2025 wasn’t a great a year for me professionally, but in terms of rest and culinary experiences it was a great year. Here’s my Top Ten Eats for 2025.
Here’s to a great 2026, hopefully the Year of the Fire Horse would be better for me.
My Top Ten Eats for 2025 (Chronological Order)
Auntie Gaik Lean’s (Penang)
Back in her twenties, Auntie Gaik Lean first learned her trade cooking at Motorola’s kitchen. Eventually she established her own business, supplying meals to the canteens of various multinational companies including Intel, Seagate and Dell. Now, it’s the only Michelin starred Peranakan restaurant on the island of Penang.
Locals are not impressed by the long queues of tourists from the cruise ship (like us, the whole clan came on a cruise ship.) But if you manage to get a table, you will not be disappointed, nor will you get ripped off by high Michelin prices.
Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery
1 Bishop St, Georgetown, 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel : +60 (017) 434 4398 (Reservations through the WhatsApp account)
Amber (Hong Kong)
It was a table I looked forward so much and finally I had the opportunity to celebrate Darling’s birthday at Richard Ekkebus‘ restaurant in Hong Kong. His contemporary French cuisine (with Asian notes), exquisitely plated, leads my list of favourites for 2025. No longer satisfied with classic butter-laden European-style tasting menus, the new Amber remains an Asian-inspired contemporary French restaurant but now serves dishes that are both dairy free and gluten free.
The food was exquisite, with lots of layers of flavours and texture. It is not overwhelming with expensive ingredients; instead it uses appropriate seasonal highlights like a top Kaiseki restaurant. Richard is the chef of Michelin chefs, where so many would go to his kitchen for inspirations. So it was no surprise that he finally got the elusive third star for Amber in 2025 after so many years.
Amber
7F The Mandarin Oriental, 15 Queen’s Road Central, Hong Kong
Tel : +852 2132 0066 (Reservations)
Zén (Singapore)
Zén by celebrity chef Björn Frantzén of Frantzén fame opened is his third Asian venture in this pre-war shophouse (c. 1926), a space that used to be Restaurant André. An alumni of L’Arpège in Paris, Björn describes his recipes as Nordic informed by Japanese kaiseki sensibilities with a spritz of French technique.
With the precision of a Japanese Kaiseki dinner, every ingredient used was expertly thought through with an introduction that can be entered into Wikipedia. The food was amazing and the service was the best. Friendly staff with a lot of humour, there wasn’t any dull moment for my dinner with Princess.
Zén
41 Bukit Pasoh Road, Singapore 089855
Tel : +65 9236 6368 (Reservations)
Toritsuki 鳥しき (Tokyo)
In an extensive 21-course menu, the omakase at Toritsuki 鳥しき is a feast of bite-sized yakitori and seasonal dishes. A part of the restaurant group owned by Yoshiteru Ikegawa of award-winning Torishiki grooms a batch of disciples and each runs a high end yakitori restaurant in the group. Toritsuki stands out for its unique menu that incorporates elements from world cuisines.
While the yakitori was exquisite and every skewer was really delicious, it was the chicken cutlet sandwich (which you have to order in advance if you want to bring home a portion for your breakfast tomorrow) that was the most delightful. The chef was patient with us, explaining what every cut was, and providing a little booklet that explained a bit more about the techniques, the sourcing of the chicken and the history of the restaurant.
Toritsuki 「鳥つき」
2nd floor of M Road Toda, 1-8-13 Ebisu Nishi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
東京都渋谷区恵比寿西1-8-13 エムロード戸田2階
Tel : +81 03-6433-7505 (Reservations)
Azabudai Sui Inaba 麻布台 粋稲葉 (Tokyo)
This elegant Japanese fine dining restaurant in Azabudai Hills serves an affordable and wonderful lunch set. Located at a corner of the 3rd floor of Tower Plaza, the largest Mori JP Tower in Azabudai Hills, Azabudai Sui Inaba 麻布台 粋稲葉 is the sister restaurant of Ginza Inaba that specialises in kaiseki. It is so good that it has become a lunch favourite for us.
The menu changes with the seasons and whatever is available that is good. But I would always recommend to add a portion of the ikura to go with the rice, which is really tasty and not ideal for weight-watchers like me.
Azabudai Sui Inaba 麻布台 粋稲葉
〒106-0041 東京都港区麻布台1-3-1 麻布台ヒルズ タワープラザ 3F
Tel : +81 (03) 6277 8707 (Reservations)
Ashino あし乃 (Singapore)
Chef Ashino marks 10 years of bringing Jukusei sushi mastery to Singapore in 2025. For 10 years, Sushi Ashino has been sharing the art of Jukusei Sushi — a tradition of time, technique, and deep respect for ingredients. This year, they moved from their original location at Chijmes to begin a new chapter in their story at Mercure ICON Hotel at Club Street.
Take this piece of aji 鯵 that had been aged 9 days; it turned a few shades darker and looked like it had been dried. Instead it had its flavours intensified and the texture turned more waxy. Just thinking about it makes me want to book a seat tonight!
Sushi Ashino あし乃
8 Club St, #01-12/13 ICON Hotel, Singapore 069472
Tel : +65 6684 4567
Quince (San Francisco)
Quince isn’t just a meal, it’s a celebration of culinary craftsmanship, design, and hospitality. Right from the welcome champagne at the door to special birthday treats for the birthday boy, everything is spot on and perfect.
We came for the food, and in that department it did not disappoint. I loved the quail, but I am biased for this choice. The peas (and the way they treated the vegetables) were amazing, and so were the amuse bouche. However we did spend more than $1,700 for lunch for the food, drinks and gratuity.
Quince
470 Pacific Avenue, Jackson Square, San Francisco, CA 94133
Tel : +1 415 775 8500 (Reservations)
Bistecca (Sydney)
This is one table that is so hard to get in Sydney. And when a space at the counter came up, I jumped at the invitation. And be warned, you cannot take your phone to the table, so if you want to take photo of the meal, bring a camera. And they only serve one cut of beef, and that’s bistecca alla fiorentina.
It’s an arrogant concept, dining here is such a controlled, regulated “journey.” If you are constantly working on your smartphone, or you are waiting for that life-and-death call from your CEO, this is not the restaurant I would recommend. If you want 2-3 hours away from the digital lifestyle and enjoy an evening with your love ones enjoying a great steak, this is it. Reservation essential.
Bistecca
3 Dalley Street, Sydney, NSW 2000
Tel : +61 2 8067 0450 (Reservations)
Keunkiwajip 큰기와집 (Seoul)
This is a perfect example that loosing a Michelin star means nothing if your food is good. Keunkiwajip 큰기와집 specialises in ganjang gejang or marinated crab in Korean. It is very popular with tourists as it is near the Bukchon Hanok Village, a place where you can visit very pretty traditional Korean houses.
They got their Michelin star through this dish. Their ganjang gejang is made with proprietary soy sauce that has been fermented for at least 10 years. In fact, owner Han Young-yong attributed its selection of the restaurant to the fresh local crabs and the soy sauce marinade. The family has been making this soy sauce in-house for over 100 years.
Keunkiwajip 큰기와집 (大瓦房)
20-7 Bukchon-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Tel : +82 (02) 722 9024
San Shu Gong Chaoyue 三叔公潮粤 (Singapore)
And being a Teochew, how can I not have a Teochew restaurant on the list. The Geylang outlet was in the latest edition of Michelin as a recommendation, and they expanded to this new outlet in New Bahru at Kim Yam Road. This reverent Teochew institution delves into Cantonese cuisine with its second location.
This particular outlet has more Cantonese dishes on the menu than Teochew. For one, they do not serve their signature braised goose and other Teochew-style braise in this outlet. And the 鱼饭 “fish rice” needs prior ordering. Other than that, this was a really nice outlet versus their Geylang branch.
San Shu Gong Chaoyue 三叔公潮粤
46 Kim Yam Road #01-01, Singapore 239351
Tel : +65 6322 3322 (Reservations)
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