When I was invited to go to San Sebastian, in the Spanish Basque Country, to discover Singaporean cuisine, I thought there was a geographical error in the invitation. But that was only because I didn’t know about Gastronomika, one of the biggest gastronomy festivals on the planet. It is held every year at the city’s congress palace, and for a few days, San Sebastian becomes the nerve center of global gastronomy.
This year, the cities of Singapore and Hong Kong were the guests of honor for the 2015 edition of the festival. So, it was in this strange and new context for me that I discovered Singaporean cuisine and, at the same time, the city of Singapore itself, the gastronomic capital of Asia, as I was about to find out.
This event was also an opportunity for me to meet the delegation of Singaporean chefs who came to present their cuisine during this gathering of professionals and enlightened enthusiasts.
The Singaporean chefs:
- André CHIANG from Restaurant André.
- Justin QUEK (chef at Sky on 57 restaurant). Like most Singaporean chefs, Justin understands and speaks French very well because he has worked, like many of his colleagues, in the kitchens of starred French chefs.
- Dave PYNT from Burnt Ends restaurant.
- Jet LO from Ding Dong restaurant.
- Malcom LEE from Candlenut restaurant, specialist in traditional Peranakan cuisine.
- Ryan CLIFT from Tippling Club restaurant, one of two chefs participating in the Singaporean dinner, which you can see pictures of below.
- Emmanuel STROOBANT from Saint Pierre restaurant.
- Peter TEO from Les Amis restaurant.
- LG Han from Labyrinth restaurant, the other chef participating in the Singaporean dinner, which you can see pictures of below.
- Willin LOW from Wild Rocket restaurant.
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Table of Contents
The Gastronomika Festival and the gastronomy of the Spanish Basque Country
On the program for this festival: tastings, presentations of local products, Spanish or more exotic ones, wine tasting sessions, conferences, participation of local restaurants with special menus during the festival, and many other activities.
My discoveries:
- A wine typical of the Spanish Basque Country, Txakoli or Txakolina, a rather dry white wine, produced in the province of Gipuzkoa, which pairs perfectly with the seafood and fish found on every table in the region. The Olatu Txakoli is more of a product aimed at international sales, while the Txakolina Hondarribia / hiruzta bodega is a more typical wine, adapted to regional tastes.
- La Antigua cheese, creamy and melting.
- Hergaher black pudding, Morcillas and farinato.
- The Basque Culinary Center, a kind of University of Gastronomic Sciences.
- And to finish your little tour of the festival, there’s nothing better than going to sit on the terrace of the pop-up Keler bar (a Spanish beer brand), facing the sea, with your feet in the water or almost…
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Singaporean street food
- The ‘Turban’ Laksa
Laksa is one of the traditional dishes of Singapore. It is a coconut milk-based spicy soup with noodles and seafood and represents well the culinary mix of Singaporean cuisine. Here, Singaporean chef Peter Teo (from Les Amis restaurant) reinvents it with noodles and spices.
- Coffee pork ribs
This is a dish that combines a traditional marinating method with coffee aromas. Here, chef Wayne Liew (from KEK Seafood restaurant) presents extremely crispy pork ribs covered in a thick coffee sauce.
- Chicken Rice
Chicken Rice is perhaps the most typical dish of Singapore. It dates back to a time when Singaporeans didn’t have much means to eat meat, so they kept the less noble cuts of chicken. Thus, they found ways to prepare them in the best possible way, notably by poaching them in a broth and eating them with rice. Hence the Chicken Rice, which is sold on every street corner in Singapore.
Here, the Belgian-born chef Emmanuel Stroobant (from Saint Pierre restaurant), in homage to Spanish croquetas (one of my favorite dishes), proposed Chicken Rice Croquetas for the festival, chicken rice croquettes.
- Meat Dim Sum
Here, a slight detour: I present a Hong Kong specialty by chef Josep M. Kao.
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The opening evening featuring women chefs
The evening took place at the STM (San Telmo Museoa), a sort of fine arts museum of the city, located in the old district of San Sebastian, in a modern building attached to the old Dominican fathers’ convent, dating from the 16th century. The festivities of Gastronomika opened by highlighting women chefs, unfortunately too often forgotten in this very masculine environment, it must be admitted. They offered us many very original little bites, to be enjoyed with the eyes and the palate.
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The Singaporean dinner at Ni Neu restaurant
This very beautiful evening gave way, to our greatest gastronomic pleasure, to a cooking battle between 2 Singaporean chefs: tattooed chef Ryan Clift (Tippling Club restaurant) and chef LG Han (Labyrinth restaurant). It was also an opportunity to discover a more “haute cuisine” oriented aspect of Singapore.
Aperitif:
- Gilda (mini anchovy with pepper and olive kebab) / Iberian ham / sushi and red tuna sashimi (perhaps the best I’ve ever eaten).
Starters:
- Clams with garlic and parsley (by Ryan Clift from Tippling Club), mix of textures and superb presentation.
- Crab Singapore-style with chilli (by LG Han from Labyrinth), with a specific cooking method to detach the flesh from the shell.
Main courses:
- Toriyama veal with umami textures (by Ryan Clift from Tippling Club). For information, umami is a culinary concept, one of the five basic tastes: sweet, salty, acidic, bitter, and umami. It therefore requires a particular marriage of ingredients to obtain this “taste”.
- “Siew Yoke Fan” roast pork on rice (by LG Han from Labyrinth), apparently one of the specialties of this Singaporean restaurant.
Desserts:
- Medley of milk textures with acidic herbs (by Ryan Clift from Tippling Club), what is incredible is that in reality this dessert is completely vegan, because it is made entirely without animal milk.
- Sopachendol dumplings (by LG Han from Labyrinth), frankly I couldn’t really tell you what was inside…
Aside from the dishes, each one was perfectly paired with a selection of wines, sparkling wines, and the pairing was particularly interesting. We therefore had 6 filled glasses in front of us at the end of the evening…
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In conclusion, this little Basque getaway mostly made me want to discover the city of Singapore, its culture, its gastronomy, its landscapes,… in short, a goal for a future trip…
And you, do you know Singapore, San Sebastian, the Spanish Basque Country, Gastronomika, or even all 4?
Photo credits: Mademoiselle Bon Plan Photos are not royalty-free, photographer's authorization is mandatory before any use
