Andre Chiang brings history back to life at 1887 by Andre

NEW RESTAURANT

1887 by Andre Raffles Hotel Singapore 1 Beach Road Singapore 189673 Tel: 6412-1816 Open for lunch and dinner Tuesday to Saturday: 11:30 am to 1:30 pm; 6 pm to 8 pm

THE ghosts of Raffles’ past are back, and boy, are they making their presence felt. But mind you, they’re not easily appeased by a simple getai and random buffet offerings.

They want nothing short of a full restaurant takeover – where we mortals go all out to recreate the glorious repasts of their heyday, right down to the silverware their pre-spectral hands used for their turtle soup and boeuf au poivre back in 1887.

And for that, they have to thank Andre Chiang – the culinary shaman Raffles Hotel picked to evoke the spirit of colonial-era dining – right where it all began. 

You might have hoped for – or feared – a reprise of Chiang’s stylistically intense Octaphilosophy with his much-hyped return to Singapore. Don’t.

1887 by Andre may bear his name, but he’s more conduit than star. You only sense his presence, guiding the larger transformation of the former Raffles Grill back into its original self.

And what a makeover it is. Adjust the height of your eyebrows accordingly as you take in this no-holds-barred interpretation of Victorian grandeur: gilded palm trees, chandeliers the size of our living room, punkah fans (so that’s what they’re called). And that silverware cabinet – housing the precious dinnerware dug up from the hotel grounds years ago, now given the spit and polish to look as good as new. 

The menu is circa 1887, viewed through a 2026 lens, with lots of creative licence thrown in. The setting is fine-dining posh, as is the service, but the food swings wildly from “canard apicius aigre-doux” to chicken rice. 

SEE ALSO

Hard-to-beat value at Quan Hotpot

It’s not as oxymoronic as you might think. It plays into the mindset we all have now: We like fine dining, but we don’t want four hours of it. And you don’t want a chef telling you what he’s feeding you.

If anything, Chiang bombards you with so many options, you feel like you need to take the menu home to study it first, and come back to eat another day.

Don’t panic. You’re here not just for the food but the experience, which begins even before you step into the hotel lobby. The general manager Timothy waylays you, leading you past the lawn, the restaurant’s herb garden and finally through a side door where a glass of spiced lemonade and snacks await.

The menu is a la carte, but you can build your own six or seven-course set for S$198 or S$258 (with some restrictions) or take the full degustation of S$368. Don’t bother to calculate whether the sets offer better value. It’s more fun to pick and mix yourself, and set your own budget.

The French-leaning options are done to the letter, but the local dishes are more polarising. Snacks-wise, hae bee hiam (S$22) are winning straws stuffed with spicy minced shrimp capped with fresh herbs on each end, so you get the herbal hit before the spice. A fat chicken wing stuffed with rice and crab meat (S$18) is something you can sink your teeth into.

The breads are pricey at S$25, but worth the splurge. Flaky toast feuillete has a crunchy exterior and fluffy interior, while steamed buns on a cast-iron pan (S$25) are toasty-chewy mantou balls that you devour with two types of nutty relish.

We judge French onion soup on the strength of its cheesy crust, but Andre’s soupe a l’oignon (S$48) changes our mind. There’s no cheese, just a salt-crusted whole onion that’s cracked open to reveal steaming hot oxtail broth – a pristine consomme studded with gelatinous oxtail bits.

No turtles were harmed in the making of the turtle soup (S$38). But we would have stabbed the konnyaku ball a few more times to absorb the delicate herbal broth that tastes just like the real thing. Slippery pieces of chicken wing and grouper are just bystanders.

Blanquette de bak kut teh (S$68) is likely to split opinions. It’s a credible piece of melting, soft pork rib covered in a thick white peppercorn sauce, but also heavy-going. The same with laksa paella (S$128 for two) – a pancake of crunchy socarrat served separately from fresh shrimp, mussels and bonito in a spicy laksa sauce. 

Boeuf au poivre (S$238 for a kilo) is served from the wagon. Surprisingly it’s not a steak or prime rib, but fall-off-the-bone braised short rib served with a heady seven-pepper sauce. No quibbles (and they did a half portion at our request), but we’d rather cut into a slice of medium-rare meat. All is forgotten when you bite into allumettes – beautifully textured “matchstick” potatoes that will make you disavow French fries for life.

We’re wilting by now, so a chocolate mousse named after Sarah Bernhardt (S$26) is a fitting end, layering silky whipped chocolate and vanilla cream within a chocolate shell.

There are still teething issues with the food and service, but 1887 by Andre is everything that Raffles needs – a culinary identity it can call its own. It may have been a long wait, but it will all be worth it.

Rating 7.5