Nearly two years after it shuttered, the New Majestic Hotel has reopened as Straits Clan, a private members’ club.
Local design studio Takenouchi Webb completely gutted the interiors of the graceful fin-de-siècle pile in Singapore’s colourful Chinatown quarter to create a quietly stylish homage to the island’s storied past and its multicultural mix.
Though members are screened off by a breeze-block wall, the tropical floral boutique and ground floor Clan Café are, commendably, open to the public. Takenouchi Webb has decorated the bright, high-ceilinged room with concrete floor tiles handmade in Yogyakarta, marble cuts and customised teak furniture to evoke a soothing South-East Asian meets mid-century Danish aesthetic.
The menu, too, reflects an easily accessible mélange of regional cultural influences, the executive and consultant chefs David Thien and Jeremy Nguee offering a kakiage of kale, okra and Japanese sweet potato with a genmaicha broth, and an unexpectedly addictive otah sandwich of spiced mackerel, prawns and Comté.
