Dining Out: Top 5 restaurants in Singapore

Reuters - Tuesday, June 1

SINGAPORE, June 1 - The Miele Guide to Asia's finest restaurants is written by food experts who know and love the region .

This is a list of the top 5 restaurants in Singapore, Asia's gourmet hub where the local cuisine is as varied as the international options on offer.

1. Iggy's

Since it opened in September 2004, Iggy's has consistently won rave reviews both locally and internationally. The restaurant, owned by Singaporean Ignatius Chan, received high praise by taking 45th place in The S.Pellegrino World's 50 Best Restaurants 2009. Iggy's kitchen runs without a head chef, but its team of chefs - many of whom have been with the restaurant since it opened - work closely with Iggy (as Chan is known among friends and diners) to develop new dishes and recipes for their delightful four-course table d'hote and eight-course degustation menus (the restaurant does not offer an a la carte option) that focus on showcasing the most exceptional seasonal ingredients. The service is impeccable no matter where you're seated. Reservations at Iggy's are highly recommended.

3F The Regent Singapore

1 Cuscaden Road

www.iggys.com.sg

2. Jaan par Andre

This hot newcomer to this year's Top 20 list is hardly a new restaurant. But since chef Andre Chiang took over the kitchens of Jaan in 2008, he has revitalised the outlet and elevated it to that of gastronomic hotspot, adored by local and regional foodies alike. The first thing that strikes you upon entering Jaan par Andre is the view. Expansive, floor-to-ceiling glass windows front a sweeping panorama of Singapore's cosmopolitan cityscape. But it is chef Chiang's unique French nouvelle cuisine that is the real showstopper. Each dish is gorgeously plated and bursts with flavour, balancing the parameters of creativity and inventiveness while maintaining the integrity and essence of each individual ingredient. Reservations are essential.

70F Equinox Complex

Swissotel The Stamford

2 Stamford Road

www.equinoxcomplex.com

3. Les Amis

With its consistently high food quality, impressive wine collection and reliable service, Les Amis is an institution in fine dining, credited with putting Singapore on the world's gourmet map. Since opening in 1994 - which is a lifetime for the fickle diners of Singapore - it has jolted the sleepy culinary scene and steadily grown its base of loyal customers. Using the season's freshest ingredients, chef Armin Leitgeb deftly executes his creations, preserving the integrity of its flavours and layers of textures. The menu changes every three months but seasonal specials such as white asparagus, truffles or morels demand exceptions. And oenophiles will salivate at Les Amis' award-winning wine list; its S$5-million collection won the Wine Spectator's Grand Award - the only one of three in Asia. Indeed, Les Amis has become an icon of Singapore's gourmet scene, helping to cultivate a generation of more discerning diners and providing Singapore with a stream of restaurateurs and chefs, boosting the dynamism of this diminutive city-state.

#02-16 Shaw Centre

1 Scotts Road

www.lesamis.com.sg

4. Gunther's Modern French Cuisine

Since it opened in August 2007, Gunther's has steadily made a name for itself with its focus on serving only the freshest ingredients. And while 'simple' best describes the food chef Gunther Hubrechsen serves, it is by no means boring. Rather, exquisite produce is treated with a clever lightness to render sublime taste sensations. His food is always light, clean and refined, with little embellishment but plenty of flavour. And diners gladly shell out top dollar for an experience that excites but doesn't overwhelm. This uncomplicated attitude spills over to the simple yet chic 50-seat interior, that now boasts a jolt of whimsy with its Art Nouveau-inspired curvilinear panel designs on its ceiling and at the bar.

36 Purvis Street #01-03

www.gunthers.com.sg

5. Au Jardin

Step into Au Jardin and it's almost easy to forget that you're in urban Singapore. Set in a colonial bungalow nestled among the lush tropical greens of the Botanic Gardens, Au Jardin impresses with its menu of awesome French dishes. So deft is Singaporean chef Galvin Lim with French cuisine that he was inducted into the Commanderie of Cotes de Bordeaux in 2008. The dinner degustation always hits the right notes with specialties like Alaskan crab with radish ravioli and acacia honey mustard vinaigrette. Au Jardin's knowledgeable sommeliers are also on hand to recommend the best wines to go with your dinner.

EJH Corner House

Singapore Botanic Gardens

Visitors Centre

Cluny Road

www.lesamis.com.sg