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Odette

Singapore

• The Best Restaurant in Asia 2023

French fine dining with a humble background

On the Pass

Julien Royer

Pastry Chef

Louisa Lim

Humble beginnings: Named The Best Restaurant in Asia 2023, Odette is a modern French eatery founded by Chef Julien Royer in 2015. Coming from a family of farmers, Royer cares deeply about produce, sourcing ingredients from artisanal producers in Asia and Europe and treating them carefully to highlight their purest flavour.

What’s the inspiration? Odette is Royer’s gastronomic love letter to his grandmother of the same name, who taught him to highlight ingredients and add that je ne sais quoi to his dishes that blows diners’ palates and brings happiness to their hearts. Her ability to demonstrate love through food and her devotion to people are the cornerstones of the Odette experience – and among the reasons her grandchild was this year voted by his peers to receive the Estrella Damm Chefs’ Choice Award 2023.

French DNA with Asian influence: The menu at Odette is strongly based on French cuisine, but the Asian influence is also evident in dishes such as Kampot pepper crusted pigeon or Kyoto miso glazed endive. The five-to-seven-course tasting menus are created based on the best seasonal produce.

Sweet finish: The pastry team at Odette, led by Asia’s Best Pastry Chef 2023 Louisa Lim, care about creating well-balanced dessert courses to satisfy diners’ sweet cravings without making them feel heavy. Highlights include Lim’s famous La Pêche, featuring poached peaches and raspberries.

Art in and from the kitchen: At first, stepping into Odette might feel like entering another exhibition at the National Gallery, where it is located. Fittingly, the restaurant features a hanging art installation made with raw ingredients from Royer’s kitchen as part of the decor – a permanent piece of art by Dawn Ng named Theory of Everything.

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