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Labyrinth

Singapore

An avant-garde spin on the extensive Singaporean bounty

On the Pass

Han Liguang

What’s it about? Opened in 2014, Labyrinth serves neo-Singaporean cuisine that reinvents local fare for the 21st century. A meal here offers both a discovery of Singapore’s hawker flavours and a taste of the city’s terroir, with the team tapping into its little-known bounty as much as possible.

Who’s cooking? Labyrinth’s fast-talking chef-owner Han Li Guang (known as LG) is an autodidact and former banker who traded a cushy financier’s life for the chef’s whites. Restless to a fault, he is constantly creating and a signature dish rarely rests on the menu without ongoing tweaks. He draws on his nostalgia from a childhood spent in Singapore and on his Hainanese roots, having grown up in the company of his grandfather – the owner one of the region’s first premier steakhouses.

The signature: The restaurant is eight years old, but its signature chilli crab has been through nine iterations. The latest version features local wild-caught flower crab with a scoop of chilli crab ice cream and locally farmed ice plant, curry leaves, egg white ribbons and a side of deep-fried mini buns.

What local produce will I discover? Expect to taste rojak, a spicy fruit salad, peppered with 12 different local herbs and fermented honey; king oyster mushroom with black winter truffle; and squid served with scallop and dried flounder.

Bonus point: Labyrinth earned the Sustainable Restaurant Award 2021 for its impressive commitment to sourcing, the environment and social responsibility.

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