For over a decade now, Han Li Guang has been adding to the lexicon of contemporary Singaporean cuisine.
Better known as LG Han, the chef-owner of one-Michelin-starred Restaurant Labyrinth is among the pioneering champions of what some call “mod-Sin”, short for modern Singaporean fare.
Speaking on his approach to food, Han tells Options that it all boils down to inspiration. The starting point for his process, he adds, can come from all angles. “There’s no framework to be creative; it could come from a flavour that I love, or it could be nostalgia, like a dish my grandma cooked for me when I was young or a dish I tasted overseas.”
Ultimately, though, what Han prioritises in his cooking is that it maintains a uniquely Singaporean sensibility. “I’ve loved history since I was a kid,” he explains.
“At Labyrinth, we look deep into the history of Singapore; how the food was back then affects a lot of how I create right now. My creations stem from always respecting tradition while keeping an eye on the present and the future.”
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Starting off
Han’s culinary journey had a slightly different start from many of his peers. “I didn’t really develop a passion for cooking until I was in university,” he recalls.
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At the time, he was pursuing a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “When you study overseas, you start missing local food, and you have a budget, so you start cooking at home.” Whipping up dishes like bak chor mee for his housemates helped him hone his interest and skills.
Han continued cooking even after graduating and starting work at Goldman Sachs and Citi. It was here that the first sparks of a career in food were really lit. “On the weekends, I would go to restaurants and apprentice for free. I’d go there and clean the floor, just be in the kitchen, learning whatever I could learn.”
These apprenticeships, at famed restaurants such as Garibaldi, gave Han an insight into the inner workings of a professional kitchen, further solidifying his drive. “I really enjoyed the environment; it felt like something I naturally belonged in. I liked the challenge and the adrenaline.”
By this point, returning to banking no longer felt tenable for Han. “My passion was just not there in the office,” he says. So he made the jump, enrolling in culinary school and helping out in a friend’s restaurant, where he continued learning the ropes in both the kitchen and the business side of things.
All this — plus a number of pop-ups and private-dining events — led to Han opening Labyrinth in 2014. This was when molecular gastronomy still had a chokehold on the fine-dining scene here, and so the restaurant’s first menus zoomed in on “showcasing techniques”, he says, with foams, spheres and the like.
Labyrinth soon deepened its focus on highlighting Singaporean flavours and ingredients, with particular attention paid to honouring the city-state’s culinary heritage. It was around this time that the restaurant started picking up a slew of accolades, including its first Michelin star in 2017.
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Making it work
Han points out that the culinary landscape in Singapore has changed a great deal since Labyrinth first opened its doors.
Most notably, there has been a “boom” in fine-dining restaurants outside of hotels, he adds, with the scene diversifying significantly on this front, as well as in the mass-market segment. “You get all sorts of cuisines here; we’ve evolved to become known as one of the food capitals of Asia.”
This growing spread of options comes amid frequently changing consumer preferences. “Consumers are always fickle-minded when it comes to taste,” says Han, citing food trends such as Korean barbecue, lobster rolls and cheese tarts. What has stayed the same, however, is that “it’s always about striking a balance between offering product differentiation versus value for money and quality”.
Of course, even as new places have opened, plenty have also shuttered. In the year to May, 913 F&B businesses have closed; for the full year in 2024, total closures were a record-high 3,047.
“The barriers to entry are very low, which allows basically anyone to open an F&B concept,” says Han. Yet, the industry is “one of the toughest environments” to operate in; thin margins and steep competition mean that having a good idea is simply not enough to make things work in the long term.
“What’s important is to understand the economics behind running a business,” says Han. The economy moves in a cycle, after all, and one good upswing may not always guarantee continued success: “You can never expect good years to last forever.” Financial prudence, therefore, is key to staying afloat when those tough times come.
In terms of current challenges, Han points to the usual suspects: manpower, supply-chain issues, and macroeconomic uncertainty.
Labour, in particular, is difficult to balance. Even with more jobseekers on the market, salaries are still on the rise. As the cost of living here grows, employers must also keep wages high enough so their employees make ends meet. “You can’t expect people to ask for lower wages just because they’re out of a job,” says Han.
Meanwhile, the effects of global geopolitics and trade disruptions have led to tightened pursestrings. Han says that while it might have been possible in previous downturns to reduce prices and meet consumers’ price expectations, now with rising costs it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so.
“There’s only so much a business can drop its prices,” he notes. “And even if we do so, an increase in volume is not guaranteed, given the current economic landscape.” Furthermore, past a certain point, a business might even lose money on each customer served.
Trying new things
Tough as the going may be, Han says things at Labyrinth are still manageable, with “quite a big, loyal fan base” continuing to support the restaurant. “Being internationally recognised by the Michelin Guide, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants and World’s 50 Best Restaurants also helps with our tourist footprint,” he adds. Labyrinth placed 37th in the regional list this year, and 97th in the global edition.
“It doesn’t mean we’re rolling in money,” Han quips, adding that Labyrinth still sits in the same context as other businesses. He explains that, having been in the industry for over a decade now, he’s “used to” such fluctuations. “We’ve seen the cycles, as I said, and this is just another.”
On the horizon for Labyrinth is a two-night collaboration with South Korean chef Choi Hyun-seok, who took part in the cooking reality show Culinary Class Wars. The duo is set to showcase dishes they had made during a cook-off on another programme, Chef & My Fridge, earlier this year, along with new collaborative creations.
Beyond his restaurant, Han is also dabbling in other parts of the F&B world. He recently collaborated with quick-service restaurant Yakiniku-GO to create a special menu for Singapore’s 60th birthday. Available until Aug 10, items include satay, Hainanese pork curry and sambal onigiri.
Han shares that the collaboration came about after he and Fenton Foo, CEO of RE&S Enterprises — the firm that operates Yakiniku-GO — discussed the idea of bringing their brands together. “Japanese and Singaporean food share some of the same DNA when it comes to grilling,” says Han, adding that the partnership was “nothing short of enjoyable”.
Han’s collaboration with Yakiniku-GO follows his earlier partnership with three others to start Har Har Chicken, a fried chicken concept that has since closed all three of its outlets. Describing the project as “a good learning experience”, Han says he doesn’t quite have plans for more mass-market ventures — yet.
“I do want to test the waters, but with the right concept,” he explains. “The mass-market space is, like fine dining, very competitive and brutal. So if you want to go in, you have to go in with the right product, right value and right marketing strategy — and, of course, you have to make sure that it’s a sustainable concept people want … Any concept I do has got to have legs.”
