Restaurant ANDRE

Been meaning to write a review about Andre now for one hell of a long while.
This is probably the easiest 3 Michelin Star to give in Singapore. Everything about it is… perfect! From the setting, to the food, to the wines (all of which are ONLY available at Andre), to the staff, to the experience… there was nothing that we could even think to hate here. Just when I think everything is perfect already, Chef Andre himself comes out and talks with us like friends. Love it.
Other Unilocalers have all written very detailed accounts of their meal and experience, all of which were identical to mine so I won’t write anything too far. Rather I want to jump on the Andre bandwagon for what I believe is easily the best fine dining establishment in Singapore.
HIGHLY RECOMMEND!

Best restaurant I have ever been in Singapore, hands down! Look forward to go back.
The wine pairing, though expensive, it’s worth it.

KenScale: 9.0÷10
At first, Restaurant Andre somewhat struck me as gimmicky. It has billed itself as a restaurant that reflects the culinary journey and memory of famed chef Andre Chiang, who was born in Taiwan and worked for a long time in France before opening his own in the historical China Town neighborhood. The restaurant has a trademarked term «Octaphilosophy» to describe its gastronomic philosophy, with varied themes from each dish such as «pure,» «salt,» «artisan,» «unique» and «memory.» In the beginning of the meal, I felt I had already seen a variety of dishes elsewhere in New York or Paris that showcases brilliant haute cuisine. In the middle of my meal, however, I realized that Restaurant Andre an stake its own claim as a truly unique and outstanding restaurant.
The meal will start with a variety of starter bites, each with unique ingredients, flavor and texture. You’ll see a novel interpretation of «fish and chips» and patatas bravas, for instance. All bites were pleasant but not particularly ground-​breaking. The several main dishes in the beginning were all nicely plated and executed, but none of them struck me as getting to the next level either. It wasn’t the first time I saw crab with cucumber, and the combination of mais, horseradish and vanilla oil had somewhat funky flavor. Squid with charred grains and green jus was quite pleasant, as was sheep curd that came with aubergine and smoked eel. Then the «risotto» happened. It’s not really a risotto; instead of rice, it’s really pasta noodle with texture of rice. The combination of this ingredient with mushroom and egg that you can pop really threw me off in a good way. I had never had a dish this magnificent from what looks like risotto, and savored every bite. The balance of flavor and texture was simply breathtaking. The meal really started to come together afterwards. One of the signature dishes at the restaurant and for which chef Andre made his name while working in France, foie gras and truffle jelly was another stunning dish. Instead of possibly being over the top, the aromatic flavor of this dish was groundbreaking. Beef with sundried papaya was also perfectly cooked and I loved the modest use of seasoning that further enhanced the texture of the meat. After a couple of refreshers in green pea ice cream that came with matcha and shiso and red grape dessert, the restaurant served the so-​called «do-​it-​yourself» cake. The server instructed that I should pretend I’m baking a bread by mixing various ingredients from butter to flour. In fact, each «ingredient» is an absolutely decadent ice cream, chocolate, cream, etc. that you could mix up to create a truly enjoyable dish. Definitely one of the best dessert dishes I’ve had this year! Following a serving of petit fours desserts, chef Andre came out to greet us, another plus to a remarkable dinner experience.
The restaurant has a nice selection of French wine (I liked the menu that looks like a «diary»). It has a formal yet very trendy vibe where a lot of young and handsome people from Singapore were hanging out to savor their meal. The services were professional and attentive. At the end of the meal, you have an opportunity to briefly tour the kitchen and greet the entire cooking staff. Restaurant Andre isn’t perfect but some of the dishes I had during my dinner also happened to be some of the best I had ever had. Overall, I would not hesitate to recommend this restaurant if you’re looking for some truly innovative and brilliant culinary ideas. Yes, the price tag of S$ 298 per person is not exactly a bargain, but it is another culinary destination worth visiting.

Phenomenal!!! I cannot write enough good things to say about this place! Amazing venue (house) amazing hosts (as if you are guests in the chefs house) and the food is top notch, imaginative, simple, balanced, and is beautiful.
I appreciate and really like Chef Andre’s octophilosophy and its original thought. My favorite dish of the evening was «South» from the south of France, it was simple, the flavors worked perfectly together.
Chef Andre came to my table for a quick talk, what an amazing chef! Very inspired. I also had the privilege of meeting his beautiful and energetic wife.
I felt like I was at their home eating.
This is a place that you fly to Singapore just to eat at Restaurant Andre!!!

On our second attempt we succeeded at scoring a table to Andre and it was well worth the six month wait, they most assuredly got 98% of things right; I would say this was in my top 5 dinning experiences ever!
Again the signage is very subtle so you need to know where you are going, once inside you are greeted & seated in a lounge while you waiter comes to collect you; then you «journey» begins.
Starting with your choice of apéritif you enter the pre-​savoury tasting plates, moving onto around a half dozen savoury dishes, then you pre-​desserts, dessert & post dessert… You can start to imagine how much food is involved by now?
As you would expect the wait staff are incredibly well trained, knowledgable in every aspect of their area, and very happy to help out and discuss /​personalise your experience.
I left feeling via the kitchen to say hello to chef, and feeling very satisfied with the night.
So why did they lose a couple of marks, for very minor things; my water glass was empty on three occasions for long enough for me to have to flag down a waiter and while they take bookings from 7PM they do not open the door even 1 minute early — all very minor things considering how much I loved my visit

My 100^th review! I mulled over writing this review for a while, because I don’t know how to do justice to Chef Andre’s food. Restaurant Andre is so much more than a restaurant. It is a treat, for all the senses. This place doesn’t just serve delish, this place elevates cuisine.
If I had to sum my experience up in a word, it would be Sublime.
I’ve heard so much about the Octaphilosophy for a while now, and I was stoked to be taken there for my birthday. We got a reservation for a Tuesday night 5 days earlier, and it was full house.
We sat down and we were served snacks before dinner proper. Onion rings, a «tree» with different flavored leaves, «constructed» fish and chips on a delicious chocolate and garlic soil, gin and tonic crispy pineapple on olive soil. Needless to say, they tantalized our palates. Every morsel was elaborately made, with careful balance of flavors.
After snacks, the French Sommelier swung by our table and asked us if we were after a red or white. I do love whites, and my usual grape of choice is Chardonnay. She was very insistent that we order a Sebastien Riffault Sancerre, and we detected a sneer when we asked about Chardonnays. We did not regret going along with her, because this wine is magical. Drunk on its own, it is honeyed and sweet. Drunk with seafood, it loses its sweetness to become a more complex and dry complement. Blew my mind away.
And so we had the Octaphilosophy degustation. It is hard to get me to pick my favorite, because they are a medley of phenomenal. I liken it to asking someone whom their favorite child is — how does one choose? Okay. Maybe Salt, then Artisan. Although there are 8 official courses, the snacks and desserts are tiny, but in many many different bites, we filled ourselves up. I was stuffed! I normally do a breakdown of dishes served in most of my reviews, but this review would be way too long if I did so.
At the start of the meal, we were asked if it was a special occasion, and we mentioned that it was my birthday. After our melon palate cleanser, a slice of chocolate cake was delivered, along with a musical box playing Happy Birthday, and a card signed by the kitchen. It was a very nice touch. They were intuitive enough to sense that I was stuffed, and offered to box up my cake for brekkie tomorrow.
The service here is impeccable, and Chef Andre has an international team serving tables. Unlike most establishments in Singapore, where waitstaff exist to place food on diners’ tables, the waitstaff here are like the ones at Michelin starred establishments overseas, where they are knowledgeable about the food, are interesting people, and present the food with a flourish. We were always poured wine and sparking water, and our glasses were never empty. Even the wine, was poured a little at a time, to ensure that we always had a sip of cold wine. I do love how seamless and thoughtful the service was.
Towards the end of the meal, Chef Andre came out to talk to each table. I loved how down-​to-​earth he was. I’ve been to a few of the top 50 restaurants worldwide, and Restaurant Andre easily beats places like Daniel, Eleven Madison Park. His restaurant has no snooty treatment, and the atmosphere is warm and welcoming. His love for simple ingredients, dedication to excellence… worth every penny — even if my dining companion wanted to make me wash dishes in the kitchen for this meal!

Meh.
Hubby took me here for Valentine 2014 and despite it being ranked the #1 best fine dining in Singapore, it didn’t impress. Sure, the dishes were unique, but the flavors failed to come together. Not sure if it was just the Valentines special course menu, but maybe I expected a bit more considering its higher-​than-​most-​fine-​dining-​price point and its potential as a future Mchelin star restaurant in Sing.
Came out to around $ 650 for two.

My husband took me to Restaurant Andre for Mother’s Day, and it was fabulous! There were nine «official» courses and an additional eight «extra» dishes. Love and attention is bestowed on each morsel — and each morsel is a piece of art. It was a delight to the senses — and there were playful touches that tickled the soul.
The pre-​meal treats began with gossamer thin crispy «leaves» of scallop, chive and other flavors floating on branches. Their spin on a gin and tonic included gin-​infused pineapple chips draped with spun sugar on a bed of finely minced olives. My favorite pre-​meal course included miniature abstract «fish and chips» sculptures embedded in gravelly chocolate soil evoking a well-​tended Japanese garden.
My favorite course was «Texture,» charcoal blackened dough hidden in a nest of real charcoal (you hunt around for the edible piece) with a delicious Spanish tapas-​inspired squid and chili salsa (sounds awful, but it was amazing!) The «Salt» course drawn from the ocean — had a granny smith mousse sprouting a multitude of herbs, mushrooms and vegetables surrounded by oyster foam and seaweed. I loved the truffle and porcini (I think it was «Artisan») dish atop a roasted Jerusalem artichoke. I believe the foire gras course was «Memory» but I would re-​name it «Pleasure.» The last dinner course was «Terroir» and it was a beet and squab dish. I don’t usually care for squab — but this was quite tender and delicious.
After four pre-​dessert courses, including a wonderful frozen ice plate of frozen muscat grapes over a bed of almond and pear mousse; an oyster ice cream with marshmallow «chips,» and a slice of rich chocolate, raspberry and hazelnut cake with a «Happy Mother’s Day» candle, the «real» dessert was Andre’s 2014 play on a Snickers bar with a creative combination of the nougat, peanuts, chocolate and caramel that the Snickers bar is known for — with a dab of ice cream.
The service balanced professionalism and friendliness, French and familiar. Finally, it was great to meet with and talk to Chef Andre at the conclusion of the meal and to get a quick peek into the kitchen. On the ground floor, there is a chef’s dining room that can seat up to 12 people — perfect for special gatherings when you don’t want to disturb other diners.
Just a note — this is not an appropriate venue for children. After tax, tip and wine, it ends up setting you back about $ 500/​person. Even if it isn’t going to be a special meal for you, you’re almost certainly ruining someone else’s special meal if you bring your kid.
We saw a couple in the main dining room that brought their ~ 2 year old daughter who was crawling around the parents and the love seat during the entire meal (which is 3 — 4 hours long). At another table, there was a boy — about 9 years old — who was sitting there with his mother — just the two of them. The kid was on his iPad the entire time, and the mother was on her iPhone…

Beautiful restaurant located in the historical district near Chinatown. We were visiting Singapore but had my uncle book a table for me in advance. The olive tree in front of the building reminded me of South of France, the restaurant was minimalist and tastefully designed more like what I expected of a restaurant this caliber versus Iggy’s.
When we checked in we were sent upstairs, we were seated in this narrow hallway with a bunch of tables it was quite crowded considering the experience we hope to have. We were seated next to this couple the lady looked like she just woke up in shorts and Tshirt. The man armed with a giant camera clicking away at the dishes, and they kept asking for extra things. The server explained the concept quickly and they started bringing in dish upon dish. Our sommelier was very knowledgeable I narrowed a few choices and he provided more information each one. We opted for a cailbourdin pouilly-​fume triptyque for the courses.
Each course was beautifully presented, designed and taste-​wise most of the courses were light and subtle. The various elements and textures were very intriguing. There was a course of charcoal — a fried fritter that looked like one of the charcoal pieces in the dish it was very tasty. My favorite dish was Chef Andre’s signature it was a foie gras «chawanmushi» and a black Perigord truffle coulis — absolutely amazing dish!
Overall I wish the service was a bit slower it felt rushed. Also the tables were too close to each other, I was distracted from my meal because people on the left and right of us talked loudly and frequently.
Our server he was very nice he took us on a tour per our request we saw the kitchen and we met with Chef Andre.

easily the best restaurant in SINGAPORE!
if ever there’s a sixth star, andre is it!
i’ve been a fan of andre since his stint at jaan.
hell, if i’m michelin, andre gets at least one, straight away!!!
i’ve been here 3 times already, twice, pre Unilocal sg.
my latest visit is on their 3^rd year anniversary.
a retro dinner consisting 20 creations of andre’s all time favourites.
andre is sophistication in simplicity.
the best ingredients you can get locally, ala black-​bone chicken egg.
if not, grown to his specifications in a farm in taiwan, like his baby corn.
failing which, carefully sourced from all around the world, e.g. soy sauce made with ayu fish from japan.
adding to that a passionate love for cooking and art.
the end result transcends gourmet dining.
although the eyes do complain, ever so slightly, that each dish should be more substantial in portion.
the stomach will veto any such unfounded criticism at the end of your orgasmic journey.
remember, the eyes are always bigger than the stomach!
perfectly paced, perfectly explained course by course.
any questions, wittily and knowledgeably, answered without calling a friend.
friendly, prompt yet unintrusive service that further enhances the dining experience.
it was here, on my second visit, that i was first introduced to an unfiltered sancerre.
it was love at first sip.
since then, i’ve been on a keen lookout during my frequent travels but they have been elusive.
today, i got a bottle of sebastien riffault’s unfiltered sancerre 2010.
it was a turbid gold colour, effused honey, had an unctuous mouth feel and a lingering after taste of pear.
i will probably run out of words if i were to ramble expletives dish by dish.
but superb is how, short and sharp you can be, to describe each and every one of them.
or simply visualize the «oishii desu né» that appears countless times on japan hour?
i’m sure you get the picture.
and if experiences are the best gifts that you can buy anyone, andre’s octaphilosophy experience is what you should gift everyone.

Chef Andre is very creative and can use very ordinary ingredients to cook the best quality food! every bite is a surprise and enjoyment!
you must go there to try his Octopus philosophy 8 courses together with Amuse Bouche and after 8 courses + pre-​dessert, desert + petit Four!
i took 8 full courses $ 298 +and wine pairing $ 188 + 10% service + 7% tax

Great place near Chinatown.
The service here is impeccable. The menu is artistic and innovative, with French and Japanese influences. We had the wine pairing with the fixed menu.
This is a great place for a very special occasion. Highly recommend! Be ready for the bill; not for the faint-​hearted. But well worth it for that special night, and the food delivers, even exceeds expectations in terms of taste and presentation.

The last time I wrote a review for Andre, I ran out of space before I got to talk about the service team. So after celebrating my mum’s birthday there last night, I’m going to talk less about the food, and do a more detailed review of the service.
First off, highlights of the meal? Having been to Andre before, I was floored to discover that none of the dishes (except Memory of course) were the same as my previous visit. Though the dishes were often similar in theme or ingredients, there were always presented or executed different. The restaurant manager, Stepan said that they make it a point to actually track the menus served to each diner, so that each visit promises something different.
Oyster ice cream atop oyster carpaccio, served with granny smith apple foam and caviar. I can’t begin to convey how amazing the ice cream was. Salty, sweet, with a hint of that familiar oyster after taste. My mum (who’s a huge fan of oysters) said it’s a pity she can’t just walk into Andre and order 3 – 4 helpings of this when she feels like it.
Needle fish served with artichoke done three ways was also delicious, the different flavours and textures really came together well and remember, I usually don’t even like fish. So for it to be one of my favourite courses for the evening, that’s big deal.
Also amazing? Smoked tuna slices served with capellini tossed in a scallop cream. Oh my. The smoky saltiness of the tuna really went well with sweet creaminess of the pasta. I wished they served this in main-​sized portions!
Finally, the main, of pancetta wrapped rabbit, served with its jus, squash purée and a bit of olive salts was also very well done. The rabbit was moist, juicy, and delicious. I actually enjoyed this menu more than the first time. It was more consistent, every dish was excellent as opposed to the previous time when one or two of the dishes were a little disappointing.
Service wise, the opposite. The restaurant was full (as opposed to relatively empty the last time I came), and I genuinely felt that some of the other staff members were a little curt, a little hurried. I wasn’t shown the bottle for the wine we had, and yes it was wine by the glass, but that just meant we had no idea what wine we were drinking! (It was an excellent Riesling by the way, but we had to ask to find out) Explanations were at times curt, and honestly, other than the ever excellent Stepan, service was kind of disappointing.
Stepan though, is a one man service saver. Funny and engaging, he made a more genuine effort in making sure we enjoyed our dinner. When my brother went to the washroom earlier, one of the other staff basically just waited till everyone was back till explaining the dishes (which, yes, makes sense), but Stepan (when my brother went to the car to get his jacket), actually explained it to us first, and again to my brother. He didn’t seem to mind the extra effort, and was quite happy to let us choose if we were going to wait or continue to eat first.
And though they didn’t sing happy birthday, they did provide a birthday cake complete with candle, and a card signed by Chef Andre and the entire kitchen brigade. It wasn’t as brilliantly funny as the birthday celebration surprise that Shinji pulled a few days earlier, but it was still appreciated, and the overall dining experience was still a meal that’s hard to match in the limited land space of Singapore.

This restaurant has become one of my international favorites, although it is at the highest end of my range. Wines are actually not as extraordinarily priced as some may have mentioned once you take London and New York into account — and the food is definitely of the highest standards worldwide. This is what I call reflective dining– you are meant to ponder the chef’s take on things with each dish, but not so much that you end up spending more time thinking or being jawboned by the server than gushing in ecstasy with every bite. That balance is not easy to each, but Andre walks it well. I had the dinner in a party of three, which allowed us to share a very nice bottle of wine. Thankfully it was a seafood-​heavy night, firstly because I love seafood and secondly because it allowed the chef to give us all kinds of deliciousness without making me feel overly stuffed.
Rather than go into detail for each dish, as my partner has already done so in another review, and I agree with her, let me give overall impressions. Firstly, the flavors are rich and multilayered while being very clean, distinct, and memorable. Too often, ambitious chefs don’t leave a mark in your memory while trying to be clever. This is not at all the case here. Secondly, there a few twists which help keep up the suspense in dining, and it’s at the right level of activity and interactivity. «Memory», a chawan mushi of exquisite and rich flavors, is a big winner. «Artisan», which for me was a roasted baby corn, served with roasted shreds of burdock, pepper, and corn cream, challenged Eleven Madison Park’s carrot tartare for originality, farm-​to-​table virtue, and flavor.
The price-​to-​value ratio is something to think about. They only do 30 covers a night and this allows Chef Andre to do pretty much everything, from appetizers to desserts. This allows him to fully express his philosophy. Can you get the same for less, with a chef who is less focused on this expression of self? Per Se costs more, Eleven Madison Park less. It’s about the same as Joel Robuchon in Paris. When you consider things on an international scale, I guess it falls within the interval of ‘fair’ pricing, considering what you’re getting.
All in all, a very excellent experience.

This place has to be one of the more expensive places worldwide and thats after dining at Per Se, Eleven Madison Park and Joel Robuchon which are all Michelin starred. This place is worthy of a Michelin star and I predict it will get one in the near future.
A friend picked this place while we were visiting Singapore, we didn’t think too much about it as we both thought we were just meeting for a somewhat casual dinner. The fiancé and I got there a bit early and we could not locate the restaurant. This place is quite well hidden with a not so obvious sign, we missed it the first time and had to go back down the street to look for it. Our party of three was seated in the chefs tasting room, which only had two tables. Honestly, we didn’t do any research before coming to this place and were quite shocked at the octa-​philosophy menu which costs $ 288 per person. Oh well, we were there so what could we have done. We did some quick research on our phones while waiting for our friend and it seems like others had a great experience so that gave us a sign of relief.
No menu, just a menu of the octa-​philosophy describing each one, with no mention of what we would actually be eating that night. Ordered a bottle of Gewürztraminer to share. It worked out surprisingly well, as most of Chef Andre’s dished turned out to be seafood. While the dishes may change each day due to the availability of produce in the market, the restaurant should offer a printed menu at least after dining so that I can remember what I had and which one of the eight philosophies it was suppose to invoke. Now after some jet lag, some of those details might have been lost.
The meal started with an appetizer containing cocoa-​garlic ‘soil’, porcini chips, deep-​fried prawn heads, potatoes with uni. The garlic soil was the highlight of this dish, our party devoured it. Not sure if other parties thought enough to eat it, but please do, otherwise you will be missing out.
«Pure» consists of 8 flavors of the sea. Mostly raw, so I hope you like sushi.
«Salt» was so artfully designed. There was a whole little forest growing on top of a green apple mouse with oyster tartare on the bottom, surrounded by «sea water.» Ironically, no salt was added to this dish. The flavors are all natural!
«Artisan» — the waitress starts off by bringing you a tiny strand of something and asks if you can guess what it is, then later you get to see the whole thing. It turns out to be baby corn husk, 4 days old, flown in from a dedicated farmer in Taiwan that only picks and chooses the best to send over. Since the corn is still very young, the flavors are very strong but the texture is still very delicate. Crazy right?
«South» a uni risotto dish with mackerel and yellow tail on top. The second plate consists of heirloom tomatoes, peaches and flatfish sashimi. Chef Andre’s southern France influence, ironically I was in southern France a few months prior and experienced similar flavors. The heirloom tomatoes were a hit for me.
«Texture» lobster and scallop gnocchi. Raw ingredients makes this dish a textural circus dancing in your mouth. Very clean and refreshing dish.
«Unique» a grill fish. The details escape my mind.
Most memorable was the foie gras and truffle chawan mushi. This was the «Memory» course and it was in fact the strongest of all the flavors served that night. It reminds me a lot of Restaurant Bouley (New York) and their version of the Chuwan mushi. Maybe I just like Chuwan mushi, which is a tofu based dish.
«Terror» — a lamb dish with delicious sauce on the side.
Here is where we opted to share a cheese plate. The names of which now slip my mind, but there were two hard cheeses and a soft goat cheese. One of the hard cheeses was incredibly salty, but I liked it. I guess it’s worth a try.
Desserts — several pre-​desserts before the main dessert of a deconstructed Snickers bar. This is supposedly one of his specialties and he always has it on his menu. It was good, but I don’t think they should give Snickers any credit unless Mars has a patent on peanuts, caramel, and chocolate.
It turned out to be an amazing dinner after all and in fact has become one of our favorite places. After doing some research, I have since learned that this restaurant is one of the must try places in Asia and is featured on many different lists.
Michelin star! you wait and see!

We visited Restaurant Andre for lunch after reading numerous recommendations from various sources. The food and service were both excellent and the value for money at lunch was fairly good at 130 SGD. The wine list was mostly very expensive even compared to Australian prices, so the total cost could very easily blow out with a decent bottle or two.
My favourite courses were the «Imperial Tsar Salmon lightly smoked, tomato and peach salad, basil flower sorbet» which was beautifully plated and had delicate flavours with lots of texture and the basil flower sorbet providing a refreshing element and the «Wild mushroom polenta bianca, 36 hour slow roast short rib beef, potato and onion» which didn’t really have a twist, it was just delicious. The dessert course sounded good on paper, but didn’t really come together for me and I thought it was the weakest of the dishes and probably the only misstep.
This was a very strong lunch overall and I left impressed. The dinner menu is supposed to be more ambitious and I would like to try it, but at around 3 times the cost of lunch there are a number of other places I would like to visit first.

All I can say without spoiling anything for the guests that have never been to Restaurant Andre is that Chef Andre is amazing!
A must try when in Singapore.

9.8 /​10
This restaurant is extraordinary. The house its built into is beautiful, charming, and serene. They play soft, ever so slightly in the background, experimental Japanese instrumental music. The rooms and tables themselves are very comfortable and high class. There are varying styles of rooms across its three floors The food is incredibly creative in concept and visuals, fun to eat, and absolutely delicious. The service is accommodating without getting in the way.
If Michelin ever does a guide book in Singapore, surely this would be one of the 3 Stars recipients.
Here are some photos I took.
Score is based on overall experience, considering food, comfort, and lasting impression.

My wife and I went here for my birthday, and it was an amazing experience, possibly the best meal I’ve ever had.
When I first read about Chef Andre Chiang’s «octaphilosophy,» I thought it sounded really pretentious. His cooking is structured around 8 themes or philosophies: Unique, Pure, Texture, Memory, Salt, South, Artisan, and Terroir. After eating there, I still think it’s kind of pretentious, but when you create food and experiences this good, you have license to be pretentious every now and then.
There’s no set menu at Andre, because the chef has most of his ingredients imported, like the seafood which comes mostly from Japan, and rather than sticking to a rigid set of dishes and hoping that his suppliers can source what he needs, he simply has them send him whatever is freshest and of the best quality on any given day, and he designs the menu around that. You’re nominally served 8 courses, one for each element of the Octaphilosophy, but in reality you probably get 10 – 12, between pre-​appetizers, pre-​desserts, etc. Each dish is artistically crafted and fairly light, but due to the sheer quantity of them you end up getting really stuffed for a fine dining restaurant.
The one dish that stays on the menu every day is Memory, by popular demand. It’s foie gras that’s mixed with a bit of cream and then whipped until it becomes very light and airy, and then it’s topped with truffle oil and truffle shavings, and it might have been the single best thing I’ve ever eaten. It’s ridiculous.
The ambience and service are fantastic as well. The restaurant is in a converted shophouse, and it creates a modern but very intimate environment. Stefan, who runs the front of the house, is good at gauging the mood of each group of diners, and if you’re there for a romantic evening with your significant other he’ll keep his space and interrupt you as little as possible, but if you’re there with a group then he’ll be more talkative, give longer explanations of the dishes and the chef’s approach, etc. Service is fast, friendly, and highly professional.
At $ 288 per person for dinner, not including wine, it’s not someplace that I could afford to go to every weekend, but it’s perfect for special occasions or just splurging every once in a while.

Progressive French cuisine in a modern shophouse setting
Andre Chiang is Taiwanese-​born, French-​trained and Singapore-​based, and it is to Singapore’s credit that the ever-​serious chef has decided to plant his culinary atelier here. After a stint at Jaan, he has found his niche serving «Octaphilosophy» at his own restaurant, which is his interpretation of the finest culinary creations. There is no a la carte, just 5-​course lunch at $ 128, and the 8-​course (actually, 12 after the extras) dinner at $ 288.
Though there are brickbats aplenty, let me just say that Andre is a perfectionist on ingredients who worships terroir and provenance. When he serves an aubergine or seaweed as a main ingredient, it is likely a pretty rare and delicate one. If he serves wild game (such as duck or chicken), then it would really be a wild-​sourced bird. To compare, as some diners do, these incredibly fine products to mass-​farmed ones, is to begin the meal with the wrong frame of reference. You want to be here to challenge your tastebuds, to see if your palate distinguishes a $ 100 capon from a $ 6 Malaysian farm chicken. I don’t claim to be able to, but I let my mind be open to the possibilities on the plate.
The progression of the dishes are well thought out, and depending on your appetite, may not leave you feeling ‘full’ — though your senses may be on overload after the purity, power and presentation of each dish. Dishes are tweaked and changed periodically, but aptly, the dish named «Memory» usually remains. The talented chef makes many of this own plates — yes, he designs, forms and gets hands-​on firing them at a kiln in Singapore — to suit the dish. When he’s away, the restaurant closes. He personally meets and greets every table after dinner.
Wines are on the very pricey side, but it is a discerning selection.
The wooden floorboards echo the waiters’ footfall a bit too loudly, but otherwise, the seating arrangements are comfortable.