Former actress Jazreel Low spends ‘high 6-figure sum’ on new cafe in Bishan Park

Former actress Jazreel Low spends ‘high 6-figure sum’ on new cafe in Bishan Park The actress-turned-entrepreneur is aware that she’s making her F&B comeback at a difficult time for the industry, but says she’s confident her cafe, Shared Table, with business partner Jerls Su will work. Jazreel Low was happily semi-retired – until her old restaurant space came calling. The actress-turned-entrepreneur, 60, had stepped back from work for around one and a half years after selling her overseas spa businesses. She still owns Aramsa – The Garden Spa at Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park, but has a longtime team running the business for her. She was looking forward to spending more time knitting and playing mahjong. But when the space that once housed Canopy Garden Dining, the restaurant she operated for 16 years next to Aramsa, became vacant in September 2025, she couldn’t resist diving back into the volatile world of F&B. She splashed a high six-figure sum with Average Service cafe founder Jerls Su, 36, on Shared Table. Slated to open on Sep 14, Shared Table serves Asian-influenced, feel-good fare, centred on customisable “Nourish Plates” comprising a grain, protein, two sides and soup. It also offers cafe dishes such as protein pancake with caramelised banana and grilled chicken skewers. WORKING WITH JERLS SU Shared Table is Su's second F&B venture after Average Service, which opened in January 2025. The 36-year-old former DJ previously handled marketing and creative work at Potato Head Folk and was general manager of Thai tea brand ChaTraMue in Singapore, before opening his own eatery. Low had visited Average Service several times for meetings and liked its food, music and energy so much that she asked a mutual friend to introduce her to Su. Low floated the idea of working together and, as it turned out, Su had also been thinking about opening a similar concept in a park. “It felt like the right time and the (right) partner to take on something this big,” Su said. “Somehow everything just feels good and natural.” While Low had other potential F&B partners, she chose Su for his fresh ideas and younger perspective. “He handles all the things. I just sit and taste the food,” she laughed. SENTIMENTAL QUALITY Over the past two decades, Low has operated several F&B businesses in Bishan-AMK Park, including The Green Room, Canopy Garden Dining and yakitori restaurant ToriYard, all of which have since left the park. Canopy Garden occupied the Shared Table site for around 16 years before Low's company lost the NParks tender to another operator. Palm Garden subsequently took over. Low has since sold her stake in Canopy Garden, which continues to operate at five locations. With Aramsa spa next door, she regularly walked past her former restaurant and admits she wasn’t happy with what she saw. “It was so sad for me. I felt the place could be so much better,” she sighed. So when the same space became vacant last September, Low felt she “needed to do something about it”. Had that not happened, she said she probably wouldn’t have opened another restaurant. “For me, a lot of it, I must admit, is sentimental,” she said. When she and Su eventually won the tender, Low was unexpectedly emotional. “I was like, ‘Oh my god, finally we're back again!’” Su recalled: “The day we collected the keys, she had tears in her eyes.” “I was also asking myself, ‘What am I getting myself into?’” Low laughed. WORRIES SURROUNDING RETURN TO F&B Low is well aware that she is making her F&B comeback at a challenging time for the industry, with operators grappling with rising costs and diners spoilt for choice. Still, she believes Shared Table will offer something different and that her two decades in Bishan-AMK Park give her an edge. “I feel like I know my parkgoers very well, and I’m very sure they’ll like this place,” she said. While The Green Room didn’t work out commercially, her other F&B ventures fared better. ToriYard was “commercially viable”, while Canopy Garden was “especially successful”, said Low, who declined to reveal specific figures. One lesson she’s taken from her previous ventures is that good food alone isn’t enough. “You really have to pay attention to the overall concept and experience for diners,” she said, likening it to the spa business, where guests come for more than just the treatment. “We’re not in a hurry to roll everything out at once. Good dining is made up of many components, and food is just one of them.” She also trusts her gut. “A lot of the things that I do, I base it on my hunch. If my partners are good partners, I feel very safe,” she said. “I just feel like this will work for us.” SECOND CHANCE AT WELLNESS-INSPIRED CUISINE Shared Table is also a second shot at an idea Low first tried 20 years ago. When she opened Aramsa in 2006, she also started vegetarian eatery The Green Room, which she admits “didn’t work out commercially”. “I wanted so much to bring the wellness concept to this park, but I went to the extreme,” she said of its vegetarian and vegan approach. Su reckons she was simply “too ahead of her time”. This time, rather than a strictly wellness concept, Low wants Shared Table to offer nourishing food that she herself “will eat every day”. THE CAFE'S LOOK The 110-seat cafe is decked out in green hues and wood to complement its leafy park surroundings, with floor-to-ceiling glass letting in plenty of natural light. There’s also a lounge that can be turned into a private space, and a spacious pet-friendly alfresco area with its own bar. Both were still being completed when we visited. Shared Table also plans to introduce a retail corner selling local produce, clean products and in-house brews, as well as Sunday markets, workshops and wellness-related activities. THE CAFE'S MENU The all-day menu draws inspiration from across Asia, using familiar ingredients such as ginger and kung pao but presented in a contemporary cafe setting. Its signature customisable Nourish Plate (from S$21.90) is inspired by ichiju sansai, the Japanese principle of “one soup, three dishes”, centred on having a balanced meal. You pick a grain, protein and two sides, served with the soup of the day on a tray. The dishes are also available a la carte. Other a la carte dishes include grilled chicken skewers. Nourish Plate With Honey-Glazed Smoked Duck, S$21.90 For his ideal Nourish Plate, Jerls pairs lemon herb rice with honey-glazed smoked duck, corn salsa and mentai (spicy cod roe) potato salad, rounded off with mushroom soup. The herbaceous, citrusy rice pairs nicely with the juicy, tender duck, which has a gentle sweetness from its honey-soy glaze and goji berries. The corn succotash, tossed with red onion and tomatoes, is bright and refreshing, though we could barely taste the mentai in the potato salad. Nourish Plate With Baked Halibut, S$24.90 We prefer Low's pick, which has couscous with furikake and kombu, baked halibut with capsicum escabeche (a vinegar-based sauce), sauteed spinach, kung pao tempeh and pumpkin soup. Instead of the usual tiny grains, the pearl couscous here is plump and springy, with a subtle umami depth from kombu and wakame seaweed. Our favourite is the halibut, which has the rich, fatty mouthfeel of cod. Its tangy-sweet capsicum escabeche reminds us of Chinese sweet-and-sour fish. The kung pao tempeh is another pleasant surprise, coated in a sticky, mildly spicy sauce with crunchy cashews. It’s a tad salty, but very moreish. Hummus With Roasted Mushrooms, S$18.90 A meat-free option of juicy roasted shimeji mushrooms served atop smooth, slightly tangy hummus, with pita bread for scooping everything up. Grilled Chicken Skewers, S$14.90 The cumin-and-paprika-marinated chicken thigh skewers are juicy and tender, while tangy house-made tzatziki (Greek yogurt dip) brightens up the gently spiced meat. We enjoy the Mediterranean flavours here: Simple but satisfying. Protein Pancake With Caramelised Banana, S$17.90 Don’t expect an airy, fluffy stack. Packed with 32g of protein powder, the pancakes are denser than your usual cafe version. What makes the dish special for us are the toppings: sweet, soft caramelised bananas and especially the smooth, creamy house-made peanut butter sauce. There’s also gula melaka syrup on the side if you want an extra hit of caramelly sweetness. Ginger Tea, S$5 This house-made brew, which uses the same recipe served at Aramsa spa next door, packs quite a punch. The ginger is intense and spicy, delivering a fiery warmth. Thai Basil Gimlet, S$18 & Golden Mango, S$21 The Thai Basil Gimlet (left) mixes Thai basil, lemongrass and cili padi. Despite the chilli, it’s not spicy, but bright, crisp and refreshing. We prefer it to the Golden Mango, a mix of tequila, turmeric, mango and chilli that’s an acquired taste. Shared Table opens Sep 14 at 1382 Ang Mo Kio Ave 1, Bishan Park 2, Singapore 569932. Open daily 11.30am - 10pm. More info via Instagram. This story was originally published in 8Days. For more 8Days stories, visit https://www.8days.sg/.