Forty seats, one night, six courses of wagyu and five glasses of sake. That’s what Fat Cow is putting on the table on Thursday, 15 October 2026, at 7pm, to mark 15 years at Camden Medical Centre on Orchard Boulevard. The 15th Anniversary Sake Pairing Dinner costs S$238++ per person, bookings are open on a first-come, first-served basis, and because there’s only a single seating, whoever picks up the phone first gets fed.
Most of us aren’t dropping that kind of money on a Thursday dinner, and that’s fair. Still, a Japanese restaurant reaching its 15th birthday in Singapore is rare enough to pay attention to, whether you’re saving up for a milestone meal or quietly dreaming of opening your own place someday.
15 Years in a Brutal Market
Singapore’s food and beverage (F&B) scene isn’t kind to restaurants. According to Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), 2,431 food establishments closed between 1 January and 23 October 2025. More than 60% of them had been running for five years or less, and 82% of those younger businesses had never turned a profit. Most closures, in other words, never got the chance to grow old.
Awards don’t guarantee survival either. CNA reported that eight one-Michelin-starred restaurants exited the market in the year leading up to October 2025, and Japanese restaurant Esora announced its closure after eight years, with chefs pointing to rising ingredient and manpower costs that accolades couldn’t offset.
Against that backdrop, Fat Cow has been open since October 2011, making it among the few dining establishments here to reach this milestone. A decade and a half on Orchard Boulevard is a long run, and the restaurant has the backing of a larger operator. It sits under Commonwealth Concepts, a group that runs more than 15 brands across over 65 outlets, PastaMania and The Marmalade Pantry among them.
The name has a story too. According to the restaurant, “FAT” stands for luxury and plays on “fatt”, a Chinese dialect word for prosperity. For a place that has outlasted thousands of competitors, the pun has aged well.
The Chef Behind the Counter
Head Chef Shingo Iijima has run Fat Cow’s kitchen since 2022, according to the restaurant. He trained in washoku, classical Japanese cuisine, and his background spans kaiseki restaurants, kappo establishments, hotels and ryokan (traditional Japanese inns) in Japan.
If those terms are new to you, here’s the short version. Kaiseki is a formal multi-course meal that follows a set progression, while kappo is a more relaxed counter-style format where the chef cooks in front of you and chats as he goes. Chef Iijima’s approach mixes the two: the structure of kaiseki with the conversation of kappo, served at an interactive chef’s table.
That combination is the most interesting part of the Fat Cow survival story. A restaurant can buy expensive beef, but a dining format built around one chef’s training is far harder for a competitor to copy, and it gives regulars a reason to keep returning.
Six Courses, Five Pours
The menu runs from lighter, vinegar- and citrus-led plates to richer, sauced dishes, using wagyu from what Fat Cow says is a handpicked selection sourced across seven Japanese prefectures. Each sake comes in a 60ml pour matched to a specific course, which adds up to 300ml across the evening.
It opens with Hanging-Roasted Wagyu Rump with grilled eggplant, ginger vinegar and purple chrysanthemum, paired with Nihonmare Sour (Fat Cow Daiginjo label). Next comes a Carpaccio-Style Sous-Vide Flank finished with fresh wasabi, yuzu koshō (a punchy citrus-chilli paste) and soy sauce from Tosa in Shikoku, alongside Mukyu Tenon Teppen Kimoto Junmai Daiginjo Yamada Nishiki.
The third course, Straw-Seared Wagyu Inside Skirt, arrives with sliced onion, chilli miso, chilli oil, garlic chips and chives, with Ayakiku Junmaigenshu Oidemai. Then the meal slows down with Kansai-Style Wagyu Ribeye Sukiyaki, a broth-based course paired with FC Kimoto Junmai.
Rice follows as Charcoal-Grilled Wagyu Flap Claypot Rice, paired with Kurumazaka Yamahai Junmai Daiginjo, before House-made Warabimochi with Seasonal Fruits closes the night. Warabimochi is a soft, jiggly Japanese confection made from bracken starch, and here it’s finished with savoury notes to keep the sweetness in check.
If you’re weighing whether to book, the claypot rice and the straw-seared skirt are the two dishes we’d chase a seat for. Fat Cow itself calls the rice “an iconic highlight of every Fat Cow meal”, so it’s the course that ties the anniversary back to the restaurant’s history. Meanwhile, the chilli miso, chilli oil and garlic chips on the skirt make it the boldest plate on a menu that otherwise plays things refined, which makes it the one most likely to surprise anyone expecting fifteen variations of politely marbled beef!
Is S$238++ Worth It?
First, the maths. In Singapore, “++” means the price is subject to a 10% service charge plus GST.
For that, you get six wagyu courses and five sakes, with the pairing included rather than sold as an add-on. That’s an honest deal for a milestone occasion, such as a promotion, a parent’s birthday or a long-overdue date night. It’s harder to justify as a casual weeknight treat, and the format makes that clear on its own: this is one fixed seating at 7pm, not a dinner you can roll into late.
Fat Cow is one of several Singapore restaurants celebrating big birthdays this year, and our roundup of Singapore restaurant anniversaries in 2026 covers the others. If you’re curious how diners land tables that disappear fast, our piece on booking impossible restaurants is worth a read as well.
🗓️ Date: Thursday, 15 October 2026
⏰ Time: 7pm (single seating only)
📍 Location: Fat Cow, 1 Orchard Boulevard, #01-01/02, Camden Medical Centre, Singapore 248649
💰 Price: S$238++ per person, inclusive of the five-glass sake pairing (subject to 10% service charge and prevailing taxes)
🪑 Seats: 40, allocated on a first-come, first-served basis
☎️ Enquiries: +65 6735 0308 or enquiry@fatcow.com.sg
With only 40 seats and one night to fill them, the longer you wait, the more likely you’ll be reading about this dinner instead of eating it. Head to Fat Cow‘s website or call the restaurant to grab a spot and raise a 60ml glass to 15 years of wagyu on Orchard Boulevard!
Photos and Visuals courtesy of Fat Cow.
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