Restaurant Focal @restaurantfocal.sg

With the end of 田 Magic Square comes a new beginning for two of our alumni to forge their own path forward.  Within the same space at 7 Portsdown Road, a brand new restaurant by Chef Marcus Leow @markerpenn and Chef Jonathan Gan @jonathan_gan comes to life as Focal, with the support of Jose Aw @itishozay as their Restaurant Manager.

Foreign + Local - Weaving our beloved local flavours with top quality foreign ingredients, the approach embraces both our unique multiracial cultural heritage and our identity as a global trading hub. 

This is a story of two young and passionate Singaporean chefs. 100% homegrown and against all odds, with much hard work and humility now finally coming into their own with their exciting blend of creativity that will take Singaporean cuisine forward.   On a personal note, I have the pleasure of witnessing the development of Marcus since 2018 and Jonathan from our 2021 batch at 田 Magic Square.  I am extremely proud of them, their journey so far, and enormously excited about their future in Restaurant Focal. Come and support these promising young chefs.. I hope to see you at Focal!

Reservations for August and September is open. Link on our profile. Ken Loon August 2023 —— #restaurantfocal #singaporeancuisine #local #focal #newrestaurant #singaporean

Perhaps not the prettiest of dishes on our menu now, but this dish speaks very clearly to the kind of food we like to do at @restaurantfocal.sg Anago (Sea Eel), flash grilled over charcoal to retain its semi raw flavour, dressed with tamari, then mixed with fermented cabbage. We have a relish made with Dijon and Japanese nasu, and to finish a peanut butter dressing adjusted with tamarind, with fermented oat chips for crunch. Ps. A big thank you for everyone that helped us with our geotag! The two millennials ( and one gen-z ) are very grateful for the love from the community 🥰🥰🥰

Kedondong, mango, kaffir lime —— Menu by Chef Marcus Leow 5-course lunch : $118++ 8-course dinner : $188++ Reservations : www.magicsquare.sg —— #Topquality #ingredients #singaporeancuisine #singapore #restaurant

Shima aji, fermented jicama, pickled lychee, Sakura ebi —— Menu by Chef Marcus Leow 5-course lunch : $118++ 8-course dinner : $188++ Reservations : www.magicsquare.sg —— #Topquality #ingredients #singaporeancuisine #singapore #restaurant

イワシ iwashi, shungiku, starfruit —— Menu by Chef Marcus Leow 5-course lunch : $118++ 8-course dinner : $188++ Reservations : www.magicsquare.sg —— #Topquality #ingredients #singaporeancuisine #singapore #restaurant

アカガイ akagai, pink guava, coconut —— Menu by Chef Marcus Leow 5-course lunch : $118++ 8-course dinner : $188++ Reservations : www.magicsquare.sg —— #Topquality #ingredients #singaporeancuisine #singapore #restaurant

Edible crab (Cancer pagurus) from Normandy, commonly known as brown crab, fried with goreng pisang batter, blue swimming crab sauce, wilted leeks. —— Menu by Chef Marcus Leow 5-course lunch : $118++ 8-course dinner : $188++ Reservations : www.magicsquare.sg —— #Topquality #ingredients #singaporeancuisine #singapore #restaurant

More info on the finale menu by Marcus at 田 Magic Square. - No ticketing for this menu. Deposit and cancellation penalty does not apply. Hopefully no last minute cancellations and no-shows. Be nice please. 🙏🏻 - We are not running the usual 2-seating format with fixed dining time. So no rush to finish dinner. Feel free to choose the time slot on Oddle. - We will be serving filtered tap water with this menu. Bottled still & sparkling water are available for purchase. - We have curated a small list of wines, sake & ROCOCO Tokyo WHITE (beer). Wine pairing options available too. Enjoy!

A finale menu by Chef Marcus Leow. From 31 May to 29 July 2023 Reserve your seats on our website now! Link on our Profile.

What is next for 田 Magic Square? Back in October 2022, after 11 months of operations, we closed 田 Magic Square for a month to recharge. For the team, it was a much needed break and personally, a pause for me to evaluate this project. 田 Magic Square was created primarily for Desmond @dzzfizz, Marcus @markerpenn & Abel @abelslc back in 2018. Starting out as a pop-up to provide them a test kitchen to explore their culinary identity, it rapidly evolved into a platform for championing local talents and cuisine. Over the years, our young chefs pushed themselves and each other in pursuit of challenging the status quo. Not just in creativity but also bearing the perceived roadblocks of being local talents and interpreting our complex Singaporean Cuisine. But with a heavy heart, I made the decision to close 田 Magic Square at the end of April 2023. I feel that it is time for us to embark on another path, focusing on (developing) our existing talents Marcus, Jonathan @jonathan_gan and Keefe @keefe.c. Marcus Leow As part of his culinary development, Marcus was appointed as Chef de Cuisine of Naked Finn @nakedfinn in September 2020. Since then, with every new dish, Marcus has gradually and confidently developed his own unique culinary identity that is unmistakably Singaporean, leading to Naked Finn being on 50 Best Discovery @50bestdiscovery. What better compliment than getting the nod from Chef Julien Royer @chef_julien, that Marcus is ready to forge his own direction. With that, starting Wednesday, 31st May till 29th July 2023 (just for 2 months), Marcus and his own team of alumni, will present his latest 8-course tasting menu at 7 Portsdown Road (田 Magic Square). To me, very much a finale, the final curtain for now, to an important project that is extremely close to my heart. I look forward to meeting and serving you again at 田 Magic Square soon. --- Jose @itishozay is working on getting the reservation system online and we will announce soon when it is ready.

Our last menu in April is by 27-year old Chef Liew Le Qi. He was Chef de Partie at Restaurant Born prior to joining 田 Magic Square in January this year. This menu explores Chinese food through sauces… reinventing and repurposing traditional sauces by making them from scratch. Tickets out now. - Please note that April will be the last month of 田 Magic Square.

March’s is the last menu by Chef Keefe Chew @keefe.c. Over the last couple of months, he has explored and experimented with different parts of a duck to create this degustation. From extracting flavours using duck bills to making an emulsion out of duck brains, Keefe will take you on a beak to tail dining experience at 田 Magic Square. - Tickets out now.