For many Singaporeans, abalone appears on the table only once a year, at Chinese New Year. The Abagold Abalone Festival wants to change that habit.
From 10 October to 12 December 2026, eight restaurants and food outlets here will serve dishes made with abalone from Abagold, a South African abalone farm. The Abagold Abalone Festival, now in its second year, asks each kitchen to create its own dish around the shellfish. Every dish is available only during the festival.
The line-up covers a wide range of cuisines. It includes a Japanese dessert bar, a Japanese izakaya, two Italian restaurants, a grill and a seafood market. In addition, it features XIAN, a new ready-to-eat seafood brand from Suguru Home Dining, and a members-only dish at Tanglin Club.
Where does the abalone come from?
Abagold farms its abalone in Hermanus, a coastal town near the southern tip of Africa. There, the cold Atlantic waters carry plenty of nutrients. The company has farmed abalone for about 30 years. Its processing plant holds ISO22000, GMP and HACCP food safety certification.
In Singapore, Ler E is Abagold’s sole importer. Its founder, Ms Esther Loh, is also Abagold’s brand ambassador here. She has worked with the brand for 25 years, and has also handled abalone from Australia, China and Chile. According to her, Abagold’s quality has stayed consistent, so chefs can build a dish around it with confidence.
As for taste, the farm describes its abalone as mildly sweet with a clean, briny flavour. Chefs can slice it raw, braise it, grill it or steam it, and it keeps its firm texture.
What to eat at the Abagold Abalone Festival 2026
At AMI Patisserie in Scotts Road, chef Makoto Arami serves Abalone Chawanmushi With Autumn Mushrooms. He makes the egg custard with an abalone and seaweed dashi, a Japanese soup stock. He then tops it with sliced abalone and maitake mushrooms. However, diners cannot order the dish on its own. It forms part of the patisserie’s autumn dessert dining experience, which costs $128++.
Over at Shaw Centre, Scott’s Grill serves Grilled Abalone Pasta With Liver Emulsion ($58++). The cooks steam the abalone in its shell for three hours, then grill it to order. Next, they poach the liver in cream and blend it into a sauce with garlic, dashi, shiso and chicken jus.
Zenryoku Izakaya in Upper Thomson Road cooks its abalone over binchotan, a Japanese white charcoal. The Shioyaki Abalone ($15.80++) comes in thin slices with a butter sauce of dashi and abalone liver. Its second dish, Awabi Itame ($29.80), stir-fries abalone with portobello mushroom, ginger and spring onion. The idea came from a staff meal. Note that each guest must order at least one alcoholic drink.
At Esplanade Mall, Supply & Demand offers Grilled Abalone Risotto ($47++). The kitchen cooks the rice with sea urchin and crustacean butter, then adds squid ink and parsley. A grilled abalone sits on top.
Capasso in Telok Ayer Street has two dishes. The Abagold Risotto ($68++) uses larger abalone with cuttlefish, cordyceps and puffed barley, in a broth made from the abalone’s liver. The Cold Angel Hair Pasta ($46++) comes with a miso-smoked sea urchin dressing, Oscietra caviar and myoga, a Japanese ginger. Diners add abalone to this pasta as a supplement.
For simpler dishes, Avant Seafood Market in Owen Road has two options. Its Miso Butter Steamed Abalone ($15++) is steamed, then finished on the grill. The Cold Baby Abalone ($25++), on the other hand, is steamed briefly and chilled on ice.
Tanglin Club’s Chinese restaurant Tang Yun serves South African 6-Head Abalone With Morel Mushrooms And Beancurd. Only club members can order it.
A new name for home dining: XIAN
The festival also marks the start of XIAN, a new ready-to-eat marinated seafood brand. Chef Desmond Heng, founder of Suguru Home Dining, created it with a modern Asian approach.
Its first abalone dish is Teochew Marinated Abalone. Mr Heng poaches the abalone in a Teochew-style marinade. However, he swaps the usual yellow wine for baijiu from Luzhou in China, which gives a more floral smell. He also uses a lighter shoyu base, while rock sugar adds mild sweetness. XIAN will offer the dish from late October. Diners can pre-order through the XIAN and Suguru websites.
How The Gold Trail stamp card works
The festival also runs The Gold Trail, a passport-style stamp card. Diners earn one stamp for each restaurant visit where they order a festival dish. Six outlets take part: Avant, Capasso, Scott’s Grill, Supply & Demand, Vineyard and Zenryoku Izakaya. As they fill the card, the stamps form a picture of a city scene.
After three stamps, diners get 15 per cent off Abagold canned abalone. After four, they also receive a free can of Abagold abalone, which retails at $68. Diners claim all rewards at Avant Seafood Market in Owen Road.
Where to go
| Restaurant | Festival dish (price) | Address | Website |
| AMI Patisserie | Abalone Chawanmushi With Autumn Mushrooms (part of $128++ autumn dessert dining) | 27 Scotts Road amipatisserie.com/ |
| Avant Seafood Market | Miso Butter Steamed Abalone ($15++); Cold Baby Abalone ($25++) | 129 Owen Road seafoodmarket.com.sg/ |
| Capasso | Abagold Risotto ($68++); Cold Angel Hair Pasta with abalone supplement ($46++) | 92 Telok Ayer Street capasso.sg/ |
| Scott’s Grill | Grilled Abalone Pasta With Liver Emulsion ($58++) | 01-13 Shaw Centre, 1 Scotts Road www.scotts-grill.com/ |
| Supply & Demand | Grilled Abalone Risotto ($47++) | 01-13 Esplanade Mall Annexe, 8 Raffles Avenue supplyanddemand.com.sg/ |
| Tanglin Club (Tang Yun) | South African 6-Head Abalone With Morel Mushrooms And Beancurd (members only) | 5 Stevens Road tanglinclub.org/dining/tang-yun.html |
| XIAN | Teochew Marinated Abalone (pre-order from late October) | suguru.com.sg |
| Zenryoku Izakaya | Shioyaki Abalone ($15.80++); Awabi Itame ($29.80) | 01-04, 183 Upper Thomson Road zenryoku.sg/ |
Abagold Website: www.abagold.com/en-SG
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