André Chiang on why his Raffles Singapore restaurant is a ‘love letter’ to the hotel’s past

Every time chef André Chiang calls it a day, something big follows. In 2018, he closed his two-Michelin-star Restaurant André in Singapore, to focus on Raw in Taipei – soon after, that restaurant gained its second Michelin star. In 2024, he “retired” again, recasting Raw as a culinary academy for young Asian chefs, and returned to Singapore to make his next moves. In the Lion City, he co-curated the dining programme for luxury train operator Belmond’s Eastern & Oriental Express route, which starts there. He also launched a hotpot concept, Bon Broth, in the Raffles City shopping centre, and took up a writer-in-residence role at Raffles Hotel Singapore. It is in this last location that 1887 by André opened on March 31, taking over the space formerly occupied by French fine-dining restaurant La Dame de Pic. Chiang’s new restaurant serves what he calls “heritage gastronomy”, meaning dishes drawn from the hotel’s founding era and Singapore’s layered food culture, influenced by French technique. Chiang’s history with Raffles dates back to 2008, when he took part in a showcase that gathered multiple three-Michelin-star kitchens under one roof. “Even now, you don’t see anywhere else pulling off something like that,” he says. His new restaurant is a paean to the fantastical, drawing inspiration from the hotel’s most talked-about episodes, including the 1902 discovery of a tiger prowling beneath the floorboards; the evening in 1904 when guests roller-skated across marble floors until almost midnight; and the 1917 gala dinner, when menus included arcane novelties such as clear turtle soup and roasted pheasant à l’Anglaise. “1887 is not a new restaurant,” Chiang says. “We’re reopening one that’s been here for 139 years.” To prepare for the opening, Chiang and his team – including chef de cuisine Ben Wang and sous chef Roy Kuo, both long-time protégés – spent more than a year in the archives, poring through records of changing tastes and behaviours. The result is a menu that does not slavishly follow history, but instead dips merrily in and out of eras, cuisines and Chiang’s personal food memories. Similarly, the dining room was meticulously designed with Chiang’s long-time collaborator and known maximalist Bill Bensley. Gleaming gold and silver palm trees snake upwards past green punkah ceiling fans, and Bensley’s hand-painted murals of Raffles’ iconic Traveller’s Palm and atmospheric, gold-tinged skies hug the walls. The carpets have been peeled back to reveal the century-old parquet floors, while a circular bar – reinstated from archival references – anchors the room beneath a chandelier of gilded, blown-glass bubbles. “It’s like a wonderland,” Chiang says, ushering diners through bottle-green velvet drapes. He recalls the beauty of the Belle Époque era, and of a time when long banquet tables spilled into Raffles’ lobby, and meals dissolved into dancing. “It was very joyful,” he says. “I wanted to recapture that – by creating a place with not just elegance and perfection but also excitement and energy.” There are three (entirely optional) tasting menus, as well as an à la carte selection of nearly 60 dishes. Meals begin at the bar at lunch or alfresco in the evenings, in an adjoining garden planted with more than 20 varieties of aromatic herbs. Here, a trio of miniature, garden-inspired snacks is served, including a choice of artisanal lemonade, particularly refreshing in the humid climate. There are eight lemonade variations, including the tantalising-sounding Spice Bomb, which features a heady mix of galangal, cumin, cinnamon and clove. Chiang encourages diners to crush the spices into the drink, releasing punchy, piquant flavours reminiscent of vinegar shrubs and Indian rasam. The Grand Plateau de 1887 features snacks riffing off cuisines from Asia and beyond. There is a crisp hae bee hiam roll with a dried shrimp and chilli paste core; a beef tendon transformed into a glasslike, chicharron-style cuboid; and an ox-tongue pissaladière suggestive of a popular Taiwanese street snack. Next, a light-as-air pain perdu arrives – topped with paper-thin slices of white button mushroom, shaved truffle and a nutty drizzle of brown butter – which Chiang shows how to break cleanly, hands briefly forming a heart. The historic Turtle Soup from 1887 returns as a clear, double-boiled broth of chicken, grouper and herbs. It is deeply savoury and collagen-rich, and does not contain the titular ingredient. The green curry king crab reworks the classic green curry into a cold, creamy quenelle, pairing it with sweet crab and sourdough batter cooked down, dulce de leche style, into a sticky, caramelised paste. We predict that the Royale of Foie Gras – Memory, a silky chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) draped in a velvety, umami-rich foie gras sauce, is bound for bestseller status. Another must-order is the beef in a seven-pepper sauce, if only to see it trotted out in Raffles’ iconic silver beef trolley, which was buried on the hotel grounds during World War II. The forearm-long French fries served as a side are also appealing. Chiang takes his bread very seriously: an in-house baker makes six varieties exclusively for the restaurant, and Chiang says diners can try the bread as a pairing experience. Each variety is expectedly precise, such as the Flaky Toast “Feuillete”, a petite loaf comprising 32 wafer-thin slices that requires 48 hours to make. The drinks menu dances between classic and idiosyncratic. There is a delicious whisky and mescal cocktail with a warming, savoury touch of sesame oil, and an array of non-alcoholic, Nanyang-inspired pairings that incorporate regional teas, fruit and aromatics. There is also a rare coffee – the green-tipped bourbon from St Helena – that was once favoured by Napoleon Bonaparte. Chiang’s menus also feature tributes to local street-food favourites, including chicken rice, laksa and prawn noodles. For now, retirement continues to elude him yet again, not least because there are still stories to tell about his favourite island nation. “1887 by André is my love letter to Raffles Hotel Singapore and this city,” he says. 1887 by André, Raffles Hotel Singapore, 1 Beach Road, Singapore 189673. For reservations, click here.

André Chiang on why his Raffles Singapore restaurant is a ‘love letter’ to the hotel’s past

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Taiwanese chef’s 1887 by André at Raffles Singapore serves ‘heritage gastronomy’ dishes drawn from the hotel’s founding era

The Taiwanese chef’s 1887 by André at Raffles Singapore serves ‘heritage gastronomy’ dishes drawn from the hotel’s founding era