Pastry Chef Natalie Eng shares her go-to places to dine at when she’s back home
Singaporean chef Natalie Eng isn’t a new face in the culinary world. Leaving Singapore for Paris at 17, she had trained under award-winning pastry chef Cedric Grolet at Alain Ducasse's three-starred Le Meurice before leading the pastry division of modern fine dining restaurant, Sorrel. She also spent some time at Neighbor Bakehouse in San Francisco, California, where she honed her skills in viennoiseries.
Currently, Eng resides in Hong Kong, bringing her classical French training to Bâtard. Here, she showcases pastries that are “focused on technique and unique flavour profiles of the desserts... working with ingredients that people are not quite familiar with, whilst pairing them with what guests would already know,” she explains.
Her desserts draw inspiration from art and nature, and are reflected in her minimal and elegant approach to her creations. With a passion for recipe development, her desserts are visually pleasing, while maintaining an element of surprise in each dish she produces.
While she is busy whipping up delectable desserts in the kitchen, she can’t help but miss the local flavours of Singapore and its diverse F&B scene. Here, she shares her favourite local dishes that remind her of her time back in Singapore.
See also: A Taste of Home: Chef Aven Lau on His Favourite Places to Eat in Singapore
When was your last trip to Singapore? How did you spend your holiday here?
Natalie Eng (NE): It was February 2020. I came back for Chinese New Year and spent some quality time with my family.
What do you miss most on the food/drink front when you are away from Singapore or haven’t been back for a while?
NE: I miss the diversity, accessibility and affordability of food at any time of the day.