focus
Chef Emmanuel Stroobant and his blue lobster and hay-smoked buri creations
Silver Spoon
Saint Pierre: love at first course
By Raini Hamdi
ILTM Asia-Pacific delegates seeking to
impress business partners with lunch
or dinner are spoilt for choice with
Singapore’s array of fine-dining inde-
pendent restaurants. Close by ILTM
venue is Saint Pierre, a revered name
in town that just keeps getting better.
AMBIENCE
In Singapore’s dog-eat-dog F&B
scene, Saint Pierre’s owner and chef,
Emmanuel Stroobant, has stood his
ground for 17 years. The restaurant
has moved location thrice; its cur-
rent spot on the second floor of One
Fullerton is its best yet: fantastic views
of the Marina Bay waterfront, and a
distinguishedly chic restaurant with
seats for only 24, make me feel privi-
leged to be dining there. You wouldn’t
guess such a fine setting in a building
that has zero sense of arrival. That’s
how ‘hidden gems’ get coined.
MENU
I expect a lot. Saint Pierre has one
Michelin star and is the only Singa-
pore member of Relais & Chateaux.
Chef Stroobant is known for his
30 TTG Asia luxury | May 2018
French precision and techniques, de-
votion to the freshest and high quality
produce, and the creative ways he
twists and turns Asian flavours in his
French cuisine.
The restaurant offers five-, eight-
and 12-course Classic, Discovery and
Adventure set menus, though à la
carte and vegetarian menus are also
available. I picked Discovery, which
has simple-sounding courses like
Tomato, Parmesan; Celeriac, Apple,
Pickled Mustard, Walnuts; Smoked
Trout Cannelloni; Blue Lobster, Ap-
ple, Chervil, Buerre de Cider.
What comes I can only describe
as art and science. I’ll never be able
to look at ‘Tomato, Parmesan’ again
without thinking of that small,
delicate, round creation that I held
between my thumb and index fingers,
admiring how it could possibly be
tomato and parmesan, then putting it
in my mouth where it melted, flirted
shamelessly with my tastebuds and
stole my heart – a case of love at first
course. And by the time dessert was
served – Tanariva-Manjari Chocolate,
Vanilla Parfait, Passion Sorbet – you
could say I’d become hopelessly
devoted to Saint Pierre.
SERVICE
The best service in the restaurant came
from the man himself, who personally
welcomed guests at every table and
I could see they were as taken in as I
was by his humility, charm and huge
effort to give his guests due recogni-
tion for coming to dine at his restau-
rant. In contrast, I found the service of
the French staff to be sleek and profes-
sional but lacking in warmth.
VERDICT
A must-go if you are seeking a sen-
sational dining experience while on
leisure or business in Singapore.
Address: 1 Fullerton Road, #02-02B One
Fullerton. Open Tuesdays to Saturdays
for lunch from 11.30 (last seating 13.30)
and dinner from 18.30 (last seating 21.00).
Close on Sundays and Mondays. Tel: (65)
6438 0887; email: [email protected];
www.saintpierre.com.sg
Located next to Saint Pierre is sister
Shoukouwa Sushi Restaurant, awarded
two Michelin stars in 2016 and 2017, and
partners chef Junya Kudo of two-Michelin-
star Sushi Ikko in Hokkaido, Japan. It seats
only eight pax. www.shoukouwa.com.sg