July / Augustus 2009 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

Special
Taste of Singapore back home...
By Karin Gerbens
Like (almost) every Dutch person living abroad,
I too sometimes crave for Dutch food like real
‘bitterballen’ (instead of bitterballen with a
cinnamon taste), a portion of ‘Boerenkool’ or a
‘bitterkoekje’ with my tea (I don’t like cheese,
so no craving there….). To cope with these
moments longing for a taste from home, I (friendly
though persistent) ask people from Holland who
come to visit us to bring things like hagelslag,
Calve peanutbutter and –for the hubby – Gouda
Cheese.
But what would a Singaporean in the Netherlands
do when he or she has a mouthwatering moment
while thinking of East Coast chili-crab and the
nation-wide famous hawker stalls? Although many
cuisines have found their way into the Netherlands
– from Afghan to Korean and from Jamaican to
Vietnamese restaurants – I have never seen or
heard about such a thing as ‘the Singaporean’.
Curious to know whether this phenomenon
exists, I started to surf the internet (while not
physically able to search a restaurant in the
Netherlands…). The only restaurant I could find is
an Indonesian restaurant offering also ‘Malaysian
and Singaporean flavors’. Maybe there are more
restaurants but I just cannot find them. Or maybe
it is too difficult to find the ‘Singaporean’ because
it is hard to define what the Singaporean cuisine
actually is.
Singapore food is – similar to its history and
culture - influenced by its many diverse people
and ethnicities. The Singaporean cuisine is a rich
mixture of Malay, Chinese, Indian and Indonesian
food and spices. In a regular food court, you can
find the nasi goreng next to the Chinese Dim Sums
and near the lamb curry. And if you look at it that
way, it shouldn’t be so hard being Singaporean in
the Netherlands. You can find Asian restaurants
serving these kinds of dishes everywhere, and
even the Albert Heijn sells oriental spices, instant
mee and kecap.
But we also all know that the Dutch way
of preparing Asian food is different, and so is
the taste, from the way here we can enjoy it
over here. Ah well… it is probably the same as
the issues we have with
the Asian version of
‘bitterballen’, it is just
not the real thing. And
that it sometimes makes
us wanting to go back…
Tip for Dutch abroad:
go to www.dutchtaste.
com for online ordering
o f t y p i c a l D u t c h
products.
SALVAGE ASIA PTE LTD
12A Jln Samulun • Singapore 629131 • Tel : +65 6591 5288 • Fax : +65 6591 5289 • www.ttbisso.com • info@ttbisso.com
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Vol.19 • No. 6 • July/August 2009