Just like old times

IF YOU THOUGHT THAT the dining scene at Amoy Street couldn't get any livelier, then you're about to be proven wrong. Come September, yet another new restaurant will open its doors in that buzzing enclave - Blackwattle, by Australian chef Clayton Wells.

Named after the black wattle, which is a plant native to Australia, it is the second restaurant that Chef Wells is opening with local restaurateur and hotelier Loh Lik Peng, founder of the Unlisted Collection. Their first venture together was Automata - a popular barely-two-year-old restaurant in Sydney's The Old Clare Hotel.

"I met Peng in London years ago, and we kept in touch. Eventually something came up in Sydney and it was a great opportunity in my hometown," says Chef Wells, who has trained at renowned restaurants such as Quay, Tetsuya's, and Momofuku Seiobo.