Candlenut – Singapore

As the world’s first Peranakan restaurant to receive a Michelin star – an honor it has maintained for eight years – Candlenut in Singapore offers an opportunity to experience elevated versions of some of the country’s indigenous cuisine in a nearly fine dining environment. Candlenut shares a building with several other businesses in Como Dempsey, a small plaza outside Singapore’s main shopping and restaurant districts, so upon entering the building, you may see a gourmet convenience store, a Japanese tempura spot, and a Jean-Georges Vongerichten restaurant before walking over to the open-air Candlenut space.

The primary way of eating at Candlenut is the “ah-ma-kase” tasting menu, curated by the chef-owner, which changes monthly and consists of 11 items at lunch ($82) or 13 at dinner ($105). Savory items will likely touch on themes including “satay,” “curry,” fruit and vegetable salad, fish, beef, and several local ingredients, such as sator/petai “stinky” beans, sweet-spicy chili lemak sauce, and candlenut, a highly oily nut that needs to be cooked to remove its toxicity. On the dessert side, expect pandan, coconut, and sago to play major roles, with only a small nod to chocolate.

Note that all of the portions, including a la carte items we ordered separately, were quite small: the images here typically show portions for three, which is to say one satay stick, one little rice ball, and one little kueh pie tee tart per person.