Cover The popular festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a large Festival Village, immersive dining experiences and festival-exclusives.
The popular festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a large Festival Village, immersive dining experiences and festival-exclusives.
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The popular festival is celebrating its 30th anniversary with a large Festival Village, immersive dining experiences and festival-exclusives.
The annual Singapore Food Festival has returned and this year, it’s bigger than ever. Happening from July 19 to 30 at Bayfront Event Space, the festival will be celebrating its 30th anniversary by spotlighting homegrown brands and Singapore’s vibrant food culture.
The popular gastronomic festival was first launched in 1994 with the goal of celebrating local food culture and sharing it with the world. The 1994 festival was a month-long affair and saw five-starred restaurants and hawker centres coming together to dish up local multi-ethnic fare. On top of culinary delights, there were also activities such as cooking demonstrations, heritage tours and carnivals.
Three decades on, the festival still continues to celebrate our ever-growing dining scene through mouthwatering dishes, exciting workshops, chef masterclasses and more. This year, get to explore our island’s rich gastronomic past while savouring the vibrant flavours of the present.
An exciting line of workshops will be available during this year’s festival too. Those looking to curate their very own cocktails can go for the Indie Singapore Tours while those with a sweet tooth can join Pastories’s pastry chef Yeo Min for a heritage shophouse cake workshop.
On top of workshops and tours, look forward to an expansive Festival Village; island-wide activations from culinary tours to chef masterclasses; and exclusive festival activities. This year’s Festival Village will house over 100 homegrown brands and will be spread across multiple zones: SG Food Walk, Food Cartel, Sweets Alley and Café Boulevard.
Below, we share some Singapore Food Festival exclusive dishes which you won't want to miss out on.
In case you missed it: Why collaboration dinners matter in today’s dining scene
1. Kausmo for Ah Hua Kelong
Above Kausmo for Ah Hua Kelong
Kausmo for Ah Hua Kelong
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Kausmo and Ah Hua Kelong have come together to create unique umami-filled dishes just for this festival. Think juicy mussels in a fiery Thai basil picada accompanied by fried mantou; lemongrass brown butter tiger prawns with a refreshing citrus slaw; and charred snapper glazed in a local nuoc cham (Vietnamese fish sauce). Kausmo’s creations also use ingredients sourced from various local businesses and vegetable farms.
2. Ji Xiang Ang Ku Kueh
Above Ji Xiang Ang Ku Kueh
Ji Xiang Ang Ku Kueh
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Exclusively for this festival, Ji Xiang Ang Ku Kueh has curated two new flavours—hae bi hiam (dried shrimp sambal) and yam with ginko. The former sees flavourful hae bee hiam wrapped in Ji Xiang’s classic glutinous rice flour skin. Have a bite and revel in a myriad of flavours and textures from the spicy sambal to its soft and chewy skin. The latter comprises creamy yam paste and gingko nut wrapped in the same thin glutinous rice flour skin.
3. Yew Kee
Above Yew Kee
Yew Kee
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For this festival, this heritage brand is collaborating with PastaGo to put a spin on tradition. Its signature braised duck leg is served with creamy mashed potatoes and glazed in a savoury gravy. The hearty dish is finished with shavings of parmesan, lemon zest and fried pasta. Another festival exclusive is its kong ba bao pan fried until beautifully golden and stuffed with fork tender braised duck.
Read more: Hawker Stories: Ong Jun Ru of Long House Soon Kee Boneless Braised Duck
4. Sourbombe Bakery x Dearborn
Above Sourbombe Bakery x Dearborn
Sourbombe Bakery x Dearborn
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Popular Italian bomboloni bakery has teamed up with handcrafted granola joint Dearborn for this festival. At their booth, located in the Food Cartel zone, get to create your own personalised bomboloni doughnut from picking out your fillings, butters and jams. Complete your masterpiece by topping it off with one of Dearborn’s signature granolas. While you’re here, build your own granola bags too—select from a variety of ingredients including strawberries, dark chocolate, caramelised nuts and more.
5. Le Matin Patisserie
Above Le Matin Patisserie
Le Matin Patisserie
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Located in the Sweets Alley, Le Matin’s booth offers a delightful selection of handcrafted sweet and savoury pastries made with premium ingredients. Its escargot escargot is a signature, comprising layers of fluffy sourdough croissant, escargot, mushroom ricotta custard, chimichurri and garlic crumbs. When it comes to sweets, you have the smoked cruffin topped with applewood-smoked vanilla custard; and its signature kouign amann featuring flaky pastry layered with butter and caramelised sugar. Don’t miss out on the patisserie’s festival exclusive mignardise box that comes with six bite sized desserts such as dark chocolate cookie, caramelised apple stroopwafel and brown sugar palmier.
Amanda Goh was the former senior writer for Tatler Singapore.
