Singapore Now Has Two Michelin Three-Star Restaurants

Since its launch back in 2016, the Michelin Guide for Singapore has probably been best known for its willingness to embrace the more casual side of world-class dining—giving stars to a couple of the city’s “hawker stands.” Not only did it mark the first time true street food had ever been issued a star, but also resulted in the world’s cheapest Michelin-star meal in the process. However, for 2019, the Singapore Michelin Guide has covered more familiar ground: For the first time, the city has two three-star restaurants, both French, and a new two-star restaurant is billed as possibly the most expensive place to dine in the city.

Last year, Singapore went without any three-star establishments after the closure of Joel Robuchon, previously the city’s sole restaurant with this top designation. But this year, two French restaurants both earned an extra star, sending them to the top of the list: Les Amis and Odette. Opened in 1994, Michelin described Les Amis as “firmly established as a culinary institution in Singapore,” offering “a contemporary cuisine of French inspiration that sublimates high-quality products” and one of the continent’s best wine lists. Meanwhile, Odette was billed as featuring “international flavors and subtle Asian touches [that] perfectly match with highly mastered French technique.”

“With two of its establishments promoted to a three-star ranking, Singapore is clearly positioned as a leading gastronomic destination,” Gwendal Poullennec, International Director of the Michelin Guides, said in the announcement. “Getting a three star is always a singular moment in a chef’s life and I am convinced that’s the same feeling for a city or a country. With this historic first, which completes an already extensive culinary scene, Singapore enters a new dimension to the eyes and palate of food lovers.”

Singapore also gains two new two-starred restaurants: Saint Pierre, another French eatery, earned a second star, while Swedish chef Bjorn Frantzen’s Zen debuted on the list with two stars for “a modern cuisine deliciously mixing Nordic origins and Asian flavors.” Interestingly, in significant contrast to the city’s heralded street food, as Eater points out, Zen made headlines as “possibly the most expensive restaurant in Singapore” when it opened last year with prices starting at about $325 per person.

Don’t worry, however: Both street food stands—Hawker Chan and Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle—were still on the list of 37 one-star restaurants for 2019. Maybe hit up those two spots first, and then you should have plenty of cash left over for Zen.