Five new one-starred restaurants raise Singapore’s Michelin-starred restaurants to 55

PURSUING their Asian heritage and unique culinary voices have paid off for chefs Zor Tan, Kevin Wong and Nicolas Tam, who were among the winners at the Michelin Guide 2023 awards on Tuesday (Jun 27).

The chef-owners of restaurants Born, Seroja and Willow respectively went home with one Michelin star each at the annual event, where Poise and Sushi Sakuta received the same honour.

They were the only winners in an otherwise uneventful ceremony, with no new two or three stars added to the guide. Former two-Michelin-starred Shisen Hanten was demoted to one star, while Shang Palace lost its star.

Basque Kitchen by Aitor also dropped out from the list after it closed down in May. This brings the total number of one-Michelin-starred restaurants to 46, up from 42 last year. Two-starred restaurants now stand at six, while three-starred restaurants remain at three, bringing Singapore’s total number of Michelin-starred eateries to 55.

Seroja’s Kevin Wong emerged as the night’s biggest winner when he was also named as Young Chef of the year. Seroja was also the first restaurant in Singapore to receive a Michelin Green Star for its focus on sustainability.

The Malay Archipelago-inspired restaurant is influenced by cooking traditions of the region, and uses ingredients that are sourced from indigenous producers.

Malaysian-born Wong said he and his team were on the waters off Kuala Sepetang in Perak, hunting down mangrove charcoal for use in the restaurant, when they received word of an invitation to the Michelin ceremony – an indicator of a potential star.

“We literally rocked the boat we were in,” he laughed. “It could have been dangerous.”

The former Meta head chef who has been in Singapore for eight years knew he was taking a chance with Seroja’s unique concept. “I was very nervous about how this idea of mine would turn out,” he said.

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“(While) I’m not sure about flying the flag for Asian chefs as a whole, I’m proud that we could achieve this by staying true to our roots”.

The win for Willow’s Tam is especially sweet for a home-grown chef who has “never left Singapore for work”. He said: “It shows that our local grown talents have the potential and ability, but only require the platform and opportunity.”

Willow is a seafood-centric restaurant using mainly Japanese ingredients and global techniques with a touch of local flavour. The Michelin star was a personal goal for him, even though he had no fixed timeline.

A fan of the movie Ratatouille, Tam was inspired by a chef character who said “you must not let anyone define your limits because of where you come from”. He added that he prepared for his goal by “staying true to myself and not giving up”.

For Born’s Tan, whose cuisine reflects his memories of growing up in Malaysia and working in Macau, where he helmed the two-Michelin-starred Sichuan Moon, the one star is “an acknowledgement of our efforts and encouragement that we are on the right path”. 

Steve Lancaster, chef-owner of the one-year-old Poise, got the birthday present of a lifetime when he received his Michelin plaque onstage.

“The Michelin star has been a dream of mine since I was 16 years old, so I’ve always been pushing for this. It’s great recognition for the team; it was our goal, and we achieved that in just over a year. We’ll be celebrating over hotpot!”

The awards took place in a more informal, stand-up cocktail format at the Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay ballroom, unlike previous years which were formal dinner gala affairs. The idea was to create a more convivial environment where both chefs and guests could mingle freely, said general manager Melvin Lim.

“Breaking away from the confines of a sit-down dinner, Michelin is embracing a new approach that prioritises shared connections and conversations over food and cocktails,” he said.

There were several buffet stations manned by various restaurants, including Revolver, Naeum and Gaig.

Other winners of the night took home special awards. Desmond Wong of two-Michelin-starred Shoukouwa won for Best Service, while the Best Sommelier was Makoto Iwabuchi of the newly-minted one-starred Sushi Sakuta, helmed by Yoshio Sakuta.