Chandigarh,17.06.18-Chef Willin Low is a true trailblazer when it comes to Mod-Sin cuisine—after all, the lawyer-turned-restauranteur did coin the phrase. The seeds of Mod-Sin were first planted for Low during his time studying in the UK, when he missed food from home and would mix and match ingredients to recreate his favourite dishes.
His culinary style now riffs off traditional Singapore tastes to create reimagined dishes for the modern Singaporean, such as spanner crab and Vietnamese coriander ravioli in laksa. Low takes apart local dishes and reassembles them with new form and fresh presentation—at Low’s restaurant Wild Rocket, you can order up a beautifully plated barramundi carpaccio with orange shallot dressing and dashi (Japanese broth) jelly. You can also opt for a selection of Low’s personal favourite dishes with Wild Rocket’s omakase (dishes selected by the chef) menu.
Hangout Hotel. 10A Upper Wilkie Road, Singapore 228119. +65 6339 9448.
Chan Hon Meng
Hawker fare is a staple in the average Singaporean’s diet, and locals might argue that hawker food makes up some of the best grub across the globe—especially when it’s Michelin-starred to boot. Take for instance Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle at Chinatown Food Complex, the world's first hawker stall to be awarded a Michelin star, and perhaps the most affordable dining option from the MICHELIN guide.
The humble stall is helmed by chef-owner Chan Hon Meng, who started his hawker stall because he wanted a change from the more common Hainanese-style chicken rice, where the chicken is typically poached and chilled. Instead, Chan first cooks the chicken in the Cantonese style of siu mei, where meats are typically roasted in a wood-burning rotisserie oven. He has since perfected his craft for over 30 years—it's no wonder that his dishes have always been a favourite with locals, boasting hour-long queues during peak hours even before the stall received the coveted Michelin nod.
Chinatown Complex Market and Food Centre. 78 Smith Street #02-126, Singapore 058972.
Chef Chan Hon Meng standing in front of his stall, Liao Fan Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice & Noodle
Douglas Ng
Contrary to the perception that hawker stalls are run mostly by the older generation, Douglas Ng is one of many Gen Y hawkers setting up shop at Singapore’s ubiquitous hawker centres. Ng rewrites the hawker game with his fishball noodle stall, Fishball Story, where he tailors recipes handed down through the family (from his Hakka grandmother) to modern tastes while staying true to the high standards of authenticity that hawker fare demands. Forget fishballs of the overly spongy and more-flour-than-fish variety—those at Fishball Story are handmade by the chef himself every morning, giving them a firm, dense texture. Ng brings his classic dishes to young Singaporeans at hip locales such as Timbre+ and University Town at the National University of Singapore.
Timbre+. 73A Ayer Rajah Crescent #01-14, Singapore 139957.
Flavours @ UTown. 2 College Avenue West #02-01, Singapore 138607.
Gwern Khoo and Ben Tham
Take a page from locals and join the queues at Amoy Street Food Centre’s A Noodle Story, where Gwern Khoo and Ben Tham are revamping hawker fare with their combination of Singapore-style wanton mee (Cantonese noodle dish) and Japanese ramen. This pair of first-time hawkers, or ‘hawkerpreneurs’, have set their sights on entering the market with innovative renditions of Asian favourites, such as elegantly plated Hong Kong noodles paired with the chefs’ special lemongrass and garlic sauce. The two up-and-comers are constantly reinventing their menu with new culinary experiments, and have since made the Michelin Bib Gourmand list in 2016.
Amoy Street Food Centre. 7 Maxwell Road #01-39, Singapore 069111.
Quentin Pereira
A champion of Eurasian food in Singapore, Quentin Pereira opened his eponymous restaurant Quentin’s more than ten years ago. Today, he’s still one of the few serving traditional Eurasian dishes like curry debal (a fiery curry served with either chicken or oxtail) and feng (a mild curry made with diced pork, liver and heart). When he’s not in the kitchen, he’s busy educating those curious about Eurasian food and culture about the cuisine by holding cooking demonstrations at Shermay’s and the Eurasian Community house.
Eurasian Community House. 139 Ceylon Road Level 1, Singapore 429744. +65 6348 0327.
Malcolm Lee
Malcolm Lee, head chef and owner of Michelin-starred Peranakan restaurant Candlenut, found his calling at a young age in his mother’s kitchen, watching her cook up Nonya food and learning along the way. He has since brought the flavours and techniques of Peranakan cooking to new heights with his modern Peranakan cuisine at Candlenut. Though Malcolm dabbles in fresh flavours and imaginative menu picks—think gula melaka king prawns—Candlenut still promises a dining experience reminiscent of hearty, home-cooked meals at grandma’s house. His rempah (spice pastes essential to Peranakan dishes) are made from scratch, and one particularly eye-catching selection on the menu is "Mum’s Curry", a red chicken curry dish gleaned from his mother’s recipes.
Como Dempsey. Block 17A Dempsey Road, Singapore 249676. +65 1800 304 2288.