I took a speedboat to lunch on Asia's only luxury tall ship, anchored off Lazarus Island. This is what I ate at Albatross Island Restaurant, or AIR, if that's a mouthful for you.
I've lived in Singapore since 2011, and somehow I'd never been on the tall ship. I'd seen the posters and the promotional photos, the white sails against a sunset. It was one of those things I kept meaning to try and kept putting off.
…But when I finally sat down to lunch at AIR, I had one thought: better late than never, but I should have come years ago.
How you get there is half the charm. It's nothing like the usual Singapore restaurant routine. One minute you're pulling away from the pier, and the next you're out at sea, climbing aboard a tall ship that has clearly been looked after with a lot of love.
And yes, she comes complete with a cat. Old sailing ships nearly always had one. The ship's cat kept the mice and rats away from the food stores and the ropes, and sailors considered her good luck. So it felt exactly right to find one padding around the deck of the Albatross, completely unbothered by the lunch crowd and clearly the one in charge.
Do you remember the picnics of your childhood? You'd pack up, go somewhere, and for a whole afternoon it felt as if time had stopped. Lunch on the Albatross felt just like that, minus the part where you were stuck there until a parent decided it was time to go home. This was the grown-up, far more refined version. The speedboats that bring you out are nifty little things, run by a capable, friendly crew, and they shuttle back and forth to the ship all day. So even though you're out at sea, you're never stranded. Stay till the light turns gold, or leave after dessert. There's always a boat coming.
She wasn't always the Royal Albatross. She was launched in 2001 as Windy II, sailing out of Chicago's Navy Pier on Lake Michigan in summer, giving day trippers a taste of the wind and now and then racing other tall ships. Then a tech entrepreneur named Peter Pela came along. In 2008 he bought her and brought her halfway around the world to Singapore.
What followed was less a restoration than a rebirth. He tore out the decks, strengthened the hull and fitted new ones. He expected the job to take two or three years. It took more than five. He had no sailing background, and he has described it as studying at a maritime university while building a ship at the same time. She finally launched here in 2014.
And here's the part I love. This is his retirement chapter. Where most people leaving the tech world would have settled for golf, he took on a ship, and a decade on, he says he doesn't see himself retiring anytime soon. You feel that stubborn devotion on board. Four masts, 22 sails and more than 200 ropes, every one of them in its place.
Today she's 47 metres long and takes up to 130 guests, and even with a full lunch service it never felt crowded. Tables sit spread across the deck under canvas, and the breeze does the job air-conditioning does everywhere else in Singapore. You eat with rigging overhead and the green hump of the island just off the rail. The loudest sound, most of the time, was the water.
I always remember a meal more when there's a story behind it, when you can taste someone's passion on the plate. On the Albatross, that story starts with the ship. Then it passes to the kitchen.
If the ship is Peter Pela's labour of love, the kitchen is where that passion gets handed on. Chef Inderpal Singh, who won MasterChef Singapore in 2023, and his team carry the baton well.
He's delightful, and a good conversationalist too. When I asked about his comfort food, he confessed it's something his wife wouldn't approve of. Before you get any ideas, it's chicken rice, the good old Singaporean comfort favourite. By the end of that conversation I was starving and craving a plate of chicken rice myself.
What came out next wasn't chicken rice. The menu is Singaporean coastal cooking shaped by the old spice routes, and it was refined and elevated, and yet still comforting, a word I never thought I'd use for food this polished. Every plate was full of flavour, full of this corner of Southeast Asia. The spice routes came by sea. So did we.
Let's dive into everything we ate.
What I Ate (and What I Watched Others Eat)
To start: Hokkaido Scallop Ceviche. Think of the first cold drink on a hot day. Sour first, then sweet, then a crunch you didn't see coming. The assam ponzu does the shouting and the scallop calms it down. The curry leaf oil stays with you long after. Get everything onto one spoon. That sauce alone kick-starts the whole experience.
The chef's favourite: the 'Bak Bak' Wing. Remember the chicken rice confession? Here it is on the menu. Ask Inderpal what he'd order and he'll point you straight to this. Chicken rice, tucked inside the chicken. Genius or cheek? Both, I think. The skin comes glazed to a shine, and the rice soaks up everything the wing gives as it roasts. His wife may not approve, but I certainly do.
My main: Patagonian Toothfish. I had the fish, and I'd order it again tomorrow. It's moist, falling into big glossy flakes, but what won me over was how the flavour builds. Tamarind glaze, lemongrass-pickled vegetables, turmeric, kaffir lime, coconut. Each one takes its turn. Sweet, then sour, then the pickles cut through, the turmeric warms you, and the coconut settles it all at the end. No two forkfuls tasted the same.
It's a fish with a story, too. According to the South Georgia government, the toothfish trade once drew illegal boats whose baited lines drowned albatrosses, and its rules have since cut that by-catch to zero. Eating it aboard a ship called the Albatross? That made me smile.
Everyone else's main: 16-Hour Braised Beef Short Rib. When the short rib arrived, our table went quiet. I'd ordered the fish, so I watched it vanish from across the table. My companions called it melt-in-your-mouth. No knife needed, which is exactly what sixteen hours of braising should buy you. The rendang jus is dark and savoury rather than fiery, and the turmeric rice with crisp fried shallots didn't survive either. Nor did the spiced heirloom carrot on the side. I stole some. I'm not sorry.
Dessert: Pandan Gula Melaka Kulfi on a Stick. I grew up with kulfi. The street cart, the summer holidays, the family weddings. So I came to this one ready to be protective, and I left converted. The pandan comes first, soft and grassy. Then the gula melaka, dark and smoky, sitting with the milk as if they'd always belonged together. Caramelised pineapple, burnt coconut flakes and brown butter curry leaf crumbs come alongside, and the salt keeps the sweetness honest. Whoever thought to take a beloved Indian classic and make it speak kopitiam deserves a medal. It's still kulfi, dense and slow to melt. Just better travelled. And that gula melaka? I'm still thinking about it.
Who It's For
Couples, obviously. But I'd bring a team here before I'd bring a date.If you're hosting visitors, this is Singapore at its best in one afternoon: skyline on the way out, islands at lunch, and a menu that tells them where the city's food comes from. For team-building, it has a built-in advantage. Nobody can slip away early, because there's water between them and the office. The speedboats do run up and down all day, so if someone has to leave, they can. In my experience, nobody wants to.
Singapore has no shortage of beautiful dining rooms. What it lacks is distance. Everything here is ten minutes from everything else, and you can feel the office on your shoulder in even the best restaurant in town.
This lunch gives you the much needed distance to pause, unwind and bond over a relaxed lunch.
NEED TO KNOW
What AIR (Albatross Island Restaurant), a three-course lunch aboard the Royal Albatross tall ship
Where Anchored in the Lazarus Island lagoon; speedboats from Marina South Pier, Singapore Oceanarium (RWS) and Siloso Beach (Ola Beach Club)
When 10:30am to 3pm
Price $95++ per adult; children's menu available. Soft drinks and speedboat transfers included
Must-orders Patagonian Toothfish; 16-Hour Braised Beef Short Rib; Pandan Gula Melaka Kulfi on a Stick
Chef Inderpal Singh, MasterChef Singapore Season 4 winner
Good for Team lunches, visiting guests, families, and dogs
Book tallship.com.sg | Speedboat timetable at speedboat.sg | +65 6863 9585
