Chef Willin Low opens new handmade pasta bar with buah keluak spaghetti, fettuccine with fried pork lard and more

The succinct menu also includes a tight list of sides, some elevated versions of well-loved local food that you would recognise: Har Jeong Fritter ( S$ 14 ) with pork belly chunks instead of chicken, Calamari Friti ( S$ 15 ) with calamansi mayo, and a Japanese-style Charred Napa Cabbage ( S$ 14 ) drizzled with miso butter, nori and bonito flakes.

They are meant to go with tipples like a Sng Muay Sour ( S$ 12 ), beer on tap ( from S$ 14 for Sapporo Beer ) and sakes that Low, a certified sake sommelier, created together with 358-year-old Japanese sake brewery Yaegaki. He remarked,” They were created to match with Taiwanese foods.

For instance, the perkily fruity sake with a hint of sweetness, Yaegaki x Willin Low sake ($ 15 ).

” It’s important for savory food”, explained Low. ” The only other area that sells it is my place]Roketto] in Niseko”.

Pastaro’s initial paying client was singer System Chan. Low shared:” She’s a friend, and she had always said she wanted to get our first client. When she came, she told me,’ It feels like I’m in Tokyo’, and I was like’ Yes!'”