Love local: A new generation of chefs is redefining modern Singaporean cuisine

“[These] hawker foods remain the backbone of our culinary fabric and culture,” shares Malcom, who is part of the group of veteran local chefs, including Han and Willin Low of the now‑defunct Wild Rocket, who first introduced diners to innovative takes on local dishes more than a decade ago. Low, for example, created his signature laksa pesto linguine using laksa leaves in place of basil and candlenut instead of pine nuts, while Han debuted the Ang Moh Chicken Rice, presented as a dumpling with skin made with rice and filled with minced chicken, and served with chilli sauce prepared using his grandmother’s recipe. These are but just two examples of the chefs’ contemporary creations that gave rise to the modern Singaporean cuisine of today.

As these culinary pioneers paved the way for Mod Sin cuisine to be recognised on the international culinary stage, a new generation of chefs is following in their footsteps by tapping into their heritage and personal memories to create novel dining experiences for today’s discerning diners. As Nicola Lee, Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants’ academy chair for Southeast Asia (South), observes, “reinvention and reinterpretation” are the watchwords now, as these chefs want to “cook dishes that they connect with and relate to, and present them in modern ways while not forgetting familiar flavours”.

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Heritage Food, Reimagined

In the realm of modern Singaporean dining, Naked Finn remains a stalwart with the talented chef de cuisine Marcus Leow at the helm. “I try to apply my idea of Singaporean cuisine in every dish that we do at Naked Finn,” he says, embracing foreign cooking techniques he learnt at fine‑dining restaurant Whitegrass (which was then under Australian chef Sam Aisbett) and Magic Square (an incubation space for young chefs) to rethink how Singaporean cuisine is done. His version of the classic black pepper crab, for instance, uses a local flower crab stock as the base of the sauce, but is given a fresh take with the addition of white penja pepper and chye por (preserved radish) for textural contrast. As for the claypot rice on his current menu, he uses Japanese rice and serves it stir‑fried with sambal matah, Japanese butterfish, and fermented hakusai cabbage.

For Jia‑Jun Law, the chef‑owner of modern Asian restaurant Province, his food, as he describes it, is “not just farm‑to‑table, but cradle‑to‑table too”. This philosophy was formed when he staged at lauded chef Dominique Crenn’s Atelier Crenn and Bar Crenn in California for a few years. “By farming and getting in touch with the ingredients we would grow, harvest and then prepare in the kitchen, I learnt not only how to source for high‑quality produce, but also how to respect how and what each ingredient contributes to a dish,” he expresses.

This experience, combined with his Ah Ma’s and mum’s home‑cooked dishes he missed while he was away, informs his menu at Province. There, he showcases these nostalgic flavours using ingredients grown locally and within the Southeast Asian region.

His prix‑fixe menu, for example, includes an amuse‑bouche made with selar (local mackerel) cured and pickled in ginger flower vinegar and seasoned with hae kor (fermented fish paste). “These are the flavours you’d find in rojak … and many guests shared that it reminded them of the local dish,” he states. He also has a hand‑pulled noodles dish studded with Manila clams and grilled lady’s fingers, and steeped in a consommé infused with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and Vietnamese lime. “The combination of these flavours makes for a bright and heart‑warming noodle soup,” he adds.

East Meets West

With heritage‑inspired food gaining more favour with today’s diners, Dylan Ong, the chef‑owner of Franco‑Asian establishment The Masses, opened Choon Hoy Parlor this year, realising his dream of helming a place that celebrates hawker food through his contemporary lens and culinary background in French cuisine.

He calls the dishes he serves up “Singapore soul food”, a concept embodied in his menu that is shaped by three Hs: heirloom, dishes passed down from his or his staff’s family; heritage, recipes that embody Singapore’s multicultural heritage; and heartstrings, or nostalgic dishes that are not easily found anymore. “I’m Chinese, but my favourite cuisines are Indian and Malay,” he shares, as reflected by his menu inspired by the island’s multicultural influences.

You will find one of Ong’s favourite childhood dishes, prata, served canapé‑style. The coin-shaped flatbread is topped with a dollop of lamb masala and mint yoghurt. “This dish is very familiar to Singaporeans,” he says, “but with this recreation, the flavours are kept the same and showcased through a different form and eating format.” He also reinterprets the classic Teochew braised duck by combining it with a lost heritage dish called tau kwa pau. 

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He explains: “Tau kwa pau is usually served with roasted duck, [but] ours is served with braised duck leg. This gives the young generation a taste of the heritage flavours of both the duck and the pau.” Nicola describes finding a sense of place as the driving force behind chefs who are trained in Western cuisine and techniques who choose to cook the flavours that are close to their hearts. It is in the same vein that Tzi Qin Seow, who trained in European cuisines such as French and Spanish, is coming back home with his modern Asian cuisine at Jiak Kim House. The chef‑partner of the restaurant envisioned an East‑meets‑West menu where the vibrant flavours of Southeast Asian cuisine are infused with contemporary sensibilities he learnt in the kitchens of French restaurants Les Amis and Le Saint Julien (which is now shuttered) as well as Spanish restaurant La Taperia.

Nothing encapsulates his background more than his array of starters served in tingkat containers: crab cakes dipped in a piquant assam mayo; lamb goulash croquettes served with herbaceous mint coulis; chilli crab pie tee; and otak otak made with batang fish paste and prawn chunks. Recalling the flavours of bak kut teh, he created the mushroom herbal tea “macchiato”, comprising a peppery mushroom consommé infused with a medley of herbs and spices topped with green peppercorn foam, and served with mini dough fritters that replace the quintessential you tiao.

The renewed interest in Mod Sin cuisine begs the question: are diners willing to pay premium prices for local dishes? The answer is yes, according to Malcolm, who has seen how much diners now appreciate and understand it. “Education and knowledge are key. More people now understand the hard work and craftsmanship required to produce good local food, and the appreciation level is higher,” he says. With support from today’s gourmands and the efforts of these culinary minds, Singapore’s rich and diverse cuisine is well on its way to shining brighter on the global stage.

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