Singapore Laksa Lemak

Singapore Laksa Lemak

Singapore was a whirlwind week filled with work, wine, food and brotherly love.

Oh and there was chili, humidity and amazing people. There wasn’t much time in Singapore to download all the flavours and experiences, but thankfully I grabbed a bunch of ingredients the day before we left and armed with a pretty authentic recipe booked and some amazing memories I had time to recreate at the restaurant.

Lets first give you a little history on Laksa. When you google the origin you will find it claimed by Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore. This already gives you a peek into the complexity of its flavours and influences and sometimes not very easily understood or explained. On numerous occasions whilst work with the locals I would ask them what Peranakan means and very rarely would they be able to give me a description of the style of food, this made me even more curious.

I was so lucky to be treated to an amazing Peranakan dinner by the crew from Rosemead Restaurant in Singapore. Not only did this open the door to Peranakan cuisine, but most certainly the best food of my trip. If I had to sum up this type of cuisine I would describe it as a perfect blend between Chinese techniques and Malaysian flavours. A little like the Peranakan people themselves who have decedents from both continents.

So imagine a bowl of noodles with coconut milk, dried chillies, dried shrimps, curry powder, shrimp paste, ginger, garlic, turmeric. In Singapore, their version is eaten for breakfast as it is so rich with coconut milk, equally delicious, but I prefer the slightly spicier more complex version from Malaysia decent.

We managed to get replicate the laksa in the restaurant and what a hit it turned out to be.