JAAN, SWISSÔTEL THE STAMFORD, SINGAPORE

In a city where it’s hard to find a bad meal, there are few restaurants that still manage to shock and awe. Singapore’s Michelin-starred JAAN is definitely one of these. Floating amongst the clouds on the 70th floor of Swissôtel The Stamford, the intimate 40-seat restaurant’s stunning Murano crystal free-form chandelier and breathtaking view of the Singapore skyline pale in comparison to the culinary magic created by Chef de Cuisine Kirk Westaway and his team.

An assemblage of hors d’oeuvres, each using only the finest and freshest of seasonal produce, introduces diners to Chef Kirk’s British roots in the most delightful way. Inspired by his own home county of Devon are a cloud-like puff of beetroot meringue with smoked eel, a pop of Devonshire cheese in a buckwheat pancake ball, fish and chips reinvented with cod brandade in a crisp tartlet, and a cleverly deconstructed take on chicken curry.

A delicate king crab and a painstakingly plated English garden of vibrant vegetables, herbs and flowers, partnered with Scottish kombu and herb broth is as photogenic as it is palate pleasing. Eggs in an Egg sees Oscietra caviar paired with a perfectly cooked hen’s egg on a nest of cauliflower, panna cotta and mushrooms. The line caught brill with artichoke is moist and flavourful. But it is an exquisitely tender Sanchoku wagyu that brings audible gasps to the table.

A whimsical and quintessentially British palate cleanser, Pimm’s in the Park, is presented in a garden of wheatgrass with a poem penned by

Chef Kirk, whose final culinary sonnet comes in the form of Gariguette strawberries married with lemon verbena meringue and a mascarpone sorbet.