The F&B Rebel

CLAIM TO FAME

Artichoke is a Middle Eastern-inspired restaurant in the heart of Singapore’s Arts and Heritage district. At the helm is chef-owner Bjorn Shen, who’s been slinging out plates of tasty food to foodies since 2010. And it is the least authentic Middle-eastern restaurant around. And that’s exactly how Shen wants it to be. The food is fun and creative; drawing inspiration from Middle-eastern flavours and ingredients, as opposed to being traditional. Imagine funky stuff like cuttlefish shawarma, falafel-crumbed fried chicken, malabi milk pudding with mango ice for something sweet, and wagyu ham pizza on the weekends, all served to a backdrop of ’60s soul and ’90s hip-hop.

BLAZING THE TRAIL

On how he manages to stay relevant since 10 years ago, “Again, just keep riding this wave. We got on it somehow, and we’ve been riding it for a while now. We’ll ride it for as long as it lasts. In the meantime, we’ll keep putting on the best show that we can, in food, drink, service and vibes. Ah, almost forgot, also gotta keep evolving. We’ll never rest on our past success. We’ll keep on reinventing ourselves, staying relevant and doing funky stuff. This takes serious commitment and effort, but we were born for this,” says Shen.

GREAT EXPECTATIONS

Make back the $1million I lost on Bird Bird. That’ll take a good few years, if it ever happens.

THE OM FACTOR

“Lambgasm. For sure. That elusive, order-ahead, party-savvy large format dish. The Lambgasm isn’t just a dish. It’s a special occasion in its own right,” shares Shen on why you should visit Artichoke.