International Chef Margarita Forés, owner of such restaurants as Cibo and Grace Park, adds the finishing touches to her own version of Hokkien Mee by topping it with generous amounts of crispy fish.
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Singapore Food Festival 2020: Bringing peoples together for the love of food and culinary rediscovery

Manila, Philippines – For 27 years now, the Singapore Food Festival 2020 (SFF), the Lion City’s much-awaited event that showcases local culinary and F&B talent, has been fueling love for new flavors while unleashing the foodie spirit in everyone. After all, Singapore’s multi-ethnic culture is well represented in its varied and colorful dishes—from Chicken Rice to Nasi Lemak; Roti Prata to Claypot Rice—each possessing their own distinct flavors and tastes.

Chef Ming Tan, the managing partner of the Slake Collective, introduces and explains the ingredients that come with his Hokkien Mee kit that were made available during the Singapore Food Festival 2020 that allowed people to create this signature Singaporean dish at home and elevate their dining experience.
Chef Ming Tan, the managing partner of the Slake Collective, introduces and explains the ingredients that come with his Hokkien Mee kit that were made available during the Singapore Food Festival 2020 that allowed people to create this signature Singaporean dish at home and elevate their dining experience.

With the theme “Rediscover the Foodie in You,” Singapore Tourism Board’s Singapore Food Festival 2020 brought together more than 25 F&B partners who converged to serve up gastronomic experiences that allowed audiences to enjoy the festival from the comforts of their home. Held across two weekends in August—August 21-23, 2020, and August 28-30, 2020—Singapore’s dining scene immediately came to life in the form of virtual food tours, live masterclasses, chef collaborations, food bundles, and limited-edition food merchandise.

Chef Ming Tan and Chef Margarita Forés brought Singapore and the Philippines together during their online Singapore Food Festival 2020 masterclass “2Fast, @Delicious, Hokks and Clay”, where they prepared Hokkien Mee and Claypot Rice.
Chef Ming Tan and Chef Margarita Forés brought Singapore and the Philippines together during their online Singapore Food Festival 2020 masterclass “2Fast, @Delicious, Hokks and Clay”, where they prepared Hokkien Mee and Claypot Rice.

“As we took the Singapore Food Festival online and virtual for the first time, we wanted foodies the world over to rediscover Singaporean cuisine from wherever they may be,” says Ruby Liu, Singapore Tourism Board’s Philippines Area Director. “This year’s programming truly had something for everyone, blending the joy of feasting with interactive and engaging experiences, especially with the live masterclasses and virtual food tours.”

One of the not-to-be-missed events in the SFF 2020 was the Masterclass dubbed 2Fast, 2Delicious – Hokks & Clay by Slake (Singapore) x Cibo (Philippines), which had Chef Margarita Forés virtually collaborate with famed Singaporean Chef Ming Tan as they easily prepared Hokkien Mee, a noodle dish using prawn stock; and Chicken Claypot Rice, a well-loved rice casserole, live from their respective countries.

International Chef Margarita Forés, owner of such restaurants as Cibo and Grace Park, adds the finishing touches to her own version of Hokkien Mee by topping it with generous amounts of crispy fish.
International Chef Margarita Forés, owner of such restaurants as Cibo and Grace Park, adds the finishing touches to her own version of Hokkien Mee by topping it with generous amounts of crispy fish.

Forés, ambassador of Filipino cuisine and voted Asia’s Best Female Chef for 2016, is the owner of restaurants Cibo, Lusso, Grace Park, and signature caterer Cibo di Marghi. Chef Ming Tan, meanwhile, with his over 10 years in the hospitality industry, is presently the managing partner of the Slake Collective which includes homegrown brands like KIAP and Tokidon, as well as the consultant chef for JAM at Siri House, and is the part of Channel News Asia’s top-rating series “For Food’s Sake.”

By utilizing Slake’s Damn Easy Hokkien Mee and On-the-Spot Claypot Rice kits, both Chef Ming Tan and Chef Margarita Forés showed just how easy it is to prepare delicious signature Singapore dishes—all in under 15 minutes! Of course, each chef also shared a few of their own personal flavor secrets—showing everyone how anyone at home can level up their home dining experience.

Chef Ming Tan's mouth-watering version of Hokkien Mee, with prawns, crispy fish, and pork belly.
Chef Ming Tan’s mouth-watering version of Hokkien Mee, with prawns, crispy fish, and pork belly.

For her Hokkien Mee interpretation, Chef Margarita ingeniously added pork belly, chicharon, crispy fish, river prawn, and talangka or crab fat for that tangy Filipino touch. For her Claypot Rice, Filipino chorizo gave it a distinct and delectable taste.

For Chef Ming Tan’s take on Hokkien Mee meanwhile, he added blow-torched soy-marinated pork shabu with crispy fish and calamansi. For his Claypot Rice, goose liver sausage, lap cheong, and aged chai poh were wonderful flavor additions.

Noting the similarities in the cuisines of both countries, Chef Tan says that “Filipino cuisine, like Singaporean cuisine, enjoys strong flavors and we like our sour things too” and that the two cultures “have similar taste preferences, use similar ingredients like herbs and spices”.

Delectable Claypot Rice that’s made easier to cook at home thanks to Chef Ming Tan’s Claypot Rice Food Kit.
Delectable Claypot Rice that’s made easier to cook at home thanks to Chef Ming Tan’s Claypot Rice Food Kit.

For her part, Chef Forés observes that “the similarities are more evident with food with strong Malay influences from the South of the Philippines like curries and Rendangs.” Moreover, she says, “the Chinese slant in Singaporean dishes is something you can find in both countries.”

As these two acclaimed chefs demonstrated through their respective culinary creations, Singapore and the Philippines have so much in common food-wise. These similarities help in bolstering our cultural ties, forging closer bonds fostered in the kitchen and over the dining table. With every ingredient, every flavor profile, and every dish produced, we get to discover more about each other—and what better way to do so than through the wonders of food!

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Written by Melo Villareal

Melo Villareal is the Online Publisher of Outoftownblog.com. He is an Accountant by profession who left the corporate world at the age of 23 to explore his beautiful country and the rest of the world. Today, Melo works as a part-time Social Media Manager for local and international clients. His full-time work focuses on discovering interesting culture, explore different cuisines and take memorable photos from local and international destinations he's visiting.

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