IN the freshly whitewashed, steel-cased interiors of a converted colonial-era building in Portsdown Road, a sense of deja vu emerges. The three young chefs look familiar - not in face but the same eagerness, sense of purpose and ambition.
Back in 2018, just across this very building but in a more makeshift, almost haphazard fashion, the original Magic Square was born as a platform for young, undiscovered chefs who had the zeal but not the money or guidance to open their own restaurants. It was a passion project of Tan Ken Loon, the owner of restaurants Naked Finn and BurgerLabo, who wanted to provide a safe learning environment for untested chefs to cook, create and more important - learn how...