Inside the House of Tan Yeok Nee, where French technique has been meeting Japanese sensibility since the doors opened in November last year, Chef Shu has kept to one clear idea: let the ingredients lead, and build every dish with sincerity rather than spectacle. That idea has just earned two of the biggest honours in Singapore’s dining scene, both handed out on the same night.
Loca Niru has been awarded One Michelin Star in the Michelin Guide 2026, and Chef Shu has been named recipient of the MICHELIN Young Chef Award 2026, both announced at the same ceremony. This is a rare outcome for a Japanese-French fine dining restaurant barely a year old.
Two Wins, One Ceremony
A star and a personal award for the chef, landing together, is not something that happens often, let alone for a restaurant still in its first year. Loca Niru opened its doors quietly, without the fanfare some new openings chase, and let the food do the talking instead.
A Michelin Star comes down to five things inspectors look for on every visit: the quality of the ingredients, the chef’s mastery of flavour and technique, how much of their own personality shows through the food, whether the meal represents good value for what’s charged, and whether that standard holds up across repeated visits.
The Young Chef Award works differently. It sits under Michelin’s Special Awards, alongside honours like Opening of the Year and the Service Award, and goes to a chef inspectors feel is showing real promise early, someone already leading a kitchen with skills well beyond their years. Winning it places Chef Shu among young chefs recognised across Michelin Guides worldwide, each singled out not only for what they have cooked so far but for where their career looks set to go next.
The Cooking Behind the Recognition
Chef Shu’s menus move between French technique, Japanese precision, and the flavours of Southeast Asia, drawing each course from whichever tradition serves the ingredient best. Nothing on the table feels forced together. The result is an elevated fine dining experience shaped less by rules and more by instinct, built season by season around what is freshest at the time.
That instinct has been there since the beginning, and it is the same one guiding the kitchen today.
Credit Where It’s Due
A star rarely comes down to one person alone. The servers who look after every table, the producers who supply the seasonal ingredients on the menu, and the kitchen team working alongside Chef Shu have all played a part in shaping Loca Niru into what it is today. It is this collective effort that carried the restaurant through a remarkable first year, and culminated in two Michelin accolades.
With the accolades now in hand, the plan from here stays much the same: the same care in the kitchen, the same attention on the floor, and the same instinct that shaped the menu from day one.
Book Your Table at Loca Niru
For anyone curious what a Michelin-starred first year tastes like, there is no better way to find out than to make a reservation at Loca Niru today.