Singapore’s iconic hawker culture and cuisine is a tour de force in the world’s street food scene. It’s such a large part of our marketing that it’d be hard to find a description of Singapore without the usual phrases like ‘melting pot of regional cuisines’ and ‘recipes refined over decades’. Our first major outing on the big screen for Crazy Rich Asians even managed to find time between copious shots of the CBD skyline and Marina Bay Sands to slip in a scene at a hawker centre. All said though, it really is simply great grub. So much so, that many fine restaurants are recreating hawker favourites – substituting in premium ingredients where possible.
All said though, times are changing. CBD joints and upscale establishments are constantly having to reinvent what they do to stay ahead, even if that means breaking the rules a little. That means ditching delicate puff pastries and perfectly plated morsels for some elevated local favourites that can only benefit from the inclusion of premium ingredients and the affordances of a five-star kitchen.
Labyrinth
Chef-owner Han Li Guang is a locavore through and through. He sources around 90 per cent of his ingredients from local farms and kelongs, while keeping to the theme of authentic Singaporean cuisine throughout his dishes. Labyrinth is all about the journey through Han’s food memories on our little island, encapsulating everything from nostalgia-tinged recipes by Grandma as well as the passion of local farmers and chefs. The Michelin star he was awarded is just a bonus. Have a gander at his tasting menu: sure, most of it’s named after hawker favourites like orh luak and rojak, but the inverted commas reveals the twists Han’s employs to make the dish his own. For example, his orh luak still uses oyster, sambal and egg – but Han has reimagined the hawker staple as takoyaki. He’s recently launched Miss Vanda, a more-relaxed dining concept that serves the same elevated hawker experience, without the necessity of a multiple course tasting menu.
#02-23, Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay. Tel: 6223-4098.
Le Binchotan
The Amoy Street restaurant’s premise comes across pretty clear from its name: French techniques complemented by age-old Japanese binchotan charcoal, courtesy of chef-owner Jeremmy Chiam. He’s held court at one-Michelin-starred Sola in Paris and fine dining mod-European restaurant Iggy’s before striking out on his own at Le Binchotan with a French-Japanese menu for that makes the most of the famed Japanese charcoal. During the circuit breaker period, Chiam decided to introduce a popular comfort food, fried Hokkien mee, to the menu. The French and Japanese influences on the local dish are pretty apparent: the traditional umami-rich prawn-head broth, simmered for around nine hours, is bolstered by dried Japanese scallops, kombu and pork bones, along with mirepoix (diced aromatic vegetables commonly used in French cooking). Combine this with Hokkaido scallops, tiger prawns, fiery house-made sambal belachan and crispy pork lard, and you’re in for some truly excellent hawker-style fare (that you could conceivably pair with charcoal-grilled plates). They don’t serve it every day, so we’d call ahead to check if its available.
#01-04, 115 Amoy Street. Tel: 6224-1045 or whatsapp 8721-3939.
Le Fusion
Le Fusion fully embraces the dreaded ‘F’ word – fusion – with its modern-Chinese-French-Italian menu. It’s a casual eatery that’s unabashedly unchallenging about what it brings to Robertson Quay, which makes it suitable for a convivial evening meal with plenty of booze and easy eating. Think crispy pork belly mantou, their take on local ice treat chendol (that incorporates a shot of Bailey’s cream) and a richly oceanic braised abalone seafood rice. It’s obviously meant as some form of mui fan, but better – which is why you’ll be getting an abalone, prawns, mussels and more, covered in a thick, luscious broth. Else, there’s always their ying yang lobster horfun (that’s exactly what it sounds like).
#01-07 to 09, The Pier @ Robertson. Tel: 6363-9966.
New Ubin Seafood
As its name suggests, New Ubin Seafood’s story began on Pulau Ubin, though it moved to mainland Singapore when the land was acquired by the government in 1992. Since then, it’s flittered from location to location, garnering a loyal following for its unassuming and delicious tze-char grub. It’s on this list for a slightly different reason: New Ubin is known for its Singaporeanised takes on international cuisines. Instead of elevating hawker food with French techniques, it’s the other way round: signature dishes include ‘heart attack’ fried rice that uses beef drippings for a meaty, rib-sticking plate (served alongside a chophouse-standard USDA prime ribeye); an Italian chef’s nightmare of a carbonara that’s cooked in a claypot (!) and topped off house-smoked pork belly; and a sumptuous foie gras satay that swaps out the usual spicy peanut sauce for raspberry. New Ubin now serves these blasphemous (but no less delicious) tze-char-style delights at three outlets around Singapore.
Various outlets.
Image from New Ubin Seafood.
Dream Shop
Caterer-turned-pop-up-owner Jeremy Nguee opened up Dream Shop during the circuit-breaker period when business dipped for his boutique catering business, Preparazzi. The dishes presented by Dream Shop originate from Nguee’s childhood memories and favourite hawker dishes. Of course, he keeps a few twists up his sleeves to bring the dishes into the 21st century, including a dry, ikura-topped rendition of laksa that forgoes your typical coconut-laden broth. The addition of Hokkaido scallops and local prawns is just simply icing on the cake. In the same vein, his take on ngoh hiang includes a whole large prawn that accompanies the usual mix of prawn chunks and pork mince (hormone-free, sourced from Canada). It’s only available for delivery though.
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