Culinary adventure in Singapore inspired by nature
The Michelin Guide website has 288 listings for Singapore and surrounds, 39 of which hold one to three coveted stars.
However, only one offers an experience that starts and ends with a buggy ride through a tropical garden with views of the city and the Singapore Flyer.
Marguerite, located in the Flower Dome at Gardens by the Bay, won its first Michelin star in July 2022, just eight months after opening.
At the helm is Melbourne-born chef patron Michael Wilson, whose nature-inspired menu follows the European seasons.
Disembarking from our buggy, my sister and I are greeted by the friendly team and swap humidity for cool air and Scandi vibes.
On the way to our window seat, we pass three immaculate kitchen stations where chefs are calmly tweezing and plating. It reminds me of MasterChef, minus the chaos.
Marguerite's seven-course tasting menu starts with a series of seven snacks, meaning we end up with 14 dishes packed with flavour and technique, plus bread.
Dry-aged Australian kingfish is finished with a layer of sliced dwarf tomatoes and chive flowers. Each snack looks like a work of art, almost too pretty to eat.
'Everyone works very hard to make the experience very unique,' Michael says when he stops by the table.
Lettuce gazpacho is made from 10 herbs and vegetables, topped with Alaskan king crab and Amur caviar from the natural cold spring water of the Yunnan-Tibet plateau.
Tail meat from Obsiblue prawns from New Caledonia is turned into an all prawn, no starch pasta, joined on the menu by Basque mullet and Dorset lamb from New Zealand's Hawke's Bay.
Some of the celery and herbs are sourced from specialty growers in Singapore.
When Michael says his ingredients aren't bound by borders, he's not kidding. He's passionate about the provenance of his produce and employs techniques that result in each bite being a new adventure in flavour.
Before leaving Melbourne in 2012, Michael worked at restaurants including Grossi Florentino and Cutler & Co. He earned his first Michelin Star five months after opening Phenix in the Puli Hotel and Spa, Shanghai.
If there was any positive from the COVID pandemic, Michael says it was the chance to move to Singapore and build Marguerite, where he can focus on his own style of creative cuisine.
There are two desserts, including speckled pink rhubarb with ginger and celery.
'In the UK, they call it forced rhubarb, they pick it early, put it into a barn and because it is trying to reach for the light it grows, so it isn't red, it's pink,' Michael explains.
Michael also oversees Hortus, the Flower Dome's all-day dining space celebrating Mediterranean sharing plates. Both are part of Unlisted Collection hospitality group which in Singapore includes Burnt Ends and Cloudstreet.
A wooden trolley has been making the rounds and when it reaches us at the end of the meal, it reveals a collection of single-bite mignardises including a chocolate ganache shaped like a Nespresso pod, Tasmanian mountain pepper bonbons, and in a cheeky nod to Michael's Aussie childhood, a tiny Iced VoVo-inspired shortbread.
While each course is a showstopper, there's plenty to catch the eye in and around the 10-table restaurant.
Two striking carved boulders are used as counters and white marble tabletops provide the backdrop for each dish, many of which are served on handmade ceramics from local and international artists.
Michael says Marguerite's clientele is 70 per cent locals, 30 per cent tourists.
'If you look at our reservation sheet if there's a cake it's a birthday, if there's a rose it's an anniversary,' he says. Marguerite offers a complimentary cake, personalised menu and Polaroid for special occasions.
Marguerite is possibly the most accessible restaurants I've visited. The toilets have handrails and something I've never seen, a fold down small/child's toilet seat, as well as low basins designed for wheelchair users or children.
Every booking includes entry to the Flower Dome, which brings us to the restaurant's name.
'Marguerite is French for daisy,' Michael says. 'It brings joy and happiness; it's a very positive flower and sounds nice too.'
Marguerite is open for lunch from Thursday to Sunday and dinner from Wednesday to Sunday. The four-course lunch-only menu is $177, and the signature menu available at lunch and dinner is $345, including still or sparking water, excluding taxes.
Michael Wilson will be in Perth for the Good Food and Wine Show from July 18 to 20 at PCEC. He will be demonstrating a handmade Sardinian gnocchetti with pork ragu in his session, Michael Wilson's Perfect Date Night.
+ Sue Yeap was a guest of Marguerite. They have not influenced this story, or read it before publication.
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Dublin is "buzzing" as Oasis return to Ireland for the first time in 16 years. Tens of thousands of fans descended on the Irish capital for the first of two sold-out gigs at the country's largest stadium. The 90s Britpop superstars will perform to 80,000 people at Croke Park on Saturday and Sunday nights. Fans will enjoy the music in temperatures above 20C. Health officials advised revellers to wear their bucket hats, with high UV levels predicted. The band's first gig in the country since 2009, the Dublin leg of the reunion world tour will hold a special meaning for once-feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher. The Mancunian brothers have spoken about their ties to Ireland through their Irish-born parents, Peggy and Thomas. Sarah and Neil Charlton travelled from Southampton to see the band, after a determined search for standing tickets saw them clinching access in Dublin. 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Dublin is "buzzing" as Oasis return to Ireland for the first time in 16 years. Tens of thousands of fans descended on the Irish capital for the first of two sold-out gigs at the country's largest stadium. The 90s Britpop superstars will perform to 80,000 people at Croke Park on Saturday and Sunday nights. Fans will enjoy the music in temperatures above 20C. Health officials advised revellers to wear their bucket hats, with high UV levels predicted. The band's first gig in the country since 2009, the Dublin leg of the reunion world tour will hold a special meaning for once-feuding brothers Noel and Liam Gallagher. The Mancunian brothers have spoken about their ties to Ireland through their Irish-born parents, Peggy and Thomas. Sarah and Neil Charlton travelled from Southampton to see the band, after a determined search for standing tickets saw them clinching access in Dublin. 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