Just last week, I was invited to join a special night to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of Diplomatic Relations between the Republic of Singapore and the Republic of Indonesia held at Hotel Indonesia Kempinski. At first, I was nervous when I found out that we’re the only food blogger in the room, while the rest were VIP guests from the Singapore Embassy in Jakarta and the Indonesian government. We’re all invited to the Gala dinner, and all the menus were specially prepared by Mr. Malcolm Lee, Chef, and owner of Michelin-starred Peranakan Restaurant Candlenut in Singapore. I’m honored and excited to be part of it, thank you for having us!
Today, political, economic, and people-to-people ties are excellent. To commemorate the ‘Golden Jubilee’ of the bilateral relationship, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Singapore, H.E.Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, H.Elbu Retno Marsudi, have announced the tagline of “RISING 50” – an acronym for “Republic of Indonesia (RI) and Singapore (SING) 50 years”. This is an appropriate description of the path which Singapore and Indonesia are committed to take in the coming decades.
The dinner itself not only to mark 50 years of a successful partnership between Singapore and Indonesia, but also to set the stage for another 50 years of shared progress, development, and prosperity. We started with Kueh Pie Tee with Crab ‘Yeye’ Curry served together with Roti Jala with Beef Cheek Rendang which both was fantastic.
Kueh Pie Tee with Crab ‘Yeye’ Curry and Roti Jala with Beef Cheek Rendang
It’s been a while I haven’t eat Pie Tee again, and I’m so glad that I was there! It’s a classic Peranakan dish, where thin and crispy pastry tart shell kuih filled with crab meat curry, egg, shallots, and lime leaf. It was so good! And it’s served with a net pancake that is stuffed with beef cheek, rendang, turmeric, lemongrass, lime leaf, and sesame seeds. What an impressive appetizer!
Pong Tauhu Soup
The soup was wonderfully appetizing!! I wish I could have this dish again now! The tofu was mashed up, mixed in with shellfish bisque, prawn, crab, and ground chicken meat, then cooked in the soup with coriander and bamboo shoots.
Nyonya Laksa
Laksa is a popular spicy noodle soup in the Peranakan cuisine, and I swear this is probably the best Nyonya Laksa I’ve ever had so far! The laksa soup was very seafood-rich, creamy coconut milk, with a lingering spicy kick, very flavorful, and served with scallop, prawn, quail egg, tau pok, sprouts, and parmesan crisps on top!
Nasi Goreng Ayam Bakar
I was full with the Laksa, and not only me, but everyone in my table couldn’t finish this fried rice. However, the fried rice was so unique because Chef Malcolm used brown rice for this dish, cooked with buah keluak, and served with char-grilled chicken, aromatic sambal, soft-center egg, and cucumber relish. The overall combination surprisingly so fragrant and tasty!
Candlenut’s Chendol Cream
Last but not least, we enjoyed the Candlenut’s signature dessert which is Candlenut’s Chendol Cream and famous in Singapore. A bed of coconut custard cream like a pannacotta, topped with gula Melaka, and Pandan jelly. It was definitely a wonderful dessert to end the meal.
Overall, it was a lovely evening filled with fantastic food and amazing people. You can explore more of Chef Malcolm Lee’s dishes at Candlenut restaurant in Singapore, and enjoy a variety of new culinary adventure where talented Chef such as Malcolm Lee reinvented the classic cuisine and introduced a modern Singapore dishes to suit everyone’s palate.
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