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Posts tagged ‘Three Michelin starred restaurants’

Sep 17

Odette, Asia’s Best Restaurant, elevated to three Michelin stars

For the first time, Singapore gets two Three-MICHELIN-starred restaurants.JPG

Odette’s Julien Royer (between Gwendal Poullennec and the Michelin man)

 

[UPDATE: Odette has been elevated to three Michelin stars in the Singapore Michelin Guide 2019. Earlier this year the restaurant was announced number one on Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list 2019.]

Julien Royer, formerly head chef of the acclaimed Jaan, now has his own restaurant in the form of Odette, a bread roll’s throw away from his alma mater, within Singapore’s stunning new National Gallery. Odette is named in homage to Royer’s grandmother. And the family theme continues as the dreamy design is down to artist Dawn Ng – wife of the restaurant’s co owner, Wee Teng Wen of the Lo and Behold group – in conjunction with Universal Design Studio.

 

Odette - Interiors 7

Odette restaurant, Singapore

 

With its romantic, cream interiors, Odette is the White Swan to Lo and Behold stablemate, Black Swan nearby in the CBD. But back to the food. Royer is continuing to mix classical French with modern techniques in his new home. Some of his greatest hits from Jaan are on the menu: Mushroom “tea”; 55 mins Onsen Egg; Heirloom Beetroot Variation; and Hay Smoked Pigeon.

In it’s new incarnation though the Pigeon is served two ways: the breast cooked sous vide then grilled and the leg cooked for six hours. And the Onsen Eggs are smoked on a bed of pines – foraged by the chef’s father and sent over from France (another family link).

Odette - Chef Julien Royer.jpg

Julien Royer of Odette, Asia’s Best Restaurant 2019

Royer has also added some new creations such as the standouts Hokkaido Uni with Apple, Mussel and Caviar and Trout with Miso Glazed Kurobuta Pork. The welcome champagne trolley includes Chartogne-Taillet rose, Henri Giraud for Odette and Krug – said to be Royer’s favourite.

Desserts, by pastry chef Nicolas Vergnole, are also impressive including Confit Victoria Pineapple (below): toasted coconut ice cream, banana cake, passionfruit coulis, tapioca and Kaffir lime.

Odette - Confit Victoria Pineapple.jpg

This piece was originally published in 2016

Jun 12

Back to Bombana

a50br_2017_la_chefumbertobombana

Chef Umberto Bombana is the recipient of Asia’s Best Restaurants’ Lifetime Achievement Award 2017

[UPDATE: Never let it be said that Chopstix isn’t prepared to admit changing our minds from time to time. On our recent return visit to 8 and a half Otto e Mezzo Bombana we were pleasantly surprised at the vast improvement in service. There seems to be a high ratio of staff to customers and the whole operation is now very slick. We’re still not sure about the 3 Michelin stars but nonetheless less, bravo Bombana. Read on for our original review.]

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Apr 30

Alain Ducasse revitalises Hong Kong presence with Rech restaurant

Rech by Alain Ducasee Interconti HK.jpg

Legendary chef Alain Ducasse’s first foray into food was not a runaway success. As a child growing up in France he would watch his grandmother cooking and aged about 11 he decided to make a chocolate roulade himself. “My grandmother let me attempt this, although I was not up to the task,” Ducasse recalls. “Chocolate ended up everywhere and in the end the cake did not resemble a roulade at all!”

Luckily for the culinary world Ducasse was not put off by his early endeavour. Last month saw the opening of his 25th restaurant worldwide. He has chosen Asia for the first international outpost of Rech Alain Ducasse, a French seafood restaurant replacing his Spoon concept at the Intercontinental hotel in Hong Kong.

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Mar 24

5 Minutes with Guy Savoy

Guy Savoy

Restaurant Guy Savoy in Paris has retained three Michelin stars for 15 years running. Chopstix caught up with Guy Savoy himself, one of the most personable chefs in the business, on a recent trip to Asia.

Who inspired you to become a chef?
My mother. Firstly, I liked to eat and my mother was a good cook. I didn’t imagine how much work went into it though then I watched my mother one day. I saw how she blended flour, butter, eggs, salt and sugar. The ingredients were not interesting separately but then they became a cake. For me, it was like magic.

What is your food heaven and hell?
I love ice cream; it is an addiction. I don’t like capsicum. When they’re cooked they’re ok but I can’t eat raw ones.

What do you like to cook for yourself?
For a snack: toasted rustic bread with a thick layer of cold bread and some sardines and ground pepper on top. The most important thing is to have cold butter.

What would you be if you couldn’t be a chef?
Nothing. I can’t imagine being anything else.

Who would you most like to cook for?
Me.

What would you prepare as a last meal?
I am too too young to think about that!

What’s the strangest food you’ve eaten?
Crocodile finger at Justin Quek’s restaurant in Singapore [Sky on 57 at Marina Bay Sands] and then a month ago, ants in The Amazon. In France we eat frog’s legs and snails, that’s part of our culture. Eating ants is not normal for us.

What’s the best restaurant we’ve never heard of?
My mother’s. I’ve never found better.

Sep 1

When Hong Kong met Spain – El Celler de Can Roca comes to the Fragrant Harbour

Suckling pig with green papaya salad Thai grapefruit, apple, coriander, ...

Suckling Pig by El Celler de Can Roca for Amex at The Peninsula Hong Kong. Copyright David Loftus.

[UDPATE: In June 2019 El Celler de Can Roca joined the newly created Best of the Best list as part of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants awards. This “hall of fame” celebrates previous winners of the no 1 slot on the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and are not eligible to be voted for on the list going going forward.]

High above Hong Kong inside Felix restaurant at the top of The Peninsula hotel Joan Roca the head chef and eldest of three brothers behind one of the world’s most famous restaurants, El Celler de Can Roca, is assembling two dishes.

The first, a sous vide fish, Joan explains is inspired by his home of Girona in Spain and can be found on the menu at the Rocas’ three Michelin starred establishment there which has twice been crowned the World’s Best Restaurant.

The second, crispy pork, is a new creation that’s an homage to Hong Kong his host city today. The demonstration, and the reason Joan is so far from home, is part of an exclusive dining experience the Rocas are holding at The Peninsula organised by American Express Invites for Centurion cardholders.

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