Seroja (Singapore, 1 star)

First time visiting Singapore and I wanted to make it to one of the lesser known restaurants. I had never had traditional Malay food before (arguably still haven’t since this is fine dining) which was one of the main reasons why I picked it.

Overall, the meal was wonderful. I was seated at the counter looking directly into the kitchen and I was very pleasantly surprised at how much interaction I had with chefs. Most all came over to discuss dishes and ask for feedback on their plating specifically.

In terms of food, I’d go back in a heartbeat. Everything was fantastic. Almost all the flavor profiles were completely new to me so it was very exciting. I added the extra chicken wing plate, which was great in terms of technique and texture. The flavor was very good but for whatever reason I felt like it didn’t live up to the rest of the meal.

The somm was great and really enjoys his job. I could tell he was very passionate about the pairings and he loved answering questions as to why what wine was paired with what plate. One of the best wines I had was a South African white that he said no one had been ordering al a carte due to the price point being similar to well known French wines so he put it on the pairing as it was perfect with one of the plates. It was the best pairing and best wine I had all evening.

On a funny note, there was a couple next to me who hardly spoke the entire evening. The gentleman played Pokémon Go on TWO phones the entire evening. Seemed like a weird way to spend a night at a fine dining restaurant but more power to them if that’s what they like!