Under the 1855 Group, Restaurant Imbue along Keong Saik uses Western modern techniques on Asian ingredients and flavours. (1855 Group has gained a Michelin star for its Restaurant Born in 2023 [video review here]).

The chef at Imbue, Lee Boon Seng, has worked at Michelin-starred restaurants such as OSIA and Michelin-starred chef-fronted Curate. He won the Global Chef Challenge in 2015. He came out during the main course to say hi to all his guests, and from my first impression, he seemed humble, hardworking, and dedicated. This post isn’t about him; this post is about the trend of aiming for Michelin stars.

The set lunch menu starts from $58++ (2 courses), and dinner set from $158++. We took the dinner set at $198++, which worked out to be about $250 per person after taxes. A la carte options are available.

I thought about how to write this review for 2, 3 weeks, because on the one hand, the food was okay, but on the other hand, it was deeply unsatisfying for the price. It then struck me that when restaurants are chasing after Michelin stars there is a conflict between guests’ expectations and the chef’s. And I guess Imbue is likely aiming for a star. It’s only a guess which may explain the food.

To get a star, the food doesn’t need to be delicious; the food needs to showcase the skills of the chef, the food needs to be “smart smart.”

Let me give an example. I love oysters, and oyster lovers love that slippery, slimy, smooth texture of firmness. It’s like bursting a water balloon in the mouth. (bad analogy but I have point later.) But here, they serve oyster mousse, all foam and air. In the mouth, it felt empty, like an air balloon. There is a great difference between water and air balloon. Air gave no satisfaction. This dish showcases the chef’s skill, but is disappointing to oyster lovers.

This “smart smart” way of cooking continued: abalone. Here, the abalone was at an “al dente” texture, which I like, but to many Chinese who grow up eating stewed soft abalone, the texture here could come across as rubbery, tough.

Here’s another “smart smart” dish, the claypot rice. My eating companion said, “Restaurant should never serve hawker food unless they can do it better. And they seldom can.” When we saw the dainty flowers plated nicely on top of the black rice, we burst out laughing. The juxtaposition was a joke.

I understand where the chef is coming from. He is trying to present another version of claypot rice, you know, making it look like claypot rice but not actually claypot rice as what Restaurant Labyrinth does. Gentrifying hawker food. I get it. But in guests’ minds, the comparison between Imbue’s and hawker claypot rice is inevitable. My companion and I ended up discussing where the best claypot rice was, and that led me to crave hawker claypot rice after the meal, leading me to think that Imbue’s rice wasn’t satisfying. It was psychological.

I want to emphasise that the food is good enough, not terrible. But I think something’s wrong when some customers said in their instagram posts that the ‘Malai’ bread is the best dish, something solid, interesting but doesn’t go all the way out to be different or showcasing chef’s skills. I don’t think the problem lies in the chef’s skills; his skills are great.

In general, the problem with chasing Michelin stars is putting the award first, and the customers second. That means showing off the skills and creativity, while taste takes a backseat. If only restaurants get really honest customers’ feedback, if chefs don’t cave to awards, my oyster will still be solid. Full video review here.

Restaurant Imbue
32 Keong Saik Road, Singapore 089137
t: +65 6223 7266
Lunch: F – Sun 12pm-2.30pm
Dinner: T – Sat 6pm-11pm
Facebook / instagram

Food: 6.25/10
Price: 5.5/10
Decor: 7/10 (We sat at a corner, didn’t really have a good glimpse of the restaurant.)
Service: 7.5/10

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We pay for our own meals on anonymous visits unless otherwise stated.