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01 A BALI HIGH

Bali was a destination that chose him, not the other way around, says Italian restaurateur Beppe de Vito, who launched his first global offshoot, the Il Lido Bali, in June. Designed to celebrate the playful leisure-island destinations of Venice’s Lido Island and Singapore’s Sentosa Island, the 200-seater restaurant and bar marries the best of Balinese hospitality with Italian elegance in a chic yet affable timber and bronze-clad space. Favourites from the Il Lido Singapore menu, such as the Angus beef tenderloin with bone marrow crust, have been transplanted, along with plenty of hearty Italian classics and homemade pastas, New and Old World wines, and thoughtful craft cocktails.

Il Lido Bali, 38 Jalan Raya Kerobokan, Banjar Taman, Kuta, 80361 Bali, Indonesia

 

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02 THE AMERICAN DREAM

When it comes to international expansion, most brands look towards neighbouring markets. Not Veganburg. This five-year-old vegan gourmet burger chain’s first overseas store opens in San Francisco in October 2015. Situated in hippie neighbourhood Haight-Ashbury, the 2,000 sq ft “industrial-safari”-themed venue has a menu almost identical to that in Singapore. In addition to the range of soya-based wholemeal burgers they currently serve are new items for the American palate, such as Kombucha on tap, classic all-American milkshakes, softserve ice cream and cheesecakes. “Bicycle-through” stores (an environmentally friendly equivalent of a drive-through) close to all the major universities in California are also on the blueprint.

Veganburg, 1466 Haight Street, San Francisco, California, US

 

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03 HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Home-grown Chinese restaurant specialists Paradise Group will be expanding to Vietnam and Australia in 2015. Founded by brothers Eldwin and Edlan Chua in 2002, the group has since grown to encompass over 12 F&B brands, such as Paradise Pavilion, Seafood Paradise, Canton Paradise, Beauty In The Pot, Paradise Dynasty, LeTen and Hao Chii, that span over 30 restaurants in Singapore and more than 20 outlets in Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Japan, Dubai and London. Never feel homesick again.

www.paradisegroup.com.sg

 

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04 BETTING ON BURMA

Myanmar is the business hotspot to watch at the moment, so it’s no surprise that Singapore’s pioneering F&B stalwart, the Les Amis Group, is already proudly flying the Singapore flag there. In May 2014, the group teamed up with local partners Avitar Group to open a two-storey restaurant-pizzeria-bar in the heart of Yangon. The colonial-hip destination serves up iconic Singaporean fare such as bak kut teh, char kway teow and chicken rice at its House of Singapura restaurant on the first floor; while the ever-popular Pepperoni Pizzeria dishes out wood-fired thin-crust pizzas, pastas and various bar bites a floor above. A bar area on both levels connected by a winding iron staircase keeps diners happy with everything from fun-sized punch bowls to pre- and post-dinner light tipples, and the widest range of single malts available in Yangon.

House of Singapura and Pepperoni Pizzeria, Myanmar Union Business Center (UBC) Annex B, Nat Mauk Road, Bo Cho Quarter Bahan Township, Yangon, Burma

 

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05 TIME TO DANCE

Singaporean diners may just be feting the launch of Louisianastyle seafood boil restaurant The Dancing Crab’s second Singapore outlet in Orchard Road, but the brand, run by Tunglok Group, has already been making steady inroads in Japan and Indonesia. The local F&B powerhouse brought Dancing Crab’s convivial crab-and-friends dining concept to Japan’s Shinjuku district in October 2014, followed by a further 150-seat outlet in South Jakarta’s Lotte Shopping Avenue in February 2015. The restaurant adds to the clutch of restaurants the group already runs in Indonesia such as Ming, My Humble House and Taipan Seafood World, and feeds the common love of seafood shared by all three cultures, reveals Dancing Crab’s general manager Norman Hartono.

Dancing Crab, 3-37-12 Shinjuku, 2F Shinjuku Nowa Bldg, Shinjuku, Tokyo Prefecture, Japan & Lotte Shopping Avenue, 4th floor unit 33, Jl. Prof. Dr. Satrio Kav 3-5, Karet, Kuningan, Jakarta, Indonesia

 

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06 A CURIOUS PALATE

After spreading their love for quality tipple to whisky aficionados in Singapore, the people behind Quaich Bar now want to take their message farther afield – all the way to Myanmar. In January 2014, Singaporean founder-couple Chua Khoon Hui and Joyce Chua unveiled Cask 81, a swanky duplex bar and whisky repository set on an idyllic central strip between downtown Yangon and the city’s airport. Like its Singapore counterpart, Cask 81 offers a range of whisky sampling sets with tasting notes for novice drinkers to learn and explore widely. Connoisseurs, meanwhile, will find something to love in their growing collection of over 100 different whiskies, including the largest range of single malts in the country.

Cask 81 by Quaich Bar, 81 Kabar Aye Road, Yangon, Myanmar

 

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07 SYDNEY SIGHTS

After spreading his network from Singapore to London and Shanghai, Loh Lik Peng has found fresh turf for his restaurant and hotel empire in Sydney. The latest gem in Unlisted Collection’s star-studded stable is The Old Clare Hotel, set to open in August 2015. Comprising the refurbished Carlton United Brewery Administration Building and historically rich Clare Hotel, the 62-room hotel will also house Jason Atherton’s first Australian restaurant, Kensington Street Social. Also setting up shop here are first-time chef-owners Clayton Wells, formerly of Momofuku Seiobo and three-hatted restaurant Quay, and Sam Miller, former executive sous chef at leading restaurant Noma.

Expect contemporary sharing plates featuring all-Australian produce at Kensington Street Social; a frequently changing five-course menu focusing on interesting ingredients fashioned in an original way at Wells’ Automata; and vegetable-heavy dishes prepared with traditional Nordic cooking techniques such as pickling, fermenting, salting, curing and smoking at Miller’s Silvereye. Whatever your palate prefers, round it off with the lobby bar’s impressive wine list that showcases the breadth of Australia’s wine regions.

The Old Clare Hotel, 1 Kensington Street, Chippendale, Sydney, NSW, Australia

(header image credit: Il Lido Bali)
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