SINGAPORE – In a city full of restaurant brands from overseas, a wave of Singapore chefs are making their mark in new restaurants or taking over the kitchens of existing ones.Most have paid their dues, bringing with them years of experience in casual, mid-priced, upscale and fine-dining establishments. With these skills, they are turning out food from southern Italy, Sri Lanka, South-east Asia, Australia and the United States.Want to support local? Here are the restaurants to head to.The veteran: American Mass HallChef Heman Tan of American Mass Hall.PHOTO: AMERICAN MASS HALLWhere: 01-01 Lumiere, 2 Mistri RoadOpen: 11am to 10pm (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays and public holidaysInfo: Call 9743-0116 or go to @americanmasshall on InstagramYou could say that veteran chef Heman Tan has come full circle in his career. The 56-year-old was semi-retired. His previous restaurant, Moonbow, which served upscale modern European food with Asian accents in the Dempsey restaurant enclave, was sold in 2022. When the opportunity came up to develop a new restaurant brand with Jas Prestige, which operates foodcourts, coffee shops and restaurants, he thought about how he fell in love with American food when he was 19. It was in Bath in the United Kingdom, and he worked there for three years as a cook in a restaurant serving ribs, burgers and pizza.He says: “That’s where I learnt to make barbecue sauce. American restaurants in Singapore started to disappear after Covid-19. Because I miss American food a lot, I thought to bring it back with an Asian touch. Places like Billy Bombers, Dan Ryan’s and Breeks – I miss their food.”So American Mass Hall, which seats 66 indoors and outdoors, was born. The name is no typo. Yes, it is inspired by a mess hall or a military canteen, but the chef says he does not like “mess” and decided to go with “mass” instead, to match the demographic he hopes to attract. The wallet-friendly restaurant, which opened on March 13, is designed to appeal to the Central Business District crowd.On the menu are offerings such as My Premium Fish & Chips ($18), featuring battered and fried barramundi fillet; Mass Hall’s Famous Caesar Salad ($12); Grass-Fed Ribeye ($28 for a 200g steak); and starters such as Baked Onion Bloomer ($8) and Hush Puppy Corn Ball ($8).Grass-Fed Ribeye from American Mass Hall.PHOTO: AMERICAN MASS HALLChef Tan is also a ceramist who trained under the late Singapore sculptor Ng Eng Teng, a triathlete and cookbook author. He started as a cook in a Teochew restaurant in the 1980s and knows what it is like to struggle. He had dropped out of school in Secondary 1 and later found out he was dyslexic.“I didn’t have a good education,” says the father of three children aged 19 to 22. “The only chance for me then was to go to culinary school. But I couldn’t stay at Shatec because I didn’t have N-level qualifications. So I wanted to prove that I could become a chef.”He is no stranger to the ebbs and flows of the restaurant scene in Singapore, having opened – and closed – several restaurants serving everything from zi char to American food to semi-fine-dining fare. He says: “There is no best time for opening a restaurant. There is one thing I tell my team: Our attitude has to be correct first. We have two people in the front of the house. I tell the team, don’t be afraid. If it’s busy, the kitchen team will have to take the dishes out and serve them to diners. So don’t be surprised if you come in here and the chefs are serving your meal.”Already, he and his partners are looking for potential locations for the next American Mass Hall.“As a Singaporean chef, it’s difficult to shine when doing Western food – you are competing with foreign chefs,” he says. “It’s a tough journey for us. Nevertheless, that never knocks me down. I’m going to prove that we can do proper American food.”Self-taught chef: Meh’r by InderpalChef Inderpal Singh of Meh’r by Inderpal.ST PHOTO: TARYN NGWhere: 42 South Bridge Road, 05-01 (entrance via Carpenter Street) Open: 11am to 2.30pm, 5.30 to 10.30pm (weekdays), 5.30 to 10.30pm (Saturdays), closed on SundaysInfo: Call 8839-5637 or go to @mehr.by.inderpal on InstagramChef Inderpal Singh grew up watching his parents cook on a grand scale. “My father has 13 brothers and sisters; we were always having people over for food,” the 36-year-old says. From age eight, he would go to the Sikh temple every Sunday with his parents, where they would make chapati using up to 30kg of flour for the flatbreads.He says: “I would see these burly men cooking big pots of dhal. They would add something, and the smell would change. Add something else, and it would change again. That was magical. I always knew I wanted to cook.”He was accepted to Le Cordon Bleu in Paris in 2010 after national service, and started learning French. But his parents, both civil servants, baulked, so he did not go. He studied accountancy instead, first obtaining a diploma and later a degree from Kaplan Singapore. He went on to work as an accountant at the Ministry of Manpower. He never let go of his dream though, devouring cookbooks and watching cooking videos.“I decided, fine, I will do this when I’m married,” he says. “I will pursue my dream. There’s an Indian notion that when you are married, you can do what you want.”He got married in 2017 to Sandhya Deep Kaur, now 34, who works in the technology field, and is father to two-year-old Mehar Kaur, whom he named his restaurant after. Meh’r by Inderpal – he calls the 30-seat restaurant in South Bridge Road his second child – opened on Jan 20.How did he go from cooking for family, reading cookbooks and learning cooking techniques via YouTube to opening a restaurant with investors?During the pandemic, he quit his MOM job and started a home-based food business called Mr Singh Eats, selling butter chicken and chapati. He worked from 4am to 9pm, making deliveries twice a day.“I did it from my parents’ home,” he says. “I told them that what I made in a week was what I made in a month at my job.”At its peak, the business had 42 food items people could order, and he was making a five-figure sum each month. When the pandemic died down, so did orders. He transitioned to private dining when people started entertaining at home again. He had working stints at two-Michelin-starred Thevar and one-Michelin-starred Burnt Ends. He also took part in, and won, Season 4 of local reality cooking competition MasterChef Singapore in 2023, planning to continue with his private dining business. However, one of his private dining clients convinced him otherwise. Together with other investors, they spent a mid-six-figure sum on Meh’r, which has a 25-seat bar one floor above.Diners will notice the double yellow lines, the kind on roads, painted on the floor. It tells them what the restaurant serves – his take on Asian street food.“From Bali to Delhi and everything in between,” he says of his menu. “Reimagined street food, familiar flavours served in an elevated way.”Signatures include Bak Bak Wings II ($26), chicken wings stuffed with Hainanese chicken rice and drummettes glazed with banana chilli, served with chicken consomme; Lion’s Mane Briyani ($46); and Lamb Briyani ($48). Lamb Briyani from Meh’r by Inderpal.PHOTO: MEH’R BY INDERPALThere are also tasting menus at $188 a person. About 40 per cent of the menu is vegetarian, a nod to his parents who are vegetarians.He is busy testing out new offerings for the menu and working on events such as an Easter brunch, special meals for Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, and wine events.“In Singapore, people are very spoilt for choice when it comes to food,” he says. “We want to spoil them even more.”The complete package: The Horse’s MouthChef Justin Lim of The Horse’s Mouth.PHOTO: THE HORSE’S MOUTHWhere: 02-06 Millenia Walk, 9 Raffles BoulevardOpen: 11.30am to 2pm, 5pm till late (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on SundaysInfo: Call 8188-0900 or go to @horsesmouthbar on InstagramWhen Justin Lim showed up to audition for a chef’s job in 2024, he brought along the ingredients for the dishes he would cook, as well as written recipes and costings for each dish. He had done research to get the flavours right by eating at several places that served the same cuisine.He caught the eye of one of the restaurant’s co-owners, restaurateur Russell Yu.Mr Yu, 39, says: “The biggest thing for me was his pure love of food and cooking. It’s hard to find people who do it out of passion. And when he works in the kitchen, he’s very organised, very logical. He’s a complete package.”He nabbed chef Lim, 35, for one of his ventures, The Horse’s Mouth. It had opened in 2012 at Forum The Shopping Mall as a Japanese cocktail bar and closed in 2022. From September 2023 to January 2024, it operated as a pop-up. Mr Yu was looking to reopen it in Millenia Walk as a full-fledged restaurant and thought chef Lim would be a great fit.And so when The Horse’s Mouth opened in September 2024, chef Lim became its first head chef. He has been busy shaping the grill-focused menu, with offerings such as Almejas Aglio Olio ($28), clam pasta with dashi and fermented chilli-garlic; Red Curry Bangers ($28), housemade red curry pork sausages with bergedil mash and turmeric leaf sauce; and dry-aged steaks (from $19 for 100g).Almejas Aglio Olio from The Horse’s Mouth.PHOTO: THE HORSE’S MOUTHThe chef graduated from Temasek Polytechnic’s culinary and catering management programme and has worked at Bar Tartine in San Francisco, kaiseki restaurant Goto in Ann Siang Hill, Asian fusion restaurant May May, sushi bar The Flying Squirrel and Spanish grill restaurant Asador, among other places.His month-long internship at Bar Tartine made an impression on him.“I got to see first-hand their fermentation projects,” he says. “How they preserve vegetables, fruit and flowers. What they do with the leftover liquid.”His Agridulce Fries ($16) are made with potatoes fermented for 48 hours with kimchi paste, and served with honey butter glaze. Wagyu Beef Cubes and Curtido Pancake ($38) is served with fermented cabbage pancake. “I draw inspiration from different cuisines,” he says. “But I’m also quite technique-driven. I enjoy smoking stuff a lot. So I’ll smoke vinegar and wagyu fat and incorporate them into a dish. If I didn’t use the fat, it would go into the bin. I learnt from Bar Tartine to never throw anything away. Herb stems can be used for infusions.”He draws inspiration from his Chinese-Indian parentage, and his wife, who is Vietnamese. They have an eight-month-old daughter.Riffing on ingredients, smoking ingredients and dry ageing meat are one thing. But the business side of him also comes to the fore. During Covid-19, he went deep into data analytics and created his own system on Excel to manage costs, develop recipes, cost them and keep up to date with inventory.His four-member kitchen team has access to recipe cards with precise measurements for each ingredient, and step-by-step instructions accompanied by photos.“I love all the geeky stuff,” he says. “When I create a recipe, I have it on Google Drive so the entire team can see it and execute it. I’m not the old-school kind of chef who keeps the recipes to himself.”He is also very aware that with great freedom to create comes great responsibility for the bottom line.“Should I please people or stick to my beliefs?” he muses. “A restaurant needs to make money.” The hard truths chef: Station by KotuwaChef Jay Teo of Station by Kotuwa.PHOTO: STATION BY KOTUWAWhere: 21 Boon Tat StreetOpen: Noon to 3pm (Wednesdays to Fridays), 6pm, with last order at 9.30pm (Tuesdays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays and Mondays Info: Call 6221-1911 or go to @stationbykotuwa on InstagramChef Jay Teo, 34, went into the restaurant world with his eyes wide open. He has a diploma in engineering from Nanyang Polytechnic, but found his calling working part-time in restaurant kitchens and waiting tables.He says: “Doing that work told me I really wanted to do this, even knowing the sacrifices I would have to make. Public holidays are the busiest time. Even if it’s your birthday, it’s still a busy day.”So he found it disconcerting speaking to students while teaching at hospitality school Shatec between 2020 and 2022.He says: “Their first question was, ‘How much am I going to earn?’ Money. That should not be their concern. Money is important but it should not deter someone from being a chef.“This new generation, their ideas about the kitchen are influenced by (reality cooking) shows like MasterChef, where they showcase only the glory. As a chef, you have to be very consistent, you turn out the same dish over and over.”That willingness to push hard has stood him in good stead. He heads the kitchen at Station by Kotuwa, a new Sri Lankan restaurant in Boon Tat Street. It is an offshoot of Kotuwa in New Bahru. Chef Rishi Naleendra of two-Michelin-starred Cloudstreet owns both. Station, which opened on March 6, takes the space vacated by Fool, a wine bar that the 39-year-old Australian chef used to run.Both chefs have worked together for years. After graduating from Shatec in 2015, chef Teo won a six-month scholarship to work and learn in Spain. When he came back, he became part of the 2016 opening team for Cheek By Jowl, chef Naleendra’s modern Australian restaurant. There, he went from commis chef to head chef in the span of two years. He stayed on in 2019 when it became Cheek Bistro. Both restaurants had one Michelin star. Then the pandemic hit and chef Teo’s mentors at Shatec asked him to join the faculty. He left after two years to continue working in restaurants. From 2022 until he started at Fool in December 2024, he ran a pop-up restaurant called Full Circle by J. Man, serving progressive Asian cuisine, and worked at restaurants such as Brasserie Astoria.Chef Naleendra says: “Usually when we have new projects, we always first approach the people who have worked with us – people who understand the company culture and how we work, so it’s a lot easier to work together.“As a company that has been around for about 10 years, we have a certain way of approaching things. Within the last four to five years, the culture of how we work has also changed quite a bit, so it’s usually hard to find a good fit if we hire top positions fresh from somewhere else. For me, the priority always goes to people who have worked with us, that’s why I thought to reach out to Jay to see what he was up to when we decided to open Station.”Chef Teo says: “Working with Rishi is dynamic. We toss ideas back and forth, I execute and we taste and adjust.”The food at Station, he says, is lighter, with more pops of acid. The a la carte offerings cater to many kinds of diners – couples on dates, the after-work crowd looking for drinks, larger groups looking for full meals, and walk-ins.Offerings include Chilled Rasam, Yoghurt, Tomatoes ($14), Oysters with Achcharu Granita ($7), Banana Blossom Cutlets with curry leaf aioli ($14), Pan Roasted Red Grouper with mustard curry ($36), Braised Beef Cheek with blackened coconut gravy ($36) and Kingfish with pickled jambu, green chilli and pappadum ($18).Kingfish with pickled jambu, green chilli and pappa from Station by Kotuwa. PHOTO: STATION BY KOTUWAChef Teo says: “As I age, I like to eat things that are lighter and fresher. With the kingfish, the flavour profile is light but punchy with herbs and spices.”The chef admits to having the rare “temper fit” in the past.“Most times, I am calm,” says the father of two children who are four years old and nine months old. “Since becoming a dad, I have become even more patient. When you come back to the kitchen, it feels like you are parenting.”What are some things he would tell the “kids”?He says: “You must not be afraid of hard work. Techniques are the most important things to learn. Without them, you are nothing. The more you learn, the more market value you have.“Make sure to turn up for work.”The self-care proponent: SospiriChef Ashley So of Sospiri.PHOTO: SOSPIRI Where: 07-02 IOI Central Boulevard Towers, 2 Central Boulevard Open: 11.30am to 2.30pm, 6pm to midnight (weekdays); 11.30am to 3pm, 6pm to midnight (weekends)Info: Call 9478-0906 or go to @sospiri.sg on InstagramThe stride is confident, the handshake firm, the gaze steady. Chef Ashley So has a take-charge manner about her.Since September 2024, the 30-year-old has been running the 160-seat Sospiri, an ilLido Group restaurant serving southern Italian food. She took over when previous chef Matteo Ponti left. The Malaysia-born chef, a Singapore permanent resident, has worked in Singapore for a decade after graduating from culinary school in Malaysia. She has worked at Gemma Steakhouse, Meta, Tippling Club, Le Bon Funk and fine-dining restaurant Clooney in Auckland, New Zealand.But heading a big restaurant like Sospiri with a huge lunch crowd and many events to cater for is quite something else.“When I came to Sospiri, I didn’t dare to tell anyone my age,” she says. “Of course, they wondered who this young girl was with no tattoos on her arms to show strength. It took time for me to prove to them that I’m capable.”She has put her stamp on the menu with offerings such as Insalata di Granchio ($36), a salad of jumbo lump crabmeat, Caroselli cucumbers from Southern Italy and small, sweet Pizzutelli tomatoes from Sicily; Tagliolini agli Scampi ($45), housemade pasta with scampi and bottarga from Sardinia; and Crema Catalana con le Zeppole ($22), pistachio creme brulee with Sardinian doughnuts.Her boss, Mr Beppe de Vito, 51, founder of ilLido Group, says: “As a female chef in an industry that has historically been male-dominated, Ashley’s journey is inspiring. Her resilience, determination and unwavering commitment to her craft have not only shaped her career, but also made her a natural leader. She brings a fresh perspective to Sospiri while staying true to the heart of Italian cooking.”She runs the place with military precision. The restaurant does 130 to 140 covers at lunch, and it is intense work. The lifts to the restaurants are packed and diners need their three courses quick and fast, so they can get back to work.“This was a bit of a culture shock at first, but then the adrenaline took over,” she says. “I’ve learnt to be resilient, patient and firm. I won’t take any bulls**t. Everyone has to be disciplined or things go south quickly.”She makes it a point to encourage her team to speak up about their difficulties, and to have team meals where they can talk about anything other than work. Staff work a 4½-day week.“We are pumping every day,” she says. “It’s taxing on the body. I tell them to please take their days off and rest.”This comes from experience. She knows what it is like to burn out, having gone through it herself at a previous job. Her body ached, her sciatica acted up and she could not sleep.“I didn’t realise I had burnout,” she says. “Even when I was sick, I would work. I realise that over the years, I had not taken care of myself.” She decided to take a three-month break from work. She spent time with her family in Kuala Lumpur, travelling with them and going on other trips with close friends. Learning to take care of herself also included taking up yoga, reading more and listening to motivational podcasts.She went back recharged and wiser. Now, on her days off, she cooks for herself and her boyfriend of four years, pastry chef Mohamed Al-Matin, 36. They also check out restaurants together.“We exercise – go on runs, work out in the gym,” she says. “It’s very important to sweat it out, to maintain a healthy heart. I want longevity in this industry.”Avid learner: Average ServiceChef Theodore Mah of Average Service.PHOTO: AVERAGE SERVICEWhere: 315 Jalan Besar Open: 8.30am to 10pm (Sundays to Thursdays), 8.30am to midnight (Fridays and Saturdays) Info: Go to @average_service on InstagramThe extravagantly tattooed Theodore Mah is hard to miss in a crowd. At first glance, he looks like he might be a tattoo artist or a metalhead.Yes, he has worked as a tattoo apprentice, but the 35-year-old is a chef who has been in the business since he was 17. In his free time, he plays Pokemon Go, telling this reporter that he is at level 41, very close to the pinnacle level of 50. He also checks out restaurants with his girlfriend. They are planning to get married in 2025.He heads the kitchen at Average Service, a new 80-seat cafe in Jalan Besar, and has a lot of experience under his belt. It started with a part-time job at an Astons steakhouse when he was 17.“I got kicked out of the kitchen for being too slow to plate the food,” the soft-spoken chef says. But he got his act together and started working at restaurants such as Everything With Fries, Michelangelo’s, Pepe Nero, Alkaff Mansion, Esquina and Wine Connection. Asked why he never stayed long at any restaurant, he says: “I find the restaurant scene is always changing. If I stay at one place for a while, I’ll get stuck.”What he did get from working at many restaurants were skills such as making pasta and cooking techniques. At Esquina, under its former chef Andrew Walsh, he was trained in the more refined side of cooking.“A lot of the techniques I learnt from him, I still use today,” he says, of brining meats and cooking secondary cuts of meat.That shows up in offerings such as Kombu Nori Half Chicken ($22), the bird brined for two hours, cooked sous vide then roasted, and served with miso shiitake and mashed potatoes. Other offerings include Mentai Handkerchief Pasta ($24), and Potato Pleasure ($12), potato puree with onsen egg, furikake and spring onion oil.Mr Jerls Su, 35, who opened the cafe with investors, says: “Chicken is a staple, but it’s difficult to make it nice. When I first had it, I had low expectations. But it was beyond my expectations. When you eat roast chicken, you expect it to be a bit tough, but this one is not. Some diners call it the nicest chicken they’ve eaten.”This is the kind of fine balance chef Mah has to tread – the food has to be inventive but not too challenging, the flavours familiar but with a canny twist. And because this is a cafe, where people order a single dish, they have to make an impact.“We need to pack the full experience into one dish,” Mr Su says. “People who come here are not looking for fine dining. We need to offer creative comfort food.”Thick Slab Bacon from Average Service.PHOTO: AVERAGE SERVICESo chef Mah’s Steak Frites French Baguette ($24) comes with slices of tenderloin steak and fries stuffed into a baguette, and the special touch comes from two sauces – romesco and chimichurri.He is looking to introduce a chunky mushroom soup, a burrata salad with beetroot, orange and Parma ham, and housemade ravioli later in 2025. Also in the works? Roast pork belly.On his days off, he checks out restaurants so he knows what people like him are looking for when they eat out.He says: “A lot of Singaporeans are looking for affordable and tasty food. Before, you would have to go to a proper restaurant for really good food, but now, many places serve good food that won’t break the bank.”The chef is also looking to hone his skills, saying: “I shouldn’t stop learning.” He has done a stint at one-Michelin-starred Labyrinth while between jobs, and would like to do the same at Burnt Ends and Brasserie Astoria.Mr Su says: “I think chefs are creatives and you cannot hold them back.”Given all this, how long does chef Mah think he will be at Average Service?“Jerls is a friend,” he says. “I want him to succeed, so I’ll stay.”Tan Hsueh Yun is senior food correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers all aspects of the food and beverage scene in Singapore.Join ST’s Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.