Home on your dish

Many consider chilli crab the quintessential Singaporean dish.

To celebrate the nation's birthday, home-grown food brand Old Chang Kee has launched the Chilli Crab Sauce with Fried Mantou ($4), which comes with a cup of the sauce and four fried Chinese steamed buns.

Also, try the Flower Bread with Chilli Soft Shell Crab ($15.50) with the same sauce at Old Chang Kee's sub-brand Coffee House, which has three outlets.

Both snacks will also be available on delivery platforms such as foodpanda, Deliveroo and GrabFood.

Where: Chilli Crab Sauce with Fried Mantou is available at Old Chang Kee outlets, and Flower Bread with Chilli Soft Shell Crab at Old Chang Kee Coffee House outlets at 19 Mackenzie Road; 01-105 Our Tampines Hub, 1 Tampines Walk; and 01-36 Tanjong Pagar Plaza, 1 Tanjong Pagar Plaza

When: Till Aug 31

Info: For opening hours, go to str.sg/wEvn

 

For more hearty fare inspired by chilli crab, head to restaurant chain Swensen's, which is dishing out chilli crab pizza ($17.90) and chilli crab pasta ($14.90), among others.

Check out Swensen's Singapore Facebook and Instagram pages, and stand to win a pint of chilli crab ice cream through brand tie-ups and giveaways. The ice cream is not for sale. Where: Swensen's outlets, including at 03-23 Plaza Singapura, 68 Orchard Road

When: Till Aug 30

Info: www.swensens.com.sg

 

American coffee chain Starbucks' two new seasonal drinks - Chocolate Gao and Coffee Gao Shiok-ah-ccinos ($8.20 for tall cups) - are topped with a red chocolate heart that says "shiok" and promise intense flavours.

Gao means "thick" in Hokkien.

Pair the drink with four food items inspired by popular local flavours ($7 to $8) - coffee siew dai cheesecake, kueh salat cheesecake, chilli meatless crab pie and sambal chicken pie.

Where: Starbucks outlets, including at B3-59 Ion Orchard, 238 Orchard Boulevard

When: Ongoing

Info: shop.starbucks.com.sg

 

Brandon Teo, the Singaporean head chef of Japanese bincho grill Akanoya Robatayaki & Bar, has created a nine-course omakase menu (from $228) that pays tribute to his favourite local dishes.

He puts a new spin on local flavours with creations like pepper crab made with steamed Taraba crabs from Hokkaido, stir-fried with sansho pepper and butter and served with toasted bread.

Dessert is inspired by orh nee (yam paste). Satsumaimo (Japanese sweet potato) is roasted overnight on bincho embers, then pureed and mixed with candied Japanese chestnuts, peaches and ginger.

Where: Akanoya Robatayaki & Bar, 01-01 Orchard Rendezvous Hotel, 1 Tanglin Road

When: Until Aug 31; 5.30pm to 1.30am (Tuesdays to Saturdays), 5.30 to 10.30pm (Mondays and Sundays)

Info: Go to str.sg/wEvs. For reservations, go to str.sg/wEve

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5 UNIQUELY SINGAPOREAN MADELEINES

Local artisanal bakery Vanda Patisserie, named after Singapore's national flower Vanda Miss Joaquim, is launching the Don't Say Bo Jio Madeleines Box ($28).

Bo jio means "didn't invite" in Hokkien.

The box comes with six madeleines, each infused with flavours of nostalgic local childhood snacks, such as Popping Candy with Earl Grey, Haw Flakes with Cranberry, Kacang Puteh with Kyoto Matcha and Potato Wheel Cracker with Chocolate.

Where: Vanda Patisserie, 01-14, 7 One-North Gateway

When: Tomorrow to Aug 13

Open: 10am to 5pm (Mondays to Saturdays), closed on Sundays

Info: Order at www.vandapatisserie.com

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6 LAKSA-FLAVOURED BURGERS

Just like in previous years, McDonald's has launched a special burger for National Day.

The Laksa Delight Burger ($7.40 for a la carte) comes in two flavours - prawn and chicken. Wash it down with a Teh C Frappe (from $4.50; teh C means tea with evaporated milk) and end the meal with Pulut Hitam Pie (from $1.70), which is filled with purple sticky rice coconut cream filling. It is recommended that you dunk the pie into vanilla soft serve (80 cents a cone).

Where: All McDonald's outlets. Also available for delivery via McDelivery, GrabFood and foodpanda

When: Ongoing

 

Not surprisingly, burger joint Black Tap, known for its milkshakes, has gone over the top with its National Day offering. Decked in the patriotic colours of the Singapore flag, CrazyShake (from $23) is served in a tall glass rimmed with red and white star sprinkles and topped with a slice of bright red cake.

There is also prawn paste chicken sandwich (from $24), inspired by zi char favourite har cheong gai (prawn paste chicken). The crispy chicken thigh is marinated in prawn paste and topped with cincalok aioli, cucumber slaw and tobiko, with a dash of calamansi.

Where: Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beers, 1-80 Bay Level, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 2 Bayfront Avenue

When: CrazyShake is available from Aug 8 to 14, prawn paste chicken sandwich from tomorrow to Aug 31

Open: Noon to 11pm (weekdays), 11am to 11pm (weekends); last order at 10.15pm

Info: For reservations, go to str.sg/wEvh or call 6688-9957

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8 CHEFS' COLLABORATION

At Rempapa, which serves Singapore heritage food, chef-owner Damian D'Silva has teamed up with Marvas Ng, executive chef of modern Asian restaurant Path, and Vasunthara Ramasamy, a contestant on the second season of MasterChef Singapore, to celebrate Singapore's birthday.

The chefs express what Singaporean food means to them in two set meals. Each set meal is available for only one day.

The collaboration kicks off on Saturday with a Chinese set dinner (from $168 a person, minimum of four to dine) by Rempapa and Path. Dishes include 16-day dry-aged duck crown and chilled angel hair pasta with majiang sauce.

After that, Ms Ramasamy and the Rempapa team present a heritage South Indian set lunch (from $68 a person, with a minimum of four diners), sharing dishes like masala thosai accompanied by three chutneys - green coconut chutney, tomato thokku and kaara chutney.

The restaurant is also offering a kueh box ($22) for takeaway, packed with 10 treats from Chinese, Indian, Eurasian, Malay and Peranakan cuisines.

Where: Rempapa, 01-01 Park Place Residences at PLQ Singapore, 2 Paya Lebar Road

When: Chinese set dinner: Saturday, 6 to 8pm and 8.15 to 10.30pm; South Indian set lunch: Aug 13, 11am to 1pm and 1.15 to 3pm. The kueh box is available from Saturday to Aug 9.

Info: For reservations, go to bit.ly/3NIuPq1, call 9459-1603 or e-mail papa@rempapa.sg

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9 AFTERNOON TEA WITH LOCAL FLAVOURS

Home-grown bistro The Marmalade Pantry gets into the National Day spirit with a local rendition of its popular afternoon tea set.

Its Nostalgia Afternoon Tea Set (from $78 for two persons) includes savoury bites like otah mousse toast, crab coleslaw ciabatta and satay chicken brioche.

Over at InterContinental Singapore, the National Day Afternoon Tea (from $65 for adults), curated by executive pastry chef Desmond Lee, highlights local flavours in items such as laksa prawn quiche, bandung raspberry lychee and milo gelato. Other unique treats include English scones with Chicken Bak-Kwa.

Where: The Marmalade Pantry, 01-01 Oasia Hotel Downtown, 100 Peck Seah Street; and 04-11A Ion Orchard, 2 Orchard Turn

When: Tomorrow to Oct 31. Downtown outlet: 3 to 6pm daily; Ion Orchard outlet: 2 to 6pm (Mondays to Thursdays)

Info: To order online for takeaway and delivery, go to str.sg/wEv8

Where: The Lobby Lounge, Level 1 InterContinental Singapore, 80 Middle Road

When: Saturday to Aug 9, 1 to 3pm and 3.30 to 5.30pm

Info: str.sg/wEv7

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10 HERITAGE DISHES

The Paradise Group of restaurants is offering a 20 per cent discount at nine of its brands, including Canton Paradise.

Check out locally inspired dishes such as wok-fried rice cake with crab meat in chilli crab sauce (usual price: $15.80) and laksa xiao long bao (usual price: $9.80 for five pieces) at Paradise Dynasty; as well as wok-fried hor fun with sliced beef in satay sauce (usual price: $16.80) and crispy chilli crab pastry (usual price: $7.80) at Canton Paradise.

Where: Taste Paradise, Paradise Teochew, Seafood Paradise, Paradise Dynasty, Canton Paradise, Paradise Classic, Paradise Hotpot, LeNu and Le Shrimp Ramen

When: Till Aug 31

Info: www.paradisegp.com