Conrad Singapore Orchard: fine dining and neo-futuristic design meet at this iconic hotel
With 10 restaurants and bars (including one that regularly makes the World’s and Asia’s 50 Best lists), this is a fine place for a foodie short break.
Two dining scenes in Singapore. Firstly, I am in the cool confines of Summer Palace savouring every last morsel of a contemporary Cantonese six-course lunch; next day I’m amid the clutter and clatter of Hill Street Tai Hwa Pork Noodle hawker stall where cook Tan Chay Seng is serving up the dish his signage promises (even if the location is Crawford Lane).
Michelin-starred dining
These two venues have something in common. Both are Michelin-starred, which sums up perfectly the diversity of Singapore, the city-island-state that, despite few natural resources, has thrived on ingenuity and hard work. It is one of the great food cities of the world reflecting its cultural mix – primarily Chinese, Malay and Indian – and attracting some of the world’s top chefs. From Australia, Tetsuya Wakuda, Matt Moran, Dave Pynt and Josh Niland, to name a few. It’s a scene that happily combines traditional with experimental.
Located in the reborn Conrad Singapore Orchard hotel, Summer Palace has re-emerged with a sleek, contemporary look fused with traditional Chinese elements, including hand-painted murals depicting gardens of the Summer Palace in Beijing. Helming the kitchen (since 2009) is Liu Ching Hai, who strives for three essential elements – taste, aroma and colour – in every dish. Delights such as steamed Chilean sea bass in oatmeal with green pepper sauce; braised inaniwa udon noodles with lobster and scallop; and soups with ingredients selected for their yin and yang qualities circle the table on a lazy Susan. A tea sommelier pairs these with artisanal Chinese beverages.
Best restaurants Singapore
With 10 restaurants and bars (including one that regularly makes the World’s and Asia’s 50 Best lists), I’m getting the picture that Conrad Orchard is a fine place for a foodie short break. For a fan of architecture, it’s also a gem, the work of John Portman, an American architect considered the father of the dramatic atrium hotel design. In recent times, we’ve built a new appreciation of Art Deco and mid-century modern, right? Now it’s time to push through the decades to the 1970s and 80s when Portman was refining his “neo-futuristic” style, which started with the Hyatt Regency Atlanta in 1967. His Cuscaden Road property, close to Orchard Road in Singapore’s traditional luxury retail and hospitality district, opened in 1982 as the Pavilion InterContinental and was for a while the Regent Singapore. It closed in 2022 for an extensive refit, but honouring Portman’s legacy, and is back in business as a Conrad hotel, managed by Hilton, with 445 guestrooms, including 46 suites.
Hotel decor
The skylit atrium here is 12 floors high, with glass birdcage-like lifts up and down a central core. It has a definite Jetsons vibe, the early 60s cartoon vision of life in 2062. Planter boxes line the balconies-cum-hallways overlooking the atrium, and an art installation, Singapore Shower, by Japanese kinetic sculptor Michio Ihara hangs from above. Swish spiral staircases connect the lobby with restaurants and event spaces on the second and third levels. Blending with the hotel’s leafy surrounds, look for botanical themes in artwork, set against pink marble floors, granite tables and a silvered chandelier over reception.
Guestrooms
My new “home”, deluxe suite 1055, is calm and welcoming in tones of sand, cream and green. An entrance area, with visitor bathroom, opens to a living space with full-length sofa, armchair, ottoman and marble coffee tables that nestle together for in-room dining. The comfy bedroom lies beyond and has an adjacent walk-in wardrobe and dressing area. Its bathroom, with signature Byredo Mojave Ghost products, is comparatively small. Living area and bedroom each have a balcony with urban outlook. Block-out curtains keep the day at bay if required, but tropical plantation shutters are a stylish reminder of our location on the Equator. A suggested “sleep-to-wake” ritual starts with a soothing tea but I confess I am fast asleep without needing the mystical “Sound Bath” on TV.
The bar
Maybe this is because I’ve spent an indulgent evening in the downstairs best-listed Manhattan bar, which with its extensive whisky collection and cocktails ageing in a barrel room, prides itself as being the world’s first in-hotel “rickhouse” storage unit. Engaging head bartender Zana has led me through the cocktail sensations; some gathering flavour in their wood barrels are the work of global bartenders. The venue is classic-style Manhattan of a century ago and its beverage menu pays tribute to legends of Broadway. Its food menu has some showstoppers and, in a life first, I find myself relishing Brussels sprouts, assisted by roasted hazelnut in a hot sauce with blue cheese crumble.
Through full-drop velvet curtains, I am ushered into East47, a secretive cocktail studio that pays homage to New York of the 60s, specifically the pop-art experimentation of Andy Warhol. Suggested pairings may have diners trying a rum, melon, coconut, Benedictine, champagne cocktail with their stingray, ginger and purple cabbage dish. It’s shockingly delicious.
Guest experiences
Next evening, I’m learning new life skills in another guest experience – infusing cheeses with unexpected flavours, in this case Gorgonzola with white chocolate and truffle in Basilico restaurant’s cheese room, which has 50 or so Italian varieties to sample. Basilico offers a buffet breakfast featuring international selections and swings Italian later in the day with a raw bar, pizzas, pastas and grills. The new Basilico Bar sets a convivial mood, before and after dinner, with a list of Italian vermouths.
Out in the open air, I am on my final food adventure, an edible garden walk conducted by Gastrogeography of Singapore in association with Conrad. Alexius, a permaculture consultant and urban farmer, is in charge of a foraging expedition and has insights into greening policies that have given Singapore its Garden City tag. But few people stop to appreciate the aromas, textures and tastes of the plants around them and their nutritional and medicinal values, Alexius laments. He has written a book, 101 Edible Plants: A Guide to Designing Foodscapes in Singapore, to spread the word
The Orchard district is a lush area for an urban hike. It takes its name from nutmeg plantations in colonial times and has been recently reinvigorated with new hotels that marry vegetation with architecture, such as Conrad Orchard, The Singapore Edition and Pan Pacific Orchard. We are a stroll away from the 165-year-old Singapore Botanic Gardens, the only tropical garden on the UNESCO World Heritage list. Alexius has brought a lunch box of turkey, ham and wild spinach in potato focaccias, milk bread, dips featuring plant ingredients such as calamansi lime and a hot and saucy bite called a love triangle.
We are identifying plants and inhaling fragrances. After fine dining in a towering city, how good it is to get down to earth and discover the origins of the flavours of Singapore.
In the know
Conrad Singapore Orchard, at 1 Cuscaden Road, is a 30-minute drive from Changi Airport. Rooms from $S441 ($516), king deluxe balcony suite from $S765.
Graham Erbacher was a guest of Conrad Singapore Orchard.
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