SEOUL (THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - The eyes of the world turned briefly to Singapore early last week, with the historic summit there between the United States and North Korea. Now, those who are interested in the city state can go for a Singaporean gourmet experience in the heart of Seoul.
Millennium Seoul Hilton is hosting the Singapore Food Festival, offering authentic Singaporean cuisine to diners in Seoul. It has invited chef Bryce Li from the Beast & Butterflies restaurant at M Social Singapore.
"Singapore cuisine is diverse. In Singapore, we have Chinese, Malaysians, Indians and Peranakans. Each has its own characteristic, but after so many years of living together, we mixed them up, creating something else," Li said.
Perhaps the most famed signature dish of Singapore, chilli crab is on the menu. But the chef introduces many more dishes, including desserts such as ice kacang and sago gula melaka.
At his hip Asian fusion restaurant back home, Li practices "mod-Sin," or modern-Singaporean, cuisine.
"We are based on the traditional way of cooking. The taste is the same, but the ingredients and how we use them are different," he explained.
Li revealed that he is also influenced greatly by social media.
"Nowadays, the food trend is mainly based on social media - a lot of people read reviews and recommendations," he said. "I realised a lot of bloggers are very young, so to make the food more famous, I decided to go for a fusion, a mix."
Singapore Food Festival runs until Tuesday (June 19, 2018) at 94,000 won (S$115) a person for lunch and 99,000 won for dinner. For reservations, call Cafe 395 at (02) 317-3062.
