La Table d'Emma

Chef Michael Muller, who once ran the kitchen at JAAN and later coached Singapore's Bocuse d'Or team, opened this 120-seat bistro on the ground floor of the Mercure ICON hotel and named it after his wife, Emma. The room is relaxed and rustic, and the cooking leans firmly towards Alsace, the region he grew up in.

Start with the 72-hour onion soup, made with beef cheek and Gruyère under a puff-pastry lid, or share a tarte flambée topped with fromage blanc, smoked bacon and onions. Emma's bouchée à la reine, veal and chicken in a Riesling velouté, and the pot-au-feu with roasted bone marrow and horseradish cream are the house signatures. Escargots come baked with Riesling and parsley butter, and spätzle in brown butter is a good side.

It works well for weekday lunches near Telok Ayer, with a 1-for-1 set lunch, and for unhurried weekend meals with children. Book through SevenRooms or by WhatsApp; it opens daily, including public holidays, and runs a weekly list of off-menu specials such as moules frites.