Food

We Are What We Eat: The Evolution of Chinese Food in Singapore

Chinese food in Singapore is a product of the country’s history and geography, reveals Low Sze Wee.

How Chinese Buddhist Women Shaped the Food Landscape in Singapore

Women who practised a particular form of Buddhism set up popular vegetarian restaurants in the 1940s and 50s that met the needs of local Buddhists and also helped promote vegetarianism.

The Role of Foraging in Malay Cuisine

Foraging for food in the hills, the forests and the coastline has been carried out by the Malays for centuries, as Khir Johari tells us.

Forgotten Foods & Mealtime Memories

Food writer Sylvia Tan remembers the foods and flavours she grew up with and the less than sanitary practices made for stomachs cast in iron.

Love Is a Many-Layered Thing

What lies in this vale of tiers? Christopher Tan delves into lapis legit, the cake as famous for its exacting recipe as for the unparalleled flavour of its buttery layers.

Of Belacan and Curry Puffs: A Taste of Singapore’s Past

Bonny Tan pores through the rich archives of Malayan newspapers and shows how disparate communities have come together to create a food culture that is truly emblematic of Singapore’s multicultural character.

The Evolution of Straits-born Cuisine

Lee Geok Boi looks at what makes Peranakan cuisine unique and delves into old cookbooks to see how Straits-born cuisine came to be.

A Bite of History: Betel Chewing in Singapore

Fiona Lim and Geoffrey Pakiam look at this time-honoured tradition – once a mainstay in Malay, Indian and Peranakan homes – that has since fallen out of fashion.

Siti Radhiah’s Cookbooks for the Modern Malay Woman

A number of cookbooks written in the 1940s and 1950s helped expand the traditional Malay culinary repertoire, as Toffa Abdul Wahed tells us.