DE S T INAT IONS
28 Manhattan, at the Regent Hotel, snagged
the top spot in “Asia’s 50 Best Bars” this year and the gleaming, classy refuge re-creates the Golden Age of cocktails, hosting an extraordinary Sunday adults-only brunch in addition to producing fabulous tipples. For another dose of glamour, the gilded Atlas has murals of ancient Egyptian royalty, 1,000 gins, and concocts cocktails that pay homage to the Art Deco era around the world; big spenders might consider uncorking a bottle of 1907 Heidsieck & Co Monopole Goût Américain Champagne, recovered from a 1916 shipwreck (cost, a paltry S$190,000/US$138,000). A sense of grandeur also inhabits the
private members club 1880 (members of reciprocal clubs across Asia-Pacific have access), with design elements like an opulent 1.5-ton reception table made of Madagascan crystal (one of three such pieces in the world, the other two owned by Robert Downey Jr), cylindrical 2.5-metre-tall phone booths clad with spitfire aluminium and upholstered with Chinese silk, and a bar studded with 360 vintage teapots. Dining in the Lion City guarantees
equally extravagant encounters. At Swissôtel, Michelin-starred Jaan is a study in refined precision on the same high floor as Skai Bar. In mid-2018, the restaurant
DE CEMB E R 2 0 18
unveiled a new culinary focus, Reinventing Britain, with a menu shaped by seasonality and moving away from Modern European to showcase British gastronomy (including a sinfully indulgent Devon cream tea). Celebrity chef restaurants populate Marina Bay Sands, the resort partnering with household names like Wolfgang Puck, Daniel Boulud, David Thomson, Gordon Ramsay and David Myers. Tetsuya Wakuda is the creative spark behind Waku Ghin, an intimate two-Michelin- star restaurant with four private dining rooms and not more than 25 guests at any one time (plus you can order from a 3,000-bottle wine collection). Working through the ten-course degustation menu is a private and exclusive treat. On top of the Marina Bay Sands towers,
the Skypark is home to an observation deck, swimming pool (star of thousands of Instagram shots and the synchronised swimming snippet at the end of the film) and the restaurant/bar/lounge Cé La Vi, where the show-stopping views ensure the place is perpetually packed. Options at Cé La Vi include a curated six-course menu with wine pairing by the only Master
Sommelier in Singapore, and a private dining room with sublime views of the Singapore
Strait. The club lounge can also
be customised for a private party (as in Crazy Rich Asians). At the National Gallery, the bright, airy
Odette is a homage to chef Julien Royer’s grandmother and earned the distinction of being recognised as the top restaurant in the city. The highlight of the modern French menu is undoubtedly the eight-course dinner tasting menu with wine pairing, a gustatory extravaganza that celebrates Royer’s use of Asian ingredients and French preparation. For haute cuisine liberated from the
constraints of the standard restaurant experiences, The Inside Access concierge service can supply alternatives with chefs from esteemed establishments like Pollen, Blackwattle and Les Amis. For the Chef ’s Table series, meals can be hosted at a restaurant with a menu created just for the client, the personal interaction with the chef throughout the meal a hallmark of the
bus ine s s tr a v el ler .c om
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