SPICE (Singapore International Culinary Exchange) Showcase

Singapore’s culinary scene has gained greater inernational prominence after a year of extensive exposure under the Singapore International Culinary Exchange (SPICE) programme.

SPICE was created to cement Singapore’s position as an international foodies’ destination. It comprised two initiatives – an innovative pop-lkitchen concept known as the Singapore Takeout and a culinary immersion programme called the Global Chef Exchange.

10 chefs from Singapore will be traveling to 9 cities where they brought the taste of Singapore in a mobile pop-out kitchen.

The programme did the reverse by gathering 23 prominent international chefs from around the world to be immersed in Singapore’s culinary culture.

I had the privilege to meet the participating chefs and catch a glimpse of their prowess in the kitchen in the SPICE Showcase last night. Held at TheatreWorks, this homecoming showcase of SPICE in Singapore saw a congregation of top chefs based in Singapore as well as celebrity chef Peter Gordon graced the event and prepared their Singapore-inspired dishes on the spot.

I had the honour to pair up with Chef Janice from 2am dessert bar to plate her creation. Chef Janice travelled with the Singapore Takeout kitchen to London last June and she recreated the popular Singapore dish, Laksa, to the guests in London.

Traditional laksa sauce (aromatic coconut curry broth) infused with lemongrass, is poured into these hand-made tiger prawn dumplings and served with hand-made noodles. The lemongrass adds flavor and depth to this delicious broth. And I was amazed at the piece of “paper” on top of the Laksa. Apparently, one of these transfer sheets even has Janice’s favourite poem printed on it! When torched slightly, it tasted somewhat similar to cuttlefish. 

Keropokman had a chance to work with Chef Ryan to plate the Foir Gras Apple, and he loves the dish very much. The foie gras puree was served with four textured, eight spice and spiral guafrette bisquit.

Specialising in Peranakan food with a twist, Chef Malcolm uses modern cooking techniques bringing traditional Peranakan cuisine to a new level.

Cooking buah keluak is a commendable effort. Chef Malcolm took 2 days to prepare this dish. Braised with sambal, hricot bert, shrimp sayur lodeh (coconut curry vegetable stew), the meat is tender and melts in your mouth.

For Singapore Takeout, Chef Andre returned to Paris with new inspiration and ideas. He was there to learn his trade as a chef at the tender age of 15! Chef Andre believes in showing respect to the produce and presenting food in its purest form.

Foie Gras was cooked to created a soft and light jelly, scattered with Perigord truffle and wild mushrooms. This dish was voted as The Best Dish by us, food bloggers, that night.

Yes, all Singaporean’s favourites are featured in Chef Armin’s degustation. The three sauces – chilli crab, chicken satay and fish head curry were added to the crispy cone. I like the chilli crab one most.

Roti Jalal is a dish which the Peranakans have adopted from the Malay culture. Commonly eaten with chicken curry, Chef Benjamin prepared this dish with flavourful Nyonya Prawn Curry.

Braised with spicy bean sauce, the lamb short ribs is fried till crispy and served with mint yoghurt, asian spices and double pagoda spicy sesame oil.

The name of this dish was very special. Unlike the usual Kopi O we drink in coffee shop, we have this delightful dessert with a strong chocolate flavour. Actually, it tasted more like chocolate dinosaur!

International celebrity chef Peter Gordon prepared a five-spice infused pork belly brined for 24 hours, steamed, baked, pressed and chilled before being deep fried. Served with fragrant jasmine rice, crushed peanuts, roasted pineapple and dressed with tamarind and pineapple juice, which tasted similar to Singaporean’s achar.

Here’s a video of the Singapore Take Out! For more information, visit Singapore Eats Facebook page.