JULY 29 — I spend a lot of time railing about the hipsterisation of everything. Like all sensible human beings, I curl my lips in slight disdain when I see a too-perfectly moustachioed and frighteningly “dapper” young gentleman emerge from an artisanal coffee house, 8mm rental studio, beard oil store or similar establishment.
But the other day I must confess to a bit of a transgression. I went to The Coconut Club aka Kelab Kelapa in the painfully hip enclave of Ann Siang Hill and… I loved it!
My dining partners were sceptical when I suggested the place for dinner and I too didn’t know what to expect.
We all know how resistant Singaporeans and Malaysians are to shelling out more than the minimum for our hawker fare.
But, this was good food and not at an exorbitant price (a little under S$13 or RM38); you got a substantial serving of chicken, ikan bilis and all the trimmings.
Plus, the fact that I abandoned all poise and took to devouring the dish with my hand was rewarded with a complimentary (also good) cendol from the management! The experience was the perfect example of what the future of our local fare could look like.
It is uncommon for establishments (of the hipster persuasion) to devote themselves to the one true craft of local food.
Peaty whisky, obscure gin bars, siphon coffee shops, every kind of ramen shop featuring oysters from two oceans away seem to be literally colonising every desirable spot but hearty hawker fare still remains largely the dominion of hawker centres and food courts.
In the pressure cooker of Singapore’s dining scene, the space for nasi lemak is much thinner than you’d think.
I’m not saying let’s abandon the hawker stall which will always be the bedrock of our food culture nor am I saying let’s subsidise the hawkers (I question if this will work).
But we do, as a culture, need to embrace the fact that local food is worth paying for and worth eating in places that don’t require you to pay 20 cents to use the bathroom after.
Just so long as these same places also embrace the exquisite art of digging in with your hands.
One thing the often-lambasted hipster subculture does get right is its focus on craft and provenance — an obsession with small details and romantic aspects of the past has its upside.
Where exactly do these coconuts come from? How exactly is this rice prepared? It is the coming together of so many perfectly executed parts that creates the dishes that are loved universally and is the cornerstone of our national identity.
So, okay. If gentrification is here to say and if embracing it is what it takes to keep our local cuisine alive, then sign me up for my overly-groomed pretentious moustache — I’ll oil it with coconut oil and cover it with crumbs from a artisanal orh luak.
* This is the personal opinion of the columnist.
