I love Singapore, I really really do. 🇸🇬
So when my friends at the Singapore Tourism Board asked if I would like to moderate a panel discussion on restaurant industry trends in Singapore for visiting overseas journalists, it took me about 3 nanoseconds to say YES, PLEASE!
The catch? My audience size of.... three people 😆
I've spoken on large stages in front of 180 people, and I had just publicly declared my goal of speaking in front of a 200+ audience this year.
This was...my smallest audience ever?!
I wondered: would I be able to sustain a 2-hour salon discussion among our cosy group of 6 (including our two estemeed panellists, Nicola Lee, Asia's 50 Best Restaurants academy chair and Indra Kantono of Jigger and Pony)?
But hey, I love a challenge. Turns out, 2 hours wasn’t enough! Our lively conversations spilled over into another 2-hour lunch.
We dove into topics such as:
🔶 The secret sauce behind the explosive growth of Singapore's restaurant and cocktail scene: our tight-knit and welcoming F&B community.
🔶 The cultural confidence seen today among local and Asian chefs and bartenders, and how, to me, it traces back to the opening of Singapore’s two Integrated Resorts Marina Bay Sands and Resorts World Sentosa in 2008. High-calibre head chefs brought in by the celebrity chefs not only established their own restaurants but also mentored and groomed the next generation of local chefs, creating a lasting impact.
And of course, the #MichelinGuide played a pivotal role — but you would say I'm biased 😉
🔶 Setting the recent waves of restaurant openings in the context of wider geopolitical and global economic shifts, from the Indian fine-dining tide to last year's casual pizzeria onslaught and the ongoing Chinese chain restaurant surge.
My next prediction?
I foresee more modern Middle Eastern restaurants hitting our shores as the region gears up for global cultural export. From elevated Leventine food to casual Lebanese seafood grills, I saw from my time expanding the Michelin Guide to the Middle East that the region's palate is more than about hummus and kebabs — and more of the world should know this!
Here’s the big question I’m still pondering after our chat, which I will in turn pose to you:
🔶 Moving beyond the Singapore Sling, what’s the signature cocktail that defines us today?
As Indra suggests, it’s not about using exotic tropical ingredients, like pandan and laksa leaves, but about the ethos we bring to our drinks — a ‘world-class’ mindset, warm but relaxed hospitality (even billionaires flail aroud in slippers and shorts in our city), and our inclusivity toward diversity given our multicultural upbringing.
I absolutely love this idea.
What do you think? What’s your circa-2025 definition of a Singaporean cocktail?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments, or let’s chat about it over a drink at Jigger and Pony. 🍸
CEO | Entrepreneur | Ex-Alibaba Aliren | Cainiao SEA & ANZ GM | People Management | Strategic Leader|Change management| Business transformation
2mo等不及了