How Singapore sold its soul

Growing up in Singapore, most of us have been exposed to the multi-cultural facets in our everyday lives. Suffice to say, the food we come across are typically more diverse than your average hawker centre fare.

Growing up in Singapore, we were conditioned to think that Japanese food should be a certain way, German food should taste a particular taste and Hainanese chicken rice should always be of a certain standard. Well, the myopic vacuum of culinary delights that we experience in Singapore could be severely dented by a simple trip out of the island.

What we see today is the eternal struggle to make ends meet, with monetary concerns of rent, license fees, raw materials and nett profit to name a few, at the top-most of most people's agendas. What suffers inevitably is the quality and standard of food. I've long maintained that Singapore food has an above-average standard across the board, with truly excellent culinary experiences far and beyond (but still achievable). And have always pointed to Malaysia as the one with more character and pride in their cooking.



What you don't see in Malaysia is hawkers counting the number of half-fishballs they put into the noodle soup you just ordered, or being stingy with sauce or broth and scowling when you ask for extra ketchup. What you do see is genuine food, cooked with effort and love, and people hoping that the food will speak to you and warm your heart. Character in the food is often found wanting in Singapore, and sad to say, the food being offered locally is in fact a sad caricature of what it could have and should have been.

With local fare suffering, what do we have now? Nothing. After returning for a short period, I've sampled some German at Magma, Japanese at Waraku and pratas at Simpang. It does do wonders, cooking that is. It alerts you to what ingredients were used and whether the food was fresh to begin with. What it also does is make you more of a skeptic, which is what I've sadly become. Being exposed to varying cultures abroad is another catalyst in exposing the shoddy offerings present in Singapore. If, for example, Japanese food can be replicated so well in Australia, why is it not achievable in Singapore?



The Granny's Soup at Magma was a disgrace. Lazily put together with dried thyme, chicken stock (probably powdered), minute chunks of meat and some summer greens. Authenticity? 0%. Taste? Definitely not Granny's cooking. It was such a half-hearted attempt at conjuring up a rustic and traditional dish I almost felt sorry for the chef. Hell, anyone who even tried replicating the dish would discover how pitiful the offering truly was. (And no, don't get me started on the pork knuckle.)



Today's lunch at Waraku was not unexpected. Hardly the most authentic of Japanese restaurants, Waraku cuts the waiting time by serving ready-made food, conveniently heated up in the microwave. Which is obvious by how the chicken katsu is soggy whilst remaining piping hot. Sashimi suffers from the time taken to transport it from wherever it comes from, and sometimes I do find myself questioning if the sushi chef has actually undergone the traditional and required seven years of training. Which is highly unlikely.



As for pratas, well we all know how hard it is to find good prata nowadays so I shan't delve into that.

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Sad innit? By striving to become a true international city, Singapore has abandoned its one and only culture--food. Without food, what will become of Singapore?