Burnt Ends
#01-02, 7 Dempsey Road, Singapore 249671
Cuisine:BarbecueWood-fire grill
- Dine-in
- Bar
- Counter seating
In short
Malcolm Lee's Peranakan restaurant at COMO Dempsey, which held a MICHELIN star from 2016 to 2025. Families and groups share the Straits Chinese dishes he grew up with, and takeaway is offered.
Candlenut is a Peranakan restaurant at 17A Dempsey Road, in the COMO Dempsey complex on Singapore's Dempsey Hill. Chef Malcolm Lee cooks the Straits Chinese food he grew up with, and the restaurant bills itself as the world's first Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant. It suits families, groups who like to share and anyone curious about Nyonya cooking.
Dempsey Hill is a green, low-rise estate a short taxi ride from Orchard Road and the Singapore Botanic Gardens. Parking at Dempsey is free, which makes Candlenut easy for anyone driving. The dining room is airy, finished in bamboo and rattan, and there is also a terrace.
Peranakan cuisine grew out of the Chinese communities who settled in Singapore and Malaysia and married into local Malay life. Lee keeps the classic flavours and adds his own twists, with some Indonesian influence. The à la carte menu is served family style, built for sharing curries, sambal dishes and the dark, earthy buah keluak. The Taste of Candlenut is a set menu, and Ah-Ma-Kase is a chef's selection that changes regularly and runs to many small courses. The tasting format changes through the year, so a repeat visit can look quite different.
The Michelin Guide Singapore first gave Candlenut one star in 2016 and has kept it in later editions. Prices are mid-range by the standards of Singapore's starred restaurants, and children are welcome. The restaurant is not halal-certified. The dress code is business casual.
Candlenut is open every day. Lunch runs from 12:00 to 15:00, last seating 14:00 and last order 14:30. Dinner runs from 18:00 to 22:00, last seating 21:00 and last order 21:30. Reservations go directly through the restaurant's SevenRooms booking system; it is not listed on OpenTable. A separate takeaway line, +65 8121 0176, takes orders from 10:30 to 21:00.
Weekend dinners book up first. A table of four or more ordering à la carte will taste far more of the menu than a couple, and the Dempsey bars and shops are a short stroll away once the meal is over.
Lee learned Nyonya cooking from his mother and grandmother before formal training at At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy, and he studied at Singapore Management University. Peranakan cooking marries Chinese staples such as pork and tau yew (dark soy) with coconut milk and Malay rempah spice pastes, and that balance runs through his menu. The COMO Dempsey directory lists Candlenut's reservation line as 1800 304 2288.
Sources: SMU News, Bibik inspiration; The Standard, Malcolm Lee; COMO Dempsey. Facts checked November 2026.
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CloseMon - 12:00–15:00, 18:00–22:00
- Monday12:00–15:00, 18:00–22:00
- Tuesday12:00–15:00, 18:00–22:00
- Wednesday12:00–15:00, 18:00–22:00
- Thursday12:00–15:00, 18:00–22:00
- Friday12:00–15:00, 18:00–22:00
- Saturday12:00–15:00, 18:00–22:00
- Sunday12:00–15:00, 18:00–22:00
- Lunch12:00 – 15:00 (last seating 14:00)
- Dinner18:00 – 22:00 (last seating 21:00)
- Takeaway line+65 8121 0176, 10:30 – 21:00
Dine-inTakeaway
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