People want to understand where they come from, especially in a young city like Singapore. Peranakan cuisine gives us culinary roots — Malcolm Lee brasserie fare with the level of mastery his fans have come to expect from him. French, Italian, Cantonese – living an increasingly global lifestyle, the city’s younger generation, in particular, is on the hunt for its own Singaporean identity. This extends to its next-gen chefs, too. They can be found at the city’s countless hawker centres, but also at Candlenut (comodempsey.sg), where chef Malcolm Lee is keen to revive the flavours of his childhood. “People want to understand where they come from, especially in a young city like Singapore,” he says. “Peranakan cuisine gives us culinary roots.” Peranakan refers to the mix of Chinese, Malaysian and sometimes Indian influences typical of the city. Lee draws inspiration from the traditional cuisine of his ancestors, but his ingredients are of a much higher quality than those used in most hawker stalls. For his beef rendang with grated coconut and Kukura leaves, he uses Wagyu beef; for his yellow coconut crab curry with pineapple, he prefers more delicate crab meat instead of the conventional prawns. His style – which hits the sweet spot between traditional Asian cookery and globally oriented fine-dining trends – has been so well received that he opened a second restaurant this summer, Pangium (restaurantpangium.sg), which is set in the Botanic Gardens and offers an elaborate tasting menu likewise celebrating Peranakan food. Han Li Guang (LG Han, for short) takes one step further with his Singapore-style neo-regional cuisine. At his restaurant, Labyrinth (restaurantlabyrinth.com), he uses only ingredients sourced from the city-state and has a knack for reinterpreting local classics. For example, his take on street-food staple chicken rice is a crispy fried chicken wing filled with Japanese nanatsuboshi rice, black truffle and mushrooms, accompanied by a ginger-garlic dipping sauce. His rojak, a popular spicy fruit salad, is served in a wooden bowl with a good dozen herbs and edible flowers, all grown in Singapore, along with jackfruit sorbet and fermented honey. A sophisticated interplay of sweetness, acidity and spiciness, all ingredients locally sourced – this is the Singapore of the 21st century. Escape Route Sunbathing on pristine beaches, enjoying ultrafresh seafood in small beach restaurants, and cruising through mangrove groves may, for some, be a tempting prospect after spending a few days in the exhilarating hustle and bustle of Singapore. Just a two-hour drive away on the still-quiet east coast of Malaysia lies the Desaru Coast, an idyllic stretch of coastline that Singapore’s in-crowd has made its destination du jour for long-weekend getaways. Not only are the beaches like something out of a picture book, but the hinterland jungles are so pristine that even the endangered Malayan tiger can still be spotted there from time to time. Guests of the Anantara Resort ( anantara.com) stay amid tropical gardens on the edge of a natural lagoon in a choice of traditional Malaysianinspired wooden villas and more modern beachfront residences. On a boat safari with the hotel‘s own nature guide, you can get to know the unique ecosystem of the coastal mangrove forests. They grow in the saltwater and form a natural habitat for rare bird species and the macaque monkeys that live in their trees and feed on their crabs. Or learn how to prepare authentic Malaysian laksa with freshly caught seafood, rice noodles and the traditional coconut milk-infused broth based on fish and dried shrimp in a cooking class with the in-house chef. Very chic is the One&Only (oneandonlyresorts.com), the group‘s first resort in Asia. It is surrounded by untouched jungle and was designed by the late Kerry Hill, the grand master of tropical hotel architecture. In addition, there is a Chenot spa and the feeling of having arrived on a private island. Incidentally, this is an impression that Desaru generally conveys. Hurry there before the rest of the world catches on. – PB CENTURION-MAGAZINE.COM 25
