SINGAPORE — Thirty-eight eateries including nine new entrants have made it to the Michelin Guide Singapore’s Bib Gourmand list for 2017, up from 34 in the inaugural edition last year.

Hawker stalls Ah Er Soup at ABC Brickworks Market, Zai Shun Curry Fish Head and New Lucky Claypot Rice, as well as Peranakan restaurant The Blue Ginger, were among the new awardees announced on Thursday (June 22). Some owners are bracing themselves for bigger crowds in the wake of the publicity.

The Bib Gourmand selection, while not a starred list, recognises restaurants and street food establishments offering quality cuisine at a maximum price of S$45.

Mr Ma Pit San, 59, a former chef and owner of the Ah Er Soup franchise, said he was excited and happy about the news, but also “scared”.

The business started six years ago and now includes seven other stalls in Singapore apart from the one at ABC Brickworks Market.

Speaking in Mandarin, Mr Ma said that he expects to sell “around 600” bowls of soup per day at the awarded outlet, twice the average before Michelin’s announcement.

“We already see more customers coming on Thursday and were also sold out earlier than usual. I am very worried that the stall here will not be able to accommodate the demand as we are restricted by the size of the (3x3m) stall and the small number of staff. These factors will also compromise the quality of the taste,” he said.

Mr Edmund Choong, 35, son of New Lucky Claypot Rice’s owner, estimates the waiting time for walk-in patrons on weekends to be “close to an hour”. The stall at Holland Drive Market & Food Centre was closed on Thursday because the market was being washed, but usually sees more customers from Fridays to Sundays.

To cope with the anticipated increase in demand on Friday, it has ordered an additional “10 to 20kg” each of rice and chicken meat.

Some hawker stalls that won the Bib Gourmand last year saw snaking queues of locals and tourists and sold out their food.

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The Blue Ginger’s owner, Ms Susan Teo, 63, called the award a “very good surprise”. She initially thought it was a joke even though she was “swamped with congratulatory notes” on WhatsApp.

The restaurant, which opened in 1995, serves traditional Peranakan dishes such as fish curry and bakwan kepeting (pork and crab meatballs with bamboo-shoot slices).

“(Being listed) would do us good especially when we are expecting a little bit of downturn in the F&B industry or general economy. It will be a good boost,” she said.

The other new entrants are European restaurant Bar-Roque Grill and Japanese eateries Man Man, Shirokane Tori-Tama, Tsuta (Pacific Plaza), as well as Hawker Chan at 78 Smith Street.

The Hawker Chan outlet was the first quick-service restaurant opened by chef Chan Hon Meng — the owner of one Michelin-starred Hong Kong soya sauce chicken rice and noodle stall Liao Fan — in partnership with Hersing Culinary last year.

Dropping out of this year’s list are noodle shop Fishball Story, Indonesian stall Wedang, zi char restaurant JB Ah Meng Kitchen, Alaturka Mediterranean and Turkish Restaurant, and Malay/Indonesian restaurant Hjh Maimunah.

The 2017 Michelin guide Singapore will be announced on June 29.
 

The 38 eateries on the Bib Gourmand list for 2017:

STREET FOOD

• A Noodle Story

• Alliance Seafood

• Ah Er Soup @ ABC Brickworks Food Centre (New entrant)

• Balestier Road Hoover Rojak

• Bismillah Biryani

• Chey Sua Carrot Cake

• Depot Road Zhen Shan Mei Claypot Laksa

• Famous Sungei Road Trishaw Laksa

• Hong Heng Fried Sotong Prawn Mee

• Hong Kee Beef Noodle

• Hoo Kee Bak Chang

• J2 Famous Crispy Curry Puff

• Liang Zhao Ji

• Na Na Homemade Curry @ Bukit Merah

• New Lucky Claypot Rice (New entrant)

• Shi Hui Yuan @Queenstown

• Sin Huat Eating House

• Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken Rice

• Tiong Bahru Hainanese Boneless Chicken Rice

• Zai Shun Curry Fish Head (New entrant)
 

RESTAURANTS

CANTONESE ROAST MEATS

• Liao Fan Hawker Chan @ 78 Smith Street (New entrant)

CANTONESE

• Peony Jade @ Keppel Club

JAPANESE/RAMEN

• Man Man Japanese Unagi Restaurant (New entrant)

• Shirokane Tori-Tama (New entrant)

• Tsuta @ Pacific Plaza (New entrant)

VEGETARIAN

• Whole Earth

THAI

• Yhingthai Palace

SINGAPOREAN

• Ka-Soh Restaurant

• Kok Sen Restaurant

• New Ubin Seafood

• Song Fa Bak Kut Teh @ New Bridge Road

• 328 Katong Laksa @ Joo Chiat

PERANAKAN

• The Blue Ginger (New entrant)

• True Blue Cuisine

INDIAN

• Lagnaa

• Shisha Mahal Restaurant

• Zaffron Kitchen @ East Coast

EUROPEAN

•Bar-Roque Grill (New entrant)