas and booze with a view at its Sky Lounge. Violet Oon reps Peranakan cuisine at National Kitchen by Violet Oon, and venturing beyond its hotel operations, the Park Hotel Group mints two new establishments: Yàn, a Cantonese restaurant, and Smoke and Mirrors, a rooftop bar overlooking the Padang and Marina Bay.
1 St Andrews Rd. Various opening hours.
A SIDE STREET COMES ALIVE
Now buzzing with life, Gemmill Lane is mounting a credible case for the talent it’s managed to snare. Down the road sits laid-back European tapas joint Delicacy, just across Manhattan-style café-bar Club Street Social and its potent cocktails. Former Absinthe head chef strikes out on his own for French casual Bar-a-Thym with fresh seafood grilled à la plancha. As we speak, Travis Masiero of Luke’s Oyster Bar and Chop House is knocking his bigger corner spot up into shape for the restaurant’s new premises. Taking over Luke’s long space is former Mozza head chef David Almany’s unfussy Italian-American Angeleno, serving hulking rib-eyes, veal chops and veal parmigianas. Also, the hawk-eyed that can spot Maggie Joan’s back alley entrance will be rewarded with hearty Mediterranean plates.
Gemmill Ln. Various opening hours.