Looks like 2018’s year of F&B closures isn’t done with Singapore yet, because Wild Rocket is joining the ranks of Joel Robuchon Restaurant, Osteria Mozza, Pizzeria Mozza, The Marmalade Pantry Ion, Jigger & Pony, Sugarhall, and Blackwattle.
Hailed for its mod-Sin cuisine by local chef Willin Low, the popular restaurant will prepare its last dinner on Oct 31, after 13 years of serving Singaporean classics with a modern twist. If you’d like to pop by to say farewell, the place is offering three dinner menus of five-, seven-, and nine-courses featuring new and signature items until its last day.
The term “mod-Sin” was invented by the 46-year-old when he debuted the eatery in 2005, since then dishing out locally-inspired plates like laksa pesto pasta, scallop sashimi with chye poh (preserved radish) as a play on chwee kueh, and tuna belly mince with glass noodles negitoro as a rendition of bak chor mee.
According to Channel NewsAsia, Low’s reasons for shuttering his business is partly due to the fact that the Hangout Hotel, where Wild Rocket sits, is slated for major renovations next year. Plus, the lease of Emily Hill, which includes an open-air space where the restaurant’s patrons typically park their cars, is up in the air. So the lawyer-turned-chef decided to take a break and focus on his three new projects in Singapore and beyond.
The first sees him heading overseas to open a casual restaurant called Roketto (think of it as the younger sister of Wild Rocket) in December at Hokkaido’s ski resort The Maples Niseko. Here, the menu will combine Southeast Asian flavors with Japanese ingredients to craft plates of bak kut teh ramen, laksa somen with snow crab, and roti prata with chopped tuna.
When night falls, the space becomes a cocktail bar, done in collaboration with Tokyo’s High Five, Bar Mood Taipei, and Singapore’s Nutmeg & Clove.
Low will also open a Southeast Asian noodle bar in Hualien, Taiwan, by the end of the year, featuring local favorite Roxy laksa on the menu.
On home ground, the second branch of Low’s burger and pasta concept Relish is due to open at Frasers Tower on Cecil Street in November, to give folks who don’t frequent Cluny Court a CBD location to try his food.
