SINGAPORE: Before making way for the nation’s development, Mr Firdaus Sani’s family once called Pulau Semakau, off the southern coast of Singapore, home.
His mother and grandmother crafted coastal dishes with ingredients sourced from both land and sea.
Five years ago, he decided to honour that heritage by launching an online food business centred on the traditional cuisine of the Orang Laut, also known as the people of the sea. Beloved dishes include Gulai Nenas (pineapples in peppery prawn broth) and Sotong Hitam (fresh squid in savoury squid ink paste).
As the National Day long weekend approaches, Mr Firdaus said he has seen a 30 per cent surge in orders.
“I think the stories that come with (our food) are very important, and how they derive from communities that are no longer living on the southern islands,”
“It's important that these dishes represent something that is bigger, something that is lost.”
Mr Firdaus has turned down offers to expand into a restaurant in order to keep the venture both authentic and manageable for his mother, who does most of the cooking.
“For me, this is intangible cultural heritage. We want to make sure that we're able to upkeep and continue a certain legacy,” he added.
Amid a surge in interest, he is cooking up plans to launch food heritage tours and communal dining sessions under the SG Culture Pass initiative.
The SG Culture Pass gives all Singaporeans aged 18 and above S$100 (US$80) in credits to enjoy local arts, culture, and heritage programmes.
Like Mr Firdaus, several businesses specialising in minority ethnic dishes have reported an increase in orders amid festivities leading up to Singapore's 60th birthday.
These small businesses have ventured into the online space in efforts to preserve their niche culinary heritage.
They also hope to introduce their unique, hard-to-find traditional dishes to a wider audience through heritage festivals and community events.
Mr Chester Matthias Tan from the Heritage Business Foundation highlighted the important role food plays in shaping Singapore’s national story.
“For a lot of other engagements with culture, you have to make a deliberate decision to go to a museum (or) to try out a craft,” said the founder of the non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of Singapore's heritage.
“But food is everywhere, and we consume it every day. So food is a very easy way for people to be connected with their culture, for them to experience it, not in a spectacular fashion like it's a special occasion but just as something that they experience every day.”
However, he noted that a key challenge lies in changing tastes, emphasising that early exposure to traditional flavours is crucial in cultivating lasting appreciation.
“There are recipes that are at risk of disappearing, that are connected to each of the different ethnic groups. A lot of them are recipes that are very difficult to prepare,” he said.
“They are very laborious, and the skills required to prepare them, or just the time investment, is not really something that we see very often nowadays.”
Seventy-six-year-old Mary Gomes is equally committed to preserving the culinary traditions of Singapore’s Eurasian community.
Taught to cook by her mother, she became one of the first to publish a dedicated Eurasian cookbook in Singapore in 2001.
“I remember whatever simple dishes my mum used to cook for us, because she was so versatile,” she said. “When she went to the market, whatever she could get her hands on, she would come back and cook something out of it.”
Madam Gomes is now turning to heritage events as a way to share her culture with more people.
“They can see for themselves what they like, what type of food they like. Some people don't have a very clear view of how Eurasian food is prepared,” she said.
“They always think that ours maybe could be more Western, but actually they don't know we are very close in line with the Peranakan style of cooking.”
Mdm Gomes now runs an online business after closing her cafe three years ago. She said that sales have been growing by at least 10 per cent annually.
To ensure her culture lives on, she is gradually passing the baton to her daughter and collaborating with organisations like the Eurasian Association and the Peranakan Museum through cultural events.
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His mother and grandmother crafted coastal dishes with ingredients sourced from both land and sea.
Five years ago, he decided to honour that heritage by launching an online food business centred on the traditional cuisine of the Orang Laut, also known as the people of the sea. Beloved dishes include Gulai Nenas (pineapples in peppery prawn broth) and Sotong Hitam (fresh squid in savoury squid ink paste).
As the National Day long weekend approaches, Mr Firdaus said he has seen a 30 per cent surge in orders.
“I think the stories that come with (our food) are very important, and how they derive from communities that are no longer living on the southern islands,”
“It's important that these dishes represent something that is bigger, something that is lost.”
Mr Firdaus has turned down offers to expand into a restaurant in order to keep the venture both authentic and manageable for his mother, who does most of the cooking.
“For me, this is intangible cultural heritage. We want to make sure that we're able to upkeep and continue a certain legacy,” he added.
Amid a surge in interest, he is cooking up plans to launch food heritage tours and communal dining sessions under the SG Culture Pass initiative.
The SG Culture Pass gives all Singaporeans aged 18 and above S$100 (US$80) in credits to enjoy local arts, culture, and heritage programmes.
Like Mr Firdaus, several businesses specialising in minority ethnic dishes have reported an increase in orders amid festivities leading up to Singapore's 60th birthday.
These small businesses have ventured into the online space in efforts to preserve their niche culinary heritage.
They also hope to introduce their unique, hard-to-find traditional dishes to a wider audience through heritage festivals and community events.
CHANGING TASTES
Mr Chester Matthias Tan from the Heritage Business Foundation highlighted the important role food plays in shaping Singapore’s national story.
“For a lot of other engagements with culture, you have to make a deliberate decision to go to a museum (or) to try out a craft,” said the founder of the non-profit organisation dedicated to the advancement of Singapore's heritage.
“But food is everywhere, and we consume it every day. So food is a very easy way for people to be connected with their culture, for them to experience it, not in a spectacular fashion like it's a special occasion but just as something that they experience every day.”
Related:
However, he noted that a key challenge lies in changing tastes, emphasising that early exposure to traditional flavours is crucial in cultivating lasting appreciation.
“There are recipes that are at risk of disappearing, that are connected to each of the different ethnic groups. A lot of them are recipes that are very difficult to prepare,” he said.
“They are very laborious, and the skills required to prepare them, or just the time investment, is not really something that we see very often nowadays.”
SHARING WITH A WIDER AUDIENCE
Seventy-six-year-old Mary Gomes is equally committed to preserving the culinary traditions of Singapore’s Eurasian community.
Taught to cook by her mother, she became one of the first to publish a dedicated Eurasian cookbook in Singapore in 2001.
“I remember whatever simple dishes my mum used to cook for us, because she was so versatile,” she said. “When she went to the market, whatever she could get her hands on, she would come back and cook something out of it.”
Related:
Madam Gomes is now turning to heritage events as a way to share her culture with more people.
“They can see for themselves what they like, what type of food they like. Some people don't have a very clear view of how Eurasian food is prepared,” she said.
“They always think that ours maybe could be more Western, but actually they don't know we are very close in line with the Peranakan style of cooking.”
Mdm Gomes now runs an online business after closing her cafe three years ago. She said that sales have been growing by at least 10 per cent annually.
To ensure her culture lives on, she is gradually passing the baton to her daughter and collaborating with organisations like the Eurasian Association and the Peranakan Museum through cultural events.
Related:
Continue reading...