THERE have been more than a few rooftop restaurants opening lately, all of which say they are catering to the executive crowd. Of these, none has picked a more unlikely building to perch itself upon than Chef Daniel's Kitchen at Iluma. The Bugis mall features level after level of shops blasting J-Pop tunes, bleeping-flashing amusement arcades and busy fast-food joints that clearly cater to a younger clientele, so the five-month-old casual chic restaurant on its topmost floor is something of a surprise.

FOR such a choice location at East Coast Parkway, 1 TwentySix under the One Rochester Group certainly took a while to get its food up to scratch. So from the time it opened more than a year ago, the focus has been on the drinks and the ambience. There was a dining menu, but not of the memorable sort that will make you plan to have dinner there; mainly post-dinner drinks.

SAMPLE a Michelin-starred taste of Japan at Les Amis next week. From March 26 to 27, the fine-dining establishment is hosting Naoto Kishimoto, resident chef of the one-Michelin-star L'Embellir restaurant in Tokyo, who will produce two dinners there.