Larder essentials: Luxurious condiments, sauces and more from your favourite restaurants

Do we really want to be ordering takeaway or delivery every day? Well, maybe – but that doesn’t mean we won’t be peckish in the wee hours of the morning after an episode or three too many of your favourite serial. While it’s completely fine to throw together something that you’ve scrounged up from the fridge, why not add a touch of class to your late-night snack with these condiments and sauces from local restaurants?

After all, these restaurants don’t just slap any old pats of butter onto the table to go with their slices of artisanal sourdough. They think a little more creatively: expect anything from infused butters and oils, to house-bottled syrups, sauces and condiments.

Take Candlenut for example: we’ve mentioned them, along with other local Michelin-starred restaurants, for their takeaway and delivery options. They’re also stocking jars of their in-house sambal belachan. It’s a perfect accompaniment to, well, almost anything.

Since it seems we’re going to be working from home for at least a little while longer, here are some options for some essentials to stock your larder with. Getting these condiments and sauces will go some way in helping your favourite local restaurants as well.

Salted & Hung
If the name isn’t enough of a clue, Salted & Hung’s core ethos is about smoking, curing, pickling and grilling. More than that, it’s about making creative use of every part of the animal while building a sustainable kitchen. Born into a family of Italian heritage, chef Drew Nocente endless innovates with getting the most out of every animal, using preservation methods not only for sustainability, but to enhance the flavour of what he’s working with. Now available as part of the Salted Deli are house-cured bacon and country ham as well as pork sausages, inspired by his own family’s recipes. Along with that, we’d recommend the black garlic emulsion - the aged, umami-filled cloves are emulsified with egg yolk and oil to form a sort of deeply earthy mayonnaise that’s a delight with any kind of strongly flavoured meat. Else, their kelp butter is another oceanic option that’d work well with crafting any seafood-based sandwiches.

Order here or call 6358-3130.
Open Farm Community
Farm-to-table concept (with an on-site edible garden) Open Farm Community is now providing spreads and pickles that make the use of its farm fresh ingredients as well as local partners. These include pickled ginger flowers (you’d typically find these on Japanese rice bowls), which is great for cutting through the greasy decadence of fatty meat, or pickled cauliflower that pairs well with cheese and fruit. Other sauces and syrups made from local ingredients include kaffir lime salt, preserved black bean sambal or smoked gula Melaka syrup. We especially like their aromatic laksa-infused prawn oil that features ginger, galangal, lemongrass, and chili. These will find use in any home kitchen, whether as an additional condiment at the side, or as the base of an entire recipe.

Order here or call 6471-0306.
Appetite
Appetite is the sister-brand and research-arm to Nouri, where chef Ivan Brehm’s multicultural, crossroads-style cooking earned a strong international reputation. It’s occupying a space above Nouri on the busy Amoy Street, and showcases more than just the artisanal and eclectic ingredients that are used in the chef’s cooking. An exhaustive amount of art and music experiences await in the lively space, with over 3000 records alone for listening. Now that we’re in the circuit breaker period, you can still get the Appetite experience for home (sans the art and music, for now). Though you could opt for a rainy day dorayaki and cold brew emergency pack, or even a decadent seafood platter for the long weekend ahead, we’d like to focus on its larder options. Get their intensely aromatic black pepper sauce that mixes Tahitian vanilla with kampot black peppercorn (that Nouri typically pairs with poached Alaskan king crab, so you might want to get that seafood platter after all). Else, you could also get their organic vegetable broth that functions equally well as an aperitif or heart-warming base to any stew or sauce.

Order here or call 8748-7697.
Burnt Ends
We’ve talked about Burnt Ends at length before, highlighting chef owner David Pynt’s take on contemporary Australian barbeque that’s earned him his Michelin star as numerous mentions as one of the region’s premier restaurants. We’d be remiss to leave out mention of the Burnt Ends bakery, where much of the magic happens behind-the-scenes. Their excellent pulled pork Sanger? You can get its buns freshly baked to-go, along with a slew of other favourites including their signature whole berry tart, crackbuns or chocolate chip cookies. And of course, one of their signature condiments, beef marmalade: a sweet, sticky concoction that involves stewing smoked beef brisket for a further nine hours with more than ten other ingredients, including your usual (but absolutely necessary) aromatics like shallots, malt vinegar and more. What you get after that lengthy cooking process is basically meaty beef jam - a sure-fire way to spice up your typically dreary morning toast.

Order here for pick up.
Restaurant Zen
They say that the devil is in the details, and that’s where Zen truly shines - which is why we’d like to recommend their gift basket during the circuit breaker period. While you’d expect all the usual delectables like fine cheeses, house-smoked pork belly and pastries that normally grace their menu, their selection of ten special jars are the details that make all the difference when it comes to a meal there. Highlights include artichoke barigoule, where young artichokes are braised in aromatics, white wine and olive oil that brings out the rich, acidic flavour of the vegetable and hoshigaki marmalade, that uses dried Japanese persimmons as the base of a tart and saccharine spread. Alternatively, you can get any of these ten sauces a la carte if you’re sure about what you’d like.

Order here or call 9236-6368.
Cure
Cure is chef owner Andrew Walsh’s first solo venture after a three-and-a-half year stint at Esquina and The Study. He’s also worked in Michelin-starred kitchens abroad, all of which helped him bring together a concept for Cure, which is all about urban chic meets informal sophistication. That includes plates that don’t have to be taken too seriously, including his updated circuit breaker menu that features homely pies, stews and sticky toffee puddings. Something included in all of his dishes to-go is what we’d like to highlight: a delightfully smoky and unctuous bacon butter. The crispy lardons and onions add some much-needed texture to the spread, which pairs well with their ever so rustic sourdough bread that’s also included in every delivery. You could also opt to get food delivered to multiple locations, if you’re planning to share some memories over rib-sticking Irish beef and guiness pies. Evidence, at least, that what they’re doing even during a time of limited mobility is all about effortless, convivial dining.

Order here or whatsapp 9338-4207.