There were also rises and falls among Singapore’s winners. Seroja, helmed by Malaysian chef Kevin Wong, made a stunning debut on the list at No. 31, claiming the Highest New Entry award. Lolla (No. 43), helmed by last year’s Best Female chef Johanne Siy, is also a new entry. Burnt Ends (No. 15), Euphoria (No. 20) and Born (No.25) rose nine, five and 11 places respectively while Odette (No. 10), Labryinth (No. 30), Meta (No. 28) and Les Amis (No.38) dropped from their previous positions of sixth, 11th, 17th and 27th.
Seroja’s chef-owner Kevin Wong said: “We’re very happy with the results. We didn’t expect it, obviously. We just cook everyday and believe in what we were doing.”
Lolla’s Siy was “elated” at her restaurant being ranked for the first time. She said: “It gives a lot of reassurance to the team. We have been putting a lot of focus on the customer experience, the simple enjoyment of food. Getting here with just our customers spreading the word, to me, is fantastic.”