10 real local dishes to try during Singavore Month

This year, don’t just buy your other half a lovely dinner for Valentine’s Day — treat them to a real local one.

A lot of the food we subscribe to for being ‘local’, actually aren’t.

According to a Nanyang Technological University movement called We are Singavore, dishes like chilli crab, chicken rice and nasi lemak, while iconic, are barely made of anything grown on the island.

And it’s not like we don’t have farms. We grow fruit, eggs, seafood and vegetables here, but the business is hard to sustain because, well, we don’t invest in them.

To help relieve the problem, We are Singavore is working together with 10 popular (and largely indie) restaurants to serve at least one dish made out of locally grown ingredients exclusively for February, Singavore Month. These restaurants have all been known to source from local farms, grow their own ingredients and use local craft food in their cooking.

What’s on the menu:

Jubilee Nasi Lemak at 7Kickstart

What it is: Aromatic coconut rice with spiced chicken wings, crispy anchovies and peanuts, plus anchovy sambal, $7.80 with coffee

What’s local: Chicken source from Toh Thye San Farm, a Singaporean-owned farm that recently moved from Punggol to Johor Bahru

Raw Lasagne at Afterglow

What it is: Zucchini sheets marinated in olive oil and pepper, marinated spinach, walnut ‘meat’ marinated with tamari and cumin powder, tomato sauce prepared with medjool dates, macadamia nut cheese & almond ‘cheese’ flakes, $16

What’s local: Spinach, tomatoes, and swiss brown mushrooms are sourced from Quan Fa Organic Farm

Summer Spiced Lamb at East 8

What it is: Roasted lamb short ribs marinated in special home-made spicy blend, glazed with sweet lime zest sauce, $15

What’s local: Chilli marinate is made from local craft food brand Mofo Chili

Grilled Barramundi with Basil Almond Pesto at Food for Thought

What it is: Fresh barramundi on a bed of sauteed mixed vegetables, topped with fresh rocket leaves, drizzled with homemade Holy Basil Almond Pesto sauce & a sprinkle of sea salt

What’s local: Their barramundi is from Tiberias Harvest, a marine farm in Singapore, off the coast of Pulau Ubin

Localicious Sambal Tilapia at Kakis

What it is: Deep fried tilapia with sambal sauce and mixed raw veggies, $10

What’s local: Lemongrass, kaffir lime and tilapia are homegrown and harvested on the spot at Greenology Vertical Agriculture, using a closed system developed to grow vegetables and fish

Rawksa at Lins Smoodees

What it is: Vegan twist to local favourite laksa, $5 (additional $0.50 for mintangyuan)

What’s local: Enoki mushrooms are sourced from Mycofarm, while mint leaves are source from Quan Fa Organic Farm and Fire Flies Health Farm

Mushroom Melody at Plonk

What it is:  Mixture of mushrooms, local bamboo shoot and spicy corn on a bed of edible soil, drizzled with pistachio pesto sauce, garnished with tomato flower, clown flower and wood sorrel, $14

What’s local: Plonk’s herbs and flowers are grown in their own garden, while the bamboo shoots are locally farmed

No. 38 Barramundi at The Tuckshop (top pic)

What it is: No. 38: Pan-seared barramundi with sambal belachan, lime and prawn crackers, $22

What’s local: Barramundi sourced from Kuhibarra, a local fish farm certified under AVA’s Good Aquaculture Practice – Fish Farming (GAP-FF) scheme

Pulau Ubin Sea Bass at Portico

What it is: Pan-seared fish served with roasted potatoes, herbed buerre blanc and Granny Smith apples, $24

What’s local: Herbs and flowers from their own garden and sea bass from Tiberias Harvest, a marine farm off the coast of Pulau Ubin

Artichoke’s not yet been announced, but you can log on to the We are Singavore website, pledge your interest and wait for more info to come in the mail.

 



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