Tantalize your taste buds at S'pore Food Festival

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

If you are bored with ordinary fare, perhaps it's time to stop by at Dusit Mangga Dua Hotel on Jl. Mangga Dua Raya, Central Jakarta.

The hotel is staging the Singapore Food Festival from Oct. 1 to Oct. 11. It is a joint event between Singapore Airlines and the Mandarin Hotel Singapore.

What is so special about Singapore cuisine?

Just like its neighboring countries, Singapore cuisine boasts various dishes which reflect foreign influences, especially from Chinese, Malay, Indian and European cuisines.

Although several popular dishes very much resemble those in neighboring countries, they do possess the distinctive characteristics that are obtained by using certain herbs or heavier cooking pastes.

"Basically a wide range of Chinese, Indian, European and Malay dishes are available in Singapore. But we have our own dishes," said chef Dan Koh during a food tasting, which preceded the festival itself.

For the food festival, Dan Koh and the Dusit Mangga Dua Hotel's executive sous chef Rudy Setiadi will prepare 45 popular Singaporean dishes for buffet lunch at Rp 75,000++ per person and a set menu starting from Rp 50,000++ per person.

Among the popular dishes are Kueh Pie Tee, Mee Siam (Siam style noodles), Nonya chicken curry, bak kut teh (seasoned pork soup), Singapore laksa (spicy noodles with soup).

Koh further added that compared to other foreign cuisine, Chinese cuisine is more popular in Singapore, boasting scores of big and small Chinese restaurants.

With the same Malay roots and foreign influences, the spices used by Singaporeans to prepare their dishes are mostly the same, but it has some distinctive cooking herbs, like nyuk cuk, tong kwe and mai san.

"Most of the ingredients can be purchased locally. Chinese spices are sold in Glodok area but those three items have to be imported from Singapore," said the chef, who joined the hotel in September.

Vegetable-based dishes are also available in Singapore cuisine with the most popular items include cay sim (a sort of mustard greens), kangkung (swamp spinach), carrot and asparagus, among others.

And though both Singaporeans and Indonesians also enjoy hot and spicy food, unlike Indonesians, Singaporeans love to spice up their dishes by adding white pepper.

Koh's signature dishes include Singapore Laksa, Hainanese rice (steamed rice served with chicken slices) and bak kut teh. The later is prepared according to Koh's family tradition.

Koh's family owns a Chinese restaurant named Hua U Bah Kut Teh, set up in 1968 in Klang, Malaysia. It is often frequented by famous faces in Malaysia and is currently run by his elder brother.

Koh has 23 years of experience as a chef and has worked in Malaysia, Singapore, Shanghai in China and Indonesia. His Singapore Laksa has a more pronounced flavor thanks to the special paste he prepared, while the bah kut teh is lighter and served with cak kwe (Chinese crispy bread).

For dessert, the hotel will prepare popular es kacang merah (red beans and shaved ice), bubur ketan hitam (black glutinous rice porridge) and bubur chacha (a colorful drink).

During this festival, guests who dine in would have the opportunity to win a return ticket to Singapore courtesy of the capital's flag carrier Singapore Airlines.