SINGAPORE, April 9 — The evolution of Singapore’s street food culture takes centrestage in the travelling exhibition SG50 Deliciously Singaporean, which was launched yesterday (April 8) at the opening of the World Street Food Congress 2015 (WSFC), located at the open field at the intersection of Rochor Road and North Bridge Road.

Organised by the National Heritage Board (NHB), this showcase of the island’s food heritage will feature 50 dishes and pop-up cooking demonstrations curated by Makansutra as it moves to different venues. There will also be short video documentaries and publications as well as guided food trails.

After WSFC, the exhibition will be up at other events: NHB’s Singapore Heritage Festival (April 20 to 26 at Raffles City Shopping Centre), Singapore Food Expo (May 29 to June 2), Singapore Tourism Board’s Singapore Food Festival (July 17 to Aug 2), NDP Open House(Aug 7 to 10), and the City Hawker Awards Ceremony in November, as well as public libraries islandwide.

In conjunction with the launch of the exhibition, five Singapore stalls at WSFC will be serving classic as well as contemporary takes on local dishes at the Singapore Pavilion, located at the World Street Food Jamboree. They include “Chey Sua” Carrot Cake and M A Deen Blasa, which will be serving up traditional offerings such as “chai tau kueh” (carrot cake) and “mee kuah” (Indian-style noodles in a spicy red soup), respectively. Hong Kong Street Chun Kee will put a modern spin on classics like “har cheong gai” (prawn paste chicken) by turning it into a burger served with coleslaw and sweet potato fries.

Advertisement

Gracing the event was Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Lawrence Wong, who shared how the exhibition might help preserve Singapore’s food heritage. “We will be documenting (the featured hawkers’) stories, their recipes, and that knowledge can be passed down to future generations.”

He added: “Not all the hawkers may want to share their recipes; some of these are well-guarded secrets that will only be shared within the family, but I think for those who are prepared to share, we would like to record these and … share it with Singaporeans so that all Singaporeans can take pride in Singapore food.

“This year, NHB will be documenting 25 stories and recipes of signature Singapore dishes … these are recorded histories as well as recipes. We are going to do more in terms of providing support for food-related publications, including one book that NHB will be … collaborating with others on, as an SG50 guide to hawker food; and that will introduce 50 hawker stalls.”

Advertisement

A total of 25 short documentaries will also be uploaded onto NHB’s online platforms such as Heritage TV YouTube channel. The three- to five-minute clips will cover the preparation and heritage of recipes showcased in the exhibition. ― Today