Cover Árō is chef-owner Johanne Siy’s labour of love (Photo: Árō)
Árō is chef-owner Johanne Siy’s labour of love (Photo: Árō)
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At Árō, chef‑owner Johanne Siy champions overlooked ingredients and the artisans behind them through a philosophy she calls “Creator’s Cuisine”, bringing their stories to the fine‑dining table
When considering Johanne Siy, chef‑owner of contemporary fine‑dining restaurant Árō, the word that comes to mind is “brave”. After all, to open a high‑stakes, low‑capacity gastronomic concept in September 2026 meant stepping straight into a volatile climate for the local F&B industry, marked by a wave of closures in recent years—among them, the Michelin‑starred Japanese restaurant Esora, whose former premises on Mohamed Sultan Road she has taken over. Yet, while she acknowledges the challenges of the current landscape, her reason for forging ahead anyway was simple: “If not now, then when?”
At 45, Siy has taken a longer route to opening what she describes as her “labour of love”. Funded by Siy, her tech consultant husband Vinchi Cuenco Cuyegkeng and a few close friends, Árō is the culmination of her lived experiences and the people, places, ideas and memories that have shaped her as a chef. Among her backers is a Filipino man in his 90s who, like Siy, hails from Pangasinan in the Philippines and was a regular at Lolla, where she previously served as head chef.
Rather than defining Árō as a Filipino restaurant, Siy has chosen not to anchor it to any particular nationality, cuisine or geography. Instead, she serves what she calls “Creator’s Cuisine”, an approach that spotlights the artisans, farmers and craftspeople who shape the dining experience. “A thread exists between what grows in the ground, the hands that made it possible and the people who sit at the table,” shares Siy, who sees herself less as a traditional chef and more as an “agent who tells the stories of the communities behind the produce we use”.
Read more: Lolla head chef Johanne Siy on her most pivotal culinary and life lessons
Avocado, Siy’s signture dish, which makes an appearance at Árō
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In developing her 12‑course chef’s tasting menu, Siy, now a Singapore citizen, returned to her native Philippines to explore lesser‑known ingredients deserving of a fine‑dining table. One such discovery is stingless bee (kiwot) honey, which she sources from a producer in Laguna. She showcases it in two ways to reveal its complexity: first, atop an edible flower layered with cheese crackers, and second, as a two‑year‑aged honey served in a ceramic pot with bee pollen, basil, blue cheese and lime gel. Siy also champions what she calls the “criminally unsung” pili nut, native to the Bicol region, pairing the humble ingredient with produce traditionally regarded as more luxurious. In her creation, a custard made from pili nut milk is layered with raw pili nuts, delicate slices of jamón and crispy fried capers, then finished with Kaviari Ossetra caviar and dill oil for a touch of decadence.
Asin tibuok, an artisanal sea salt Siy discovered on a trip to Bohol, features in both her pre‑dessert and dessert. The salt is particularly special, not least because the centuries‑old craft behind its production is at risk of disappearing. Practised on the island for more than 500 years, the tradition was inscribed on Unesco’s List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding 2025. “It takes almost a year to produce this traditional salt,” says Siy. The painstaking process begins with gathering coconut husks, which are soaked in seawater for months before being dried and burned to ash. The ash is then used to filter seawater, producing a brine that is boiled in custom‑made clay pots until the water evaporates, leaving behind the distinctive salt.
Above Chef-owner Johanne Siy opened Árō in September
Chef-owner Johanne Siy opened Árō in September
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Siy uses it primarily as a finishing salt, lending its distinctive character to two contrasting creations. The pre‑dessert pairs a sharply refreshing cucumber sorbet with chrysanthemum granita and an opaline tuile, finished with a sprinkling of asin tibuok. For dessert, she reimagines pulut hitam, transforming black glutinous rice into a light espuma with coconut milk before coating it in crispy puffed rice dusted with the artisanal salt.
She has also brought back a few modified signatures from her Lolla years, at the request of diners who have followed her to her new venture and continue to ask for them. The much‑loved avocado makes a reappearance in a more refined iteration: half an avocado topped with smoked eel and cucumber, dressed in yuzu, coconut and dashi, with black garlic lending sweetness and depth. The dish is finished tableside with jalapeño granita, adding a refreshing, piquant edge.
While approximately 70 to 80 per cent of the ingredients on her debut menu are Filipino, Siy intends to continue seeking out unsung ingredients beyond the Philippines and Southeast Asia. Helming Árō, after all, is a continuous journey of discovery. “It’s about bridging the knowledge gap around unique regional ingredients. If we discover a rare ingredient in France, say an artisanal underground cheese, we’ll feature that too. It’s a lifelong learning process,” she says. Siy chuckles as she recalls how even holidays with her husband inevitably turn into excursions to visit local producers. “‘I thought this was a holiday! Why am I driving hours into the countryside to visit a farm?’ he would joke.”
Above Siy wanted Árō to feel like an extension of her home by furnishing the interior with artworks, books and other objects from her personal collection
Above Siy worked with apanese design firm Keiji Ashizawa Design to create a warm and welcoming dining room
Siy wanted Árō to feel like an extension of her home by furnishing the interior with artworks, books and other objects from her personal collection
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As her most personal project to date, Siy wanted Árō to feel like an extension of her home. Working with Japanese design firm Keiji Ashizawa Design, she created a dining room defined by rich wood tones, walnut counters, oak chairs and rattan‑clad walls. A shelf displays artworks and books from her personal collection. Upon entering the restaurant, guests are greeted by an abstract iron sculpture by Filipino artist Pete Jimenez, the first artwork Siy and her husband acquired together.
At the heart of the restaurant is the chef’s counter, designed to foster connections between diners, the ingredients and the team Siy has assembled, which includes Jhonel Faelnar, formerly the beverage director at New York’s two‑Michelin‑starred Atomix and who now serves as Árō’s general manager and beverage director. Asked about his approach to curating the wine list, Faelnar explains that he wanted a diverse selection that “will go well with Johanne’s food”. Rather than focusing on any one region, the wine pairings span bottles such as Domaine Vincent Dancer Bourgogne Blanc 2023 from Burgundy, Castro Candaz La Vertical 2021 from Galicia’s Ribeira Sacra, and Luís Seabra Vinhos Granito Cru Alvarinho 2023 from northern Portugal. Many of the wines, Faelnar adds, come from winemaker friends whose vineyards he has personally visited, forging relationships that extend beyond the bottles.
Above Ube, or purple yam, features in Siy’s debut menu at Árō
Above Pili nuts native to Philippines are presented alongside luxe ingredients at Árō
Ube, or purple yam, features in Siy’s debut menu at Árō
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Siy’s travels have also introduced her to artisans who created the ceramics and tableware on which her dishes are served, including Mia Casal, Sakiko Tomibe and Charlie Martens. Their names, alongside those of the other artisans who have contributed to Árō, are printed on the menu card, acknowledging the people whose craftsmanship has helped bring her vision to life.
Indeed, Siy has come a long way from her beginnings as a certified public accountant and then a brand builder at Procter & Gamble in 2003. What began as the simple pleasure of cooking for fellow expatriates at the weekends eventually led her to pursue a career in the kitchen, culminating in her tenure at Lolla and, now, a new chapter of her own. With Árō, she has created a space where the ingredients she discovers, the people she meets and the stories she gathers along the way can converge at the table.
For Siy, the restaurant is not about being defined by a single cuisine or culinary identity. Rather, it is about remaining curious, giving lesser‑known ingredients and the people behind them the recognition they deserve, and allowing those discoveries to shape an ever‑evolving menu. It is an ambitious undertaking in a challenging industry, but one that feels distinctly her own. After all, if not now, then when?
Credits
Images: Árō
Dudi Aureus is the senior dining and travel editor at Tatler Singapore, covering the city’s most exciting restaurants, global travel trends, and the personalities shaping the culinary and lifestyle scenes. She also serves as co-jury chair for the Tatler Best awards in Singapore, celebrating the very best in hospitality. When she’s off duty, she can often be found at a favourite hole-in-the-wall Thai spot, savouring a perfectly balanced pad thai.
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