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Straits Times
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Mod-Sin 2.0 – restaurants for the modern Singaporean
SINGAPORE – Waves of flavours and food brands from abroad wash on Singapore shores every day. People now talk about hotpot rather than steamboat. Speciality coffee goes head to head with kopi. Mala has infiltrated every corner of the food scene. Some chefs have been working to remind diners of the flavours of Singapore, going beyond takes on this or that local dish for occasions like National Day. A new crop of restaurants is putting Singapore flavours front and centre. Seeking to take Mod-Sin cuisine to a new level are Belimbing by chef Marcus Leow; Choon Hoy Parlor by chef Dylan Ong, with a new menu after relocating from Beach Road; and Gilmore & Damian D'Silva by chef Damian D'Silva, slated to open at the National Gallery Singapore in mid-October. It was Singaporean chef Willin Low who coined the term Mod-Sin 20 years ago when he opened his restaurant, Wild Rocket, at Mount Emily. He used it to describe his food, rooted in familiar flavours but done in ways to pique the interest of modern Singaporean diners. So, the flavours of laksa feature in a pesto tossed with spaghetti; thinly sliced cuttlefish takes the place of kway teow in his char kway teow; and thin strips of pork belly are marinated with prawn paste before being deep-fried for his take on har cheong kai. The 53-year-old chef, who now runs pasta restaurant Pastaro at Chancery Court and Roketto in Niseko, Hokkaido, says: 'People were describing our food as modern European, which it wasn't; and fusion, which is a term I abhor. That's because from the 1990s, some chefs in the West were labelling their cuisine as fusion when they threw in random Asian ingredients that didn't work. 'I remember Mod Oz was used for culturally diverse modern Australian cuisine and I thought that was a great idea for what we were doing for Singapore cuisine. I thought it was appropriate because I think of myself as a modern Singaporean, and the food is a reflection of my identity.' He says Mod-Sin is a celebration of traditional Singaporean flavours, adding that the idea is not to replace the original dish, but to 'enjoy its spirit innovatively'. 'It's about retaining the spirit of the dish while redefining its process, form or even ingredients,' he says. 'A Singaporean couple, who lived in Hong Kong for many years, came to Wild Rocket for dinner. After the meal, the husband said that none of the dishes looked like Singaporean food, but when they ate it, they knew they were home. That, to me, is what good Mod-Sin should be.' He cites the food at Mustard Seed in Serangoon Garden as a good example of what Mod-Sin cuisine is. The restaurant, run by chefs Gan Ming Kiat, Wu Shin Yin and Desmond Shen, serves multi-course meals built around Singapore flavours, executed with Japanese and other techniques. 'At times, someone will try to coin a different term to describe the same thing,' chef Low says. 'As long as we are all trying to celebrate Singapore flavours in a good way, that – to me – is the evolution of Mod-Sin. It's here to stay.' Here are three restaurants that understand the assignment. Reimagining familiar flavours: Belimbing Where: 269A Beach Road Open: Noon to 3.30pm (Thursdays to Sundays), 6 to 10.30pm (Wednesdays to Sundays), closed on Mondays and Tuesdays Info: Call 8869-7243 or go to Belimbing's Braised Angus Oxtail, one of its hot starters. PHOTO: BELIMBING Can rojak be rojak if it has seared kailan stems, frizzled kailan leaves, Japanese firefly squid and pickled strawberries? Yes, in the hands of chef Marcus Leow. The 33-year-old, who worked at The Naked Finn, Magic Square, Whitegrass and Iggy's, is taking creative licence with familiar flavours. He says: 'Mod-Sin is about retaining a lot of the flavours and ingredients that make us Singapore, but finding new ways to take the flavour in a different direction. The food evokes something Singaporean, but tastes different as well.' Belimbing serves four-course set meals at dinner time featuring dishes such as Wok-fried Nasi Ulam and Seared Red Grouper. PHOTO: BELIMBING Inspired by rojak, the sweet, sour, salty and spicy salad, he created Grilled Firefly Squid. The dish looks nothing like rojak, usually a melange of vegetables and fruit tossed with shrimp paste. But take a forkful, and the haegor caramel, made with slow-cooked prawn shells and belacan; the shaved frozen ginger flower; and the sprinkling of powdered dried cuttlefish on top registers in the brain as rojak, but much more inten se. Similarly, the Clam Custard, featuring tuatua clams from New Zealand, is meant to evoke the steamed egg the chef, and many Singaporeans, grew up eating. He peps it up with assam pedas flavours and white pepper. His 45-seat restaurant, part of The Lo & Behold Group , opened on April 15 and has been packed since. It serves a four-course menu priced at $88 for dinner, and a two-course lunch priced at $58. There is a small a la carte selection available for lunch too. Chef Marcus Leow takes creative licence with familiar flavours at Belimbing. PHOTO: BELIMBING Ingredients he uses for the current menu include pink guava, housemade cincalok or fermented krill, and herbs such as sawtooth coriander, ulam raja and laksa leaves. The chef, whose parents are Peranakan, is eyeing buah keluak, that bitter Indonesian nut; century eggs; and the humble bayam or sharp spinach as ingredients for new dishes. He wants to use them in unexpected ways. 'I think it's important to be innovative,' he says. 'All the restaurants I've worked in were big on innovation. I try to do that as well. Hopefully, guests can see that we are doing something different, but rooted in something very Singaporean.' The 90-10 rule: Choon Hoy Parlor Where: 01-84A, Arcade @ Capitol Singapore, 15 Stamford Road Open: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30 to 9.30pm daily Info: Call 6266-0061 or go to Choon Hoy Parlor's Oriental Charcuterie Board. PHOTO: CHOON HOY PARLOR Fans of Choon Hoy Parlor, chef Dylan Ong's Singapore soul food restaurant, will know that he has moved it from Beach Road to Capitol Singapore. Along with the move comes a menu revamp – about half the offerings are new. He is digging his heels in when it comes to offering the flavour of Singapore. The new location, right smack in the middle of the culture and civic district and thick with tourists, offers him a chance to showcase the city's soul food. Among the new offerings are Mocha Prime Pork Rib ($25.90), Chye Ber ($16.90) and Oriental Charcuterie Board ($25.90) – takes on familiar dishes, but with a twist. The pork rib is his version of the popular zi char dish of coffee pork ribs. He cooks prime rib sous vide for 16 hours in a sauce made with coffee from local supplier Coffee Hock, infused with dark Valrhona chocolate, then grills it. The pork rib is served with a sabayon made with white coffee, inspired by Vietnam's egg coffee, with crushed pistachios and cacao nibs sprinkled on top. 'We wanted to make the coffee stand out even more,' he says. The pork rib is Chef Dylan's version of the popular zi char dish of coffee pork ribs. PHOTO: CHOON HOY PARLOR His Chye Ber is an almost forgotten dish in Singapore, although it is popular in Malaysia – cuts of meat cooked with mustard greens, tamarind and tomato. The charcuterie board pays homage to the rich tradition of cured meats in Asia, with strips of waxed duck, duck liver sausage and pork lup cheong. These are served with decidedly local accompaniments – housemade achar, housemade labneh with furu or preserved beancurd worked into it, braised peanuts and strips of crisp tempeh and slices of youtiao. The 38-year-old says: 'We make sure that 90 per cent of the flavours are true, and then the remaining 10 per cent is the X factor, touches you won't find elsewhere. 'I ask myself how I can connect with my diners. It's to preserve the character of the dish. The last 10 per cent should not destroy the dish. In our first year in Beach Road, we tried to tinker with the recipes. But I realised, why try to bring in a foreign flavour? Why not add layers of complexity without doing that?' Choon Hoy Parlor has moved from Beach Road to Capitol Singapore. PHOTOS: CHOON HOY PARLOR He has more plans. In about three months, he wants to start a Kway Png Club, or chicken rice club, on weekends. The chicken is likely to be from France, and diners can order the set meal on weekends with regular chicken rice or chicken rice balls, and either poached chicken or chicken steamboat with a platter of raw chicken they poach themselves at the table. In the new year, it will be his take on Teochew porridge, a weekend set with traditional pickles and dishes that have all but disappeared – fish steamed in seawater, tiny clams marinated and served raw, and whitebait omelette. What drives him is the thought of Singapore losing its identity. Choon Hoy Parlor chef-owner Dylan Ong wants to start a Kway Png Club, or chicken rice club, on weekends in about three months. PHOTO: CHOON HOY PARLOR The father of three children aged four to eight says: 'We have so many things coming through, we mix this and that to the point where we forget who we are. I don't want my kids to think that mala is a Singapore flavour. 'Singaporeans take for granted a lot of our culture. We think hawkers will always be there. But one day, the auntie and uncle will be gone. No Singaporean wants to work in restaurants, what more hawker centres. Then whoever cooks the food, we have to accept that flavour.' What's old is new again: Gilmore & Damian D'Silva Where: 01-02/03 National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew's Road Open: In mid-October For decades, chef Damian D'Silva has been a champion of heritage food, turning out in his restaurants Eurasian, Peranakan, Chinese, Indian and Malay dishes. The 68-year-old was born to a Eurasian father and Eurasian-Peranakan mother, and learnt cooking techniques from both sides of the family, and especially from his paternal grandfather, Mr Gilmore D'Silva. Born to a Eurasian father and Eurasian-Peranakan mother, chef Damian D'Silva learnt cooking techniques from both sides of the family, and especially from his paternal grandfather, Mr Gilmore D'Silva. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH The name of his new restaurant, a 70-to-80-seater, pays homage to his grandfather. The National Gallery Singapore location is especially meaningful because from 1939 to 1969, the late Mr D'Silva was caretaker of the Supreme Court, which is what the building used to house. The home cooking, and roaming around Singapore eating with his grandfather, gave chef D'Silva a firm grounding in Singapore flavours. For the restaurant, he is digging deep into the past, resurrecting 200-year-old recipes. He knows that Singapore – and taste buds – have changed since that time. 'If the flavours are too overwhelming and strong, 20 per cent of diners will accept it, but 80 per cent won't,' he says. 'Balance is important.' The restaurant's menu will be made up of 70 per cent Eurasian dishes and 30 per cent Chinese ones, he says. Some dishes include sayur beremi or purslane and prawns cooked with rempah titek, a spice paste of chilli, shallots, candlenuts and belacan; prawn stock and coconut milk. He is getting the sayur beremi from his long-time Geylang Serai supplier. He says: 'If you don't know how to cook it, it will be bitter.' Another is threadfin fish head and pig brain braised with vegetables. It was served at weddings because of the symbolism – the brain to beget smart children and the fish head to spawn many kids. 'You won't see the brain,' he promises. 'When diners have a spoonful of the sauce, they'll be blown away.' So far, so vintage. The Mod-Sin part of it comes with the plating and accompaniments to the se and other dishes. He is developing several kerabu or salads that can be eaten on their own or paired seamlessly with the dishes. One of these is tomato stuffed with a housemade, ricotta-like cheese, and topped with sesame oil and lemon basil. He says that progress is good, especially when chefs are able to help diners understand the original taste of the dish. 'I've been doing the same thing for so long,' he says of the new direction. 'I want to surprise diners. They'll be able to taste the difference between the old Damian and the new Damian.' Tan Hsueh Yun is senior food correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers all aspects of the food and beverage scene in Singapore. Check out ST's Food Guide for the latest foodie recommendations in Singapore.
Straits Times
13-06-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Holland Village stalwarts Wala Wala, Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao to shut; Wine RVLT relocates
Wala Wala Cafe Bar may end its 32-year run before its lease is up by the end of 2025. PHOTO: WALA WALA CAFE BAR SINGAPORE – Two Holland Village establishments look set to bow out of the foodie cluster in 2025. The Straits Times recently reported that the area is losing its mojo, with foot traffic dwindling and businesses closing. Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao will shut after 20 years on June 30, while nightspot Wala Wala Cafe Bar may end its 32-year run before its lease is up at the end of 2025. Citing waning footfall in the area, rising operating costs and a challenging labour market as reasons for the closure, Wala Wala's owner Stanley Yeo told The Business Times in a June 12 article that he is looking for a new tenant to take over the space. In a statement to ST, a spokesman for the Crystal Jade Group confirmed that the restaurant's lease in Holland Village is up and added that the group is 'evaluating opportunities for new outlets in other areas of Singapore'. The group still runs its Crystal Jade Hong Kong Kitchen at the One Holland Village mall, and has other Crystal Jade La Mian Xiao Long Bao outlets at i12 Katong, Bugis Junction and Hillion Mall. Over in Hongkong Street, modern Spanish restaurant FOC announced in an Instagram post on June 12 that it will shut in August, after 11 years. Its other outlet is at Sentosa's Tanjong Beach. These add to other recent closures, including another Holland Village restaurant, Sens Dining, which shut in April; and ramen chain Kanada-Ya at Jem, Marina Square and Paya Lebar Quarter. In May, souffle pancake chain Fluff Stack closed its outlets, while Japanese ramen specialist Hokkaido Ramen Santouka exited Singapore after 17 years at Clarke Quay Central mall. Upmarket restaurants were not spared either in the challenging food and beverage scene. Modern European restaurants Imbue in Keong Saik Road and the one-Michelin-starred Poise in Teck Lim Road have also closed in recent months. Others are starting new chapters in different locations. Choon Hoy Parlor, which shut in Beach Road on April 14, soft-launched on June 8 with a bigger 64-seat, double-storey space at the Arcade @ The Capitol Kempinski, next to its sister concept The Masses. Choon Hoy Parlor continues to offer its style of Singapore soul food at affordable prices. Over in Robertson Quay, some former tenants at the mixed development Robertson Walk – which has shut for its redevelopment into a luxury residential enclave with dining and entertainment choices – are also gearing up to open in new venues in July. Home-grown Thai restaurant Fi Woodfire Thai will reopen at Shaw Centre, while decade-old burger restaurant Wildfire Burgers moves to UE Square and will be relaunched as Wild/Fire. Wine bar Wine RVLT - which had already announced in 2024 that it would not renew its lease in 2025 - will go out with a bang. It will wrap up a slew of events leading up to the final day on July 12 with a 'Finish Finish Liao Party'. Wine bar Wine RVLT will shut in Carpenter Street on July 12. PHOTO: ST FILE And while this eight-year run in Carpenter Street will conclude, a new location is already in the works for what will be called Revolution Wine Bistro - slated to open in Henderson Road on July 18. Eunice Quek is STFood online editor at The Straits Times. She covers all things trending in the food and beverage scene. Check out ST's Food Guide for the latest foodie recommendations in Singapore.
