GEORGE TOWN, Sept 1 ― Singapore and George Town may be different cities in two different islands but these two cities share a common heritage that can be represented through food.
In “2 cities 1 heart: An evening of heritage cuisine by Chef Damian D’Silva” at China House, the talented chef put together a family style dinner that represented our common heritage in conjunction with ConneXions: Passions Made Possible.
D’Silva put together a menu of rendang, sambal belado, opor ayam, masak lemak, kacang botol salad, singgang and nasi kunyit to represent all of the ethnic groups in both Singapore and Malaysia.
“I want to try to do things that comprises of all ethnicities in Singapore and Malaysia, namely the Malay, Indians, Chinese, Eurasian and Peranakan.
“As we can see, Singapore and Malaysia share a lot culturally and this is how tell both cities that as much as we want to quarrel over who came up with what, we have one heart,” D’Silva said.
The Singaporean executive chef from Folklore in Singapore tells of how rendang has its origins from Indonesia and how it evolved and changed with influences from Malays and Indians.
“I did the lamb rendang with masala, which are a mix of spices, which are the Indian influence,” he said.
The Eurasian and Peranakan chef also made sure to balance the items he planned for the menu, in terms of texture and flavours.
The gamey spiced lamb leg rendang was balanced with the refreshing piquant crunch of the winged bean (kacang botol), pineapple and jackfruit salad while the singgang, a rich spicy concoction of deboned fish, adds a creamy soft texture to the platter.
Singgang, a traditional European dish, contains the delicate flesh of deboned fish which was infused with creamy rich flavours enhanced by spices.
“Singgang took me about four hours to prepare from cooking the fish to deboning it to make sure our guests do not suddenly choke on a bone,” he said.
The flavours of singgang is almost similar to that of the Peranakan dish “otak-otak” save for a slightly different use of herbs and spices.
D’Silva believed singgang was probably where otak-otak originated from.
“Singgang has been around for more than 150 years while otak-otak has been around about 40 years or so, we can make our conclusions which came first,” he said.
The dishes, served with nasi kunyit (turmeric rice), worked to provide a multitude of textures and flavours that teased the palate at every mouthful.
The three shared dishes of sambal belado with cuttlefish, opor ayam and masak lemak with herbs and leaves again provided a balance of flavours and textures; the spicy cuttlefish to the mild opor ayam to the rich masak lemak vegetables.
According to D’Silva, each of these dishes have a story to tell, from its origins to the different nuances and flavours that each dish was presented in different cultures over the years.
“Before I take a recipe, I always do my homework to find out why some of the ingredients are there, what are the significance and where it is from,” he said.
The meal is rounded up with the traditional kueh bengkah and kueh kosui.
Again, true to D’Silva’s particular attention to balance, the crispy skin and thick fudgy bengkah drizzled with some palm sugar contrasts perfectly with the soft, sweet kosui.
A dinner is not complete without drinks and this is where bartender Matthew Chan from Nouri Singapore comes in.
Also in China House to serve up cocktails, in conjunction with ConneXions, Chan came up with special concoctions to celebrate both Penang and Singapore.
He offered three different types of cocktails, one that is sweet, one that is more spirit driven and one with a tangy base.
“A Symbol of Hope” is a showcase of the tuak from Sarawak and nutmeg from Penang as a representation of Malaysia from the east to the west.
The concoction used rum and pineapple juice as the base while tuak and nutmeg syrup added the extra nuances for a drink that is both sweet and potent.
The two other cocktails, “A toast to good health” and “Tebu Limau”, were equally potent, where the former may evoke tastes similar to an Otoso, a traditional Japanese drink while the latter is a refreshing drink with sugarcane juice as and calamansi shrub as the base.
For those staying off alcohol, there is “coke”, a concoction made from nutmeg, wine syrup and soda that tastes almost like a wine cooler and infinitely more refreshing than its namesake.
ConneXions: Passion Made Possible is a collaborative programme between Singapore Tourism Board (STB) , National Arts Council Singapore (NAC) and George Town Festival.
The dinner is available for booking at BTB, China House while the cocktails are available at V&S, China House tonight.
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