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Restaurant award season is in full swing, and few Singapore restaurants are riding the wave quite like Born. Chef-owner Zor Tan’s polished fine-diner has racked up accolades recently – including No. 23 on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and a Black Pearl diamond. But beyond the buzz, what keeps Born compelling is something less tangible: its deeply personal storytelling, expressed through a menu that reads like a culinary memoir.
Tan’s CV is formidable. He’s cooked at Jaan, RAW in Taipei, and served as executive chef at two-Michelin-starred Sichuan Moon in Macau before opening Born in 2022. Yet despite that pedigree, Born feels less like a technical showcase and more like an emotional one. His “Circle of Life” philosophy, threading memories, heritage and technique, anchors the fourth iteration of the menu and shapes the entire experience.
The vibe
Housed in a heritage building that once served as a rickshaw depot in 1903, Born’s unusual layout creates a dining room that feels both intimate and theatrical. The journey begins in a narrow passageway before opening into a lofty, light-filled space where sculptural floating paper artworks by Dutch artist Peter Gentenaar add drama without overwhelming the room.
The open kitchen anchors the room and the best seats are right at the counter, where you can watch Tan orchestrate his brigade with quiet precision. The experience begins thoughtfully, too, with guests select a pair of wooden chopsticks from a box to use throughout the meal, a small gesture that subtly reinforces the restaurant’s Chinese influences.
The food
Born’s latest menu leans even harder into nostalgia. The opening bites feel like a scrapbook of influences, with childhood hawthorn sweets, Chinese street snacks and Western classics like fish and chips reinterpreted in fine-dining form. The first bite, a sphere of aged tangerine, sour plum and hawthorn, is unexpectedly sweet and almost dessert-like, a playful, slightly disorienting start.
A clever garden vegetable course follows, where diners are instructed to save part of the salad for a fermented broth poured midway through. The transformation, part salad, part soup, nods to Western and Chinese dining traditions in one dish. Technique is on full display in the fried bao stuffed with mala-marinated wagyu tartare and served over oyster emulsion. The contrast in textures is impressive, with the wagyu tartare remaining raw despite the bao being deep-fried till golden.
But not every conceptual dish fully lands. We were less of a fan of the reimagined French onion soup, which is served as a light foam, which was too airy to deliver on the intensity one would expect from onion "soup". Instead, the housemade black garlic ice cream and raw and roasted chestnut shavings the dish was served with were the standouts. Similarly, the Alaskan king crab with crab roe and rice is beautifully cooked and moreish but restrained in flavour. But perhaps, that's the point. Delicate cooking that invites you to notice the small details like pearls of black vinegar in the rice instead of overwhelming you at every course.
The award-winning monkfish – grilled and paired with fermented chilli, jade fungus and emulsified chicken fat is outstanding. Rich, smoky and deeply savoury, it's inspired by the duo jiao yu tou dish that Chef Zor loved when he helmed Sichuan Moon. But to local palates like mine, it reminds me of the comforting, gelatinous intensity of san lou hor fun mixed with the flavours of suan cai yu. We wished we saved a small portion of rice from the previous dish to have with this luscious gravy.
The finalé pigeon course is also bold and thoughtful. Breast, leg and sprouted wheat are presented in multiple forms, reflecting the “Circle of Life” theme. The pigeon breast is perfectly pink and flavourful, while the cold braised leg won’t be for everyone but shows confidence. The wheat sprouts, however, could use greater contrast between the fried and stewed preparations.
And while some fine dining restaurants fail when it comes to sweets, Born's signature sweet potato dessert is one of our favourites from the night. It reminds us of the deep-fried sweet potato balls we used to get at the nearby Maxwell market, and once again chef Zor Tan shows us how he turns a childhood memory into a successful dish, layered with texture and lifted by oolong chantilly.
The final petit fours, representing ‘suan tian ku la’ (sour, sweet, bitter, spicy), end the meal on yet another unexpected note. While our first bite was sweet from the hawthorn snack, the final black vinegar pork trotter bite is savoury, a fitting bookend to a menu that consistently subverts expectations.
The drinks
The classic wine pairing leans Old World and plays it safe. It works, but doesn’t feel as exciting or new. The more intriguing option is the non-alcoholic pairing, developed by the restaurant’s new beverage manager, Ellen Su, who trained in Taipei. Her tea-forward and Chinese-inspired drinks show promise, and it would be exciting to see Born explore this direction further, perhaps even spotlighting emerging Chinese wines.
The verdict
Born has matured significantly since opening. It’s more assured, more cohesive, and more confident in its identity. Not every dish prioritises flavour over concept, but the storytelling and the emotional resonance behind it are what set it apart.
For diners seeking a narrative-driven fine-dining experience rooted in memory and culture, Born remains one of Singapore’s most compelling tables. The awards may keep coming, but more importantly, the restaurant feels like it’s still evolving.
Time Out tip: Book counter seats for the full experience and consider the non-alcoholic pairing for something more distinctive.
Price: $$$$ (eight-course chef's menu $368, Tuesdays to Saturdays, dinners only; five-course experience menu $288, Tuesdays to Thursdays, dinner only; five-course lunch menu $288, Fridays, lunch only; wine pairing $218, non-alcoholic pairing $128).