FIQ's Gastronomy (CLOSED)

One of 2014’s more promising restaurants so far steers clear of café clichés – no sub-par sandwiches, carbonara or heaven forbid, red velvet cake. Owner and chef Syafiq Zane introduces dishes like spinach risotto with sous vide chicken, roasted potato gnocchi with mushrooms, and five-hour braised short ribs. (All pastas are made fresh on-site.) Syafiq spent six years in the US – he worked in the food industry to hone French cooking techniques and even squeezed in an internship at three-Michelin starred Jean Georges in New York City. Chances are, he’s going places.