255 restaurants, 37 Michelin stars: Meet the American engineer who spent an entire year sampling Singapore’s diverse food scene.

Being stranded in a foreign country during a global pandemic isn’t anyone’s ideal situation.

Yet, despite the circumstances, 25-year-old Jon Lu, an American software engineer, opted to stay in Singapore when global travel restrictions went into effect last year.

“I first arrived in Singapore in August 2019, but most of my time was spent traveling for work,” recalls Jon, a New York native. “It wasn’t until March 2020 that I truly settled in and began living here.”

A graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Jon had the freedom to choose his location for the year-long project he was working on in Asia.

Fluent in both English and Mandarin, Lu – who also has a background in intercollegiate figure skating – made Singapore his base of choice.

Though he dedicated much of his time to work and skating, training four to five times a week, Lu also embraced one of Singapore’s greatest passions: food.

To date, the American has dined at 255 different food spots, from cafes to hawker centers, including 30 Michelin-rated restaurants that boast a total of 37 Michelin stars (55 stars with repeat visits).

An incredible achievement, especially considering that in-person dining was banned in the city for over two months, not to mention the challenges posed by a brief health setback.

During Singapore's Circuit Breaker lockdown from April 7 to June 1, 2020, which restricted restaurants to takeout only, Lu didn’t miss a beat, ordering food deliveries twice a day throughout the first half of the lockdown.

These weren't just any meals. Lu made it a point to explore Singapore's finest gastronomic experiences, including Michelin-starred restaurants that typically require weeks, if not months, of advance booking.

“The F&B industry was going through a really tough time – I wanted to support local businesses as much as possible,” Lu shares, noting that some of his most unforgettable meals during the Circuit Breaker were at-home tasting menus, where he’d finish the dishes himself.

“One such meal was from Odette at Home,” Lu recalls, explaining how he even managed to source a tablecloth and a small potted plant from his hotel staff to recreate the iconic French restaurant’s booth seating in his room.

However, in early May, Lu began experiencing vision problems.

Doctors diagnosed him with retinal vein occlusion, a condition triggered by dangerously high LDL cholesterol levels, which were likely a consequence of his intense eating and travel schedule over the seven months leading up to the lockdown.

The closure of gyms and ice rinks certainly didn’t make matters easier for him.

“I collaborated with local experts to address my vision issues and began running daily,” Lu explains. “I also followed a heart-healthy, low-cholesterol diet for two months, cutting out foods high in added sugars.”

After two months of dieting and running, Lu's health problems were resolved. By July, just weeks after the city entered its second phase of reopening and allowed dine-in services again, he was back making restaurant reservations.

Lu’s favorite dining spots

Having explored the finest culinary establishments in Singapore, a challenge that would take even professional food critics years to complete, Lu is more than qualified to recommend the city's top dining experiences.

Among his favorite Michelin-starred restaurants is chef Julien Royer’s Odette, which has earned three Michelin stars. Lu praises the contemporary French restaurant for its “exceptionally refined and technically flawless” dishes, particularly Royer’s signature Pigeon ‘Beak to Tail’ course, which “tastes absolutely amazing.”

In the Japanese category, Lu recommends Sushi Kimura, a one-Michelin-star restaurant he’s visited twice. He notes that chef-owner Tomo-o Kimura serves “thicker and more exotic” cuts of fish such as sujiko (salmon roe sac), oki aji (white-tongue jack fish), and usubu hagi (unicorn leatherjacket). Lu also raves about Kimura’s shari (sushi rice), which is “perfectly firm and airy” and served at just the right temperature.

When it comes to local Singaporean fare, Lu’s heart belongs to the Michelin-starred Labyrinth, helmed by chef Han Li Guang.

The restaurant is known for its elevated takes on local favorites, like the Signature Chilli Crab, which retains its unmistakable Singaporean roots, with ingredients largely sourced from local suppliers. Lu calls his second visit to Labyrinth in November one of his most memorable meals after the Circuit Breaker.

Signature dishes at Labyrinth include the Ang Moh Chicken Rice and An Ode to Cairnhill Steakhouse, both of which are inspired by the culinary heritage of chef Han Li Guang’s grandparents.

In addition to Michelin-rated spots, Lu makes it a point to explore new dining venues. His top recent discovery is Euphoria, which offers ‘gastro-botanica’ cuisine crafted by Singaporean chef-owner Jason Tan, formerly of the one-starred Corner House.

“Euphoria centers around four botanical essences, all derived from vegetables,” Lu explains. “I was truly amazed by how delicious each dish was, especially the depth of flavor from the vegetable elements.”

Despite his extensive visits to renowned restaurants, Lu doesn't believe in ‘star chasing’ – dining solely because a place has earned Michelin stars. There are still 13 Michelin-starred restaurants in Singapore that remain unchecked on his list.

The restaurant Lu visits most often in Singapore is Preludio, a two-year-old avant-garde spot that has yet to earn any Michelin stars.

Preludio, helmed by Colombian chef Fernando Arevalo, offers ‘author’s cuisine’ based on a yearly changing theme called ‘chapter.’ Lu was particularly impressed by the Pata Negra course from its Monochrome chapter, which featured panko-crusted Iberico pork shoulder, spiced with cumin, cayenne, and paprika, paired with tomatoes marinated for two days – a dish with ‘incredible’ flavors.

“I typically avoid repeating dishes at fine-dining establishments, but the fact that I’ve already dined at Preludio nine times in 2020 speaks to their creativity and inventiveness,” Lu says.

Influenced by the show ‘Chef’s Table,’

Lu reveals that his passion for dining out began in 2015, during an internship in downtown Chicago, where he was surrounded by an abundance of food choices just a short walk from his office.

Since then, Lu, a dedicated food enthusiast, has made it a point to visit at least 300 different restaurants annually, starting with casual cafes and eateries before transitioning to more upscale venues in 2019.

Lu credits his interest in fine dining to the Netflix series ‘Chef’s Table,’ which captured his imagination with its portrayal of food as an art form, with limitless potential driven by a chef's creativity and technique.

“I’d often watch an episode and immediately add the featured restaurant to my must-visit list,” says Lu, who traveled to top global restaurants such as GAA, MUME, Central, Dinner by Heston, NARISAWA, and Momofuku Seiobo between September 2019 and March 2020. He’s shared many of these culinary experiences on his Instagram.

The American mentions that Singapore stands out as the ‘most impressive’ dining city he has experienced, and believes it’s entirely feasible to dine at top-quality restaurants every day for years without repeating meals.

“The sheer variety of cuisines and the wide range of ingredients, sourced from all over the world, make Singapore’s food scene truly exceptional,” Lu says.