Kampong Glam

The Malays are the native inhabitants of Singapore and form the second largest ethnic community here, making up around 15 percent of the population.

Kampong Glam was the first Malay settlement in Singapore and the seat of Malay royalty in Singapore. It has continued to flourish as a truly cosmopolitan settlement. Today, Kampong Glam is a conservation district and home to some of the oldest and significant landmarks in Singapore’s history.

Malay cuisine in Singapore is a blend of traditional dishes from Malaysia with strong influences from the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Java. Rice is the staple food while pork is never used in Malay cuisine for religious reasons. Malay cuisine is distinguished by its use of coconut milk, chilli, garlic, cloves, ginger, lemongrass and other pungent spices and herbs in spicy dishes like curry, rendang, sambal, laksa and more. Belachan — a pungent dried shrimp paste often combined with pounded fresh chillies — is also a key ingredient in most Malay dishes.

This Singapore Food Festival, visit Heritage Flavours 2008 at the Malay Heritage Centre to experience the unique Malay traditional arts and culture.

Date: 26 & 27 July 2008
Time: 10.00am - 8.00pm
Venue: Malay Heritage Centre
85 Sultan Gate
Singapore 198501

Activity:
• Food demonstration & workshops by local celebrity chefs
• Cooking competition for locals - Best nasi ambeng presentation & belachan endurance eating competition
• Food bazaar – More than 20 food & drinks stalls
• Cultural performances by the various Malay ethnic groups
• Performances by local celebrities (MediaCorp artistes)

Heritage Flavours ’08

Rojak, Satay, Mee Mydin, Nasi Ayam Penyet, Nasi Ambeng, Chendol, Bandung…you name it and the list goes on! Yes, it’s that time of the year again as Malay Heritage Centre introduces glorious ethnic dishes that are guaranteed to whet your appetite.

Set with a theme each year, the launch of Heritage Flavours ’08 at the Malay Heritage Centre will be on 26th July 2008. Dr. Ahmad Mohd Magad, MP for Pasir Ris – Punggol GRC will grace the official opening.

Heritage Flavours ‘08 will showcase delicacies and dishes from various local Malay Ethnic groups such as the Javanese, Boyanese and Minang.

Food Bazaar with a targeted total of 20 stalls with different varieties of traditional Malay Food and Fruits will also be complimenting the weekend festivities.

Stealing the limelight of all the food will be the key event, mass food appreciation of the famous Nasi Ambeng.

An authentic Javanese cuisine, Nasi Ambeng is served on a dulang or sahan (a big serving tray) only at Malay functions like a kenduri. Kenduri is a form of thanksgiving to the Almighty for his abundance on happy occasions such as the fulfillment of the 40th day of a newborn, religious celebrations, birthdays or weddings.

In groups of 4, and targeting more than 30 platters, Malay Heritage Centre and in collaboration with Tepak Sireh Restaurant will host the most number of Nasi Ambeng food appreciation in one event. Local residents will be invited to participate as part of Racial Harmony and Heritage appreciations.

While you are munching on the tenderly roasted Satay and sipping on sweet pink Bandung, be sure to get healthy cooking tips from celebrity chef Khaled, winner of 2007 Suria’s reality TV show - Chef Celebrity as he hosts a cooking demonstration during the festival on 26th July 2008. As part of the post-event activities of the festival, Chef Khaled will be hosting a cooking workshop in the upcoming months at Malay Heritage Centre.

To further complement the theme, there will also be a 2 weeks visual arts exhibition by Aziza Ali. Her latest exhibition, Journey Through Arts will be launched this Friday, 25th July at Malay Heritage Centre’s museum gallery.

Join Aziza Ali as she gives an insight on how rice plays an important role in our lives in her “All About Rice” seminar on Sunday, 27th July.

Get up close and personal with the 2 famous chefs, Chef Khaled and Chef Asmah Laili when they reveal about themselves and how they started to be interested in food and cooking. Join them at the “Sepetang Bersama” (An Evening with local celebrities) on Saturday, 26th July 2008. This fringe event is in conjunction with Bulan 3 Bahasa ’08 (Malay Language Month ’08). Look forward to some secret recipes to be revealed exclusively at Malay Heritage Centre.

“All of these and more of the fringe activities during the 2-day festival will be held at Malay Heritage Centre to ensure visitors from the public and tourists are entertained as they enjoy the various ethnic Malay food and immerse themselves culturally with the sights and sounds of the performances and exhibition going on at all the venues within Malay Heritage Centre”, said Mr. Eddy Noor Hassan, General Manager of Malay Heritage Centre.

Chinatown

Chinatown may be less of an enclave for the community of the Chinese residents than it once was, but it does retain significant historical and cultural significance.

Chinese cuisine originated from the various regions of China and has become widespread in many other parts of the world. In most of its dishes food is prepared in bite-sized pieces, ready for direct picking up and eating. Rice is always present and vegetables are considered major secondary foods. Meat, poultry and fish are generally regarded as supplementary food in daily meals. However, pork is generally preferred over beef in Chinese cuisine as the colour of the meat and the fat of the pork are regarded as more appetising, while the taste and smell are described as sweeter.

For fun and good fortune, go back in time to Chinatown for that nostalgic taste of the traditional flavours of Chinese food.

Date: 12 & 13 July
Time: 11.00am - 9.00pm
Venue: Kreta Ayer Square & Chinatown Food Street

Activity:
• Showcasing the old brands of Chinatown
• Chinese dialects' food fair
• Hainanese chicken rice eating competition

Chinese Dialect Food Showcase

Date: 12th & 13th July 2008
Venue: Kreta Ayer Square
Time: 11am to 9pm

This year, Chinatown relooks and explores back into the olden roots of the Chinese traditional heritage through its diverse range of foods from each of the established dialects in Singapore. A total of 8 different dialect restaurants will be showcasing signature foods of their heritage, including the three main dialects (Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkien) and other dialects such as Hakka, Hainanese, Shanghainese, Foochow and Henghua.

Locals and Tourists will be in for an amazing learning journey, with these participating restaurants sharing with us the flavours of their customs, further aided with exhibition tools, food tasting sessions and even cooking demonstrations.

With these famous chefs and restaurants coming together for the first time at the heart of Chinatown, food-lovers will experience maximum tasting pleasures in this year’s Singapore Food Festival @ Chinatown!

Little India 

Indians in Singapore form 9 percent of the country’s population, making them Singapore’s third largest ethnic group.

The Indian imprint on Singapore’s urban landscape can be seen most prominently in the Little India neighbourhood. Apart from serving the social, cultural and commercial needs of the Indian community, the area is established as one of the more historic urban districts in Singapore, with a colourful personality that makes it an indelible part of the national landscape and identity.

Indian dishes have become modified to different degrees, after years of contact with other Singapore cultures, and in response to locally available ingredients as well as changing local tastes. The Indian food available here may be viewed as regional variations of Indian food, or in some cases, a form of hybrid Indian-Singaporean cuisine. Popular Indian dishes and elements of Indian cuisine include achar (mixed pickled vegetables), curry, Indian rojak, murtabak and roti prata.

If you’d like to savour Indian dishes exploding with intense flavours, take a food odyssey at the colourful Little India.

Date: 11 - 27 July 2008
Venue: Little India

Activity:
• Thosai weekend (11 - 13 July)
• Vegetarian fair (12 July)
• Nasi briyani weekend (18 - 20 July)
• Indian desserts fair (25 - 27 July)

Vegetarian Experience at Little India

For those who would like to go meatless, or perhaps, you’re just a no-meat person, you’re not left out! Head on down to the vegetarian fair at the colourful Little India for a vegetarian experience. There will be more than 80 food stalls which are run by Buddhist organisations, restaurants, volunteer groups and caterers, all coming together for a vegetarian celebration. Sales proceeds will help to fund Man Fut Tong Nursing Home.