Restaurant

Candlenut

Candlenut doesn’t serve modern Peranakan fare, but as chef-owner Malcolm Lee tells Tatler Dining, “Peranakan food brought into the now”. His dishes are grounded in their traditional essence, but he elevates them by preparing most elements from scratch using the best produce. The à la carte menu is like a step back in time with nostalgic dishes such as beef rendang and chicken curry. He upgrades the beef rendang by using the premium Westholme Wagyu variety, soaked in a caramelised coconut curry piqued with spices, turmeric leaf and serunding. The curry is his mum’s recipe that’s been updated with the use of local chicken from Toh Thye San, and enriched with potato and kaffir lime leaf.