A Chef's Travel Guide to Heritage Flavours in Singapore

We speak with Sarah Huang Benjamin

Some people can't live without eating. Others only eat to survive.

Sarah Huang Benjamin, a chef and YouTuber, is another breed altogether. She focuses not only on enjoying what you eat but where it comes from and why a dish's heritage is crucial, especially for local cuisine.

Sarah's passion for local food is unrivalled. And her hawker culture knowledge is encyclopaedic. Just do a quick Google search and watch one of her YouTube videos. You'll understand why food is an obsession for Sarah.

So, we thought, why not bring her to a secret rooftop bee farm in Siglap? That way, she can go farm-to-table and see how homegrown produce connects with the local flavours of Singapore.

A hidden bee farm in Singapore

The sun was its usual perspiration-inducing self. And the sky was ridiculously blue. We were hanging out at The Sundowner with Sarah, a bee farm in Singapore sequestered on a rooftop overlooking the laidback neighbourhood of Siglap.

It's a beautiful spot, totally unlike anywhere we've been in Singapore. A gorgeously landscaped garden greets you as you walk up a spiral staircase. Pretty flowers and plants grow by the side. Beside it, a shed offers shade.

Inside, there are rows upon rows of bottled honey, a personal collection from the travels of Clarence Chua, the owner of this magical hidden spot. After three years of rescuing and re-homing bees to his shophouse rooftop, he opened this space.

At the end of the rooftop is the bee farm, with little buzzing insects going about their business. Pollinating, and feeding, pollinating, and feeding. This endless cycle is enchanting, not for those scared of winged insects flying amok.

Sarah, who wants to set up a bee farm of her own when she retires, was naturally transfixed by the bees.

"I discovered honey from local honeybees, the Trigona, which I was super interested in because it's native to Southeast Asia, and they are tiny stingless bees. After that, I dreamt of having a bee farm full of them."

"But coming here, I never thought there were things like this in Singapore. I thought I had to go overseas to experience this. So it's cool being up close this up close with bees because as interested as I am in having a farm, I've never been that close with so many bees before."

Since Sarah is a chef by trade and cocktail making is a thing at The Sundowner (they even have a desert-themed bar), she jumped at a chance to make a cocktail.

And while she was making that cocktail, we posed her the question, can honey and bees play a role in shaping Singapore's flavours?

Yes, in many ways, according to Sarah.

"Honey would work well in rojak (a fruit and vegetable salad with a spicy palm sugar dressing) because of its tanginess and sweetness. So, instead of tamarind and sugar, you could use good quality honey, which I wouldn't cook as that would destroy the enzymes."

"But for dishes that don't require cooking, there are so many uses. It can be used to make sambal (a chilli paste) or many Peranakan dishes where there's a strong use of gula Melaka (palm sugar). But a lot of honey, not the supermarket kind, have very different tastes which can be used as a flavouring agent for many local dishes."

That said, local dishes are in danger of going extinct in the foreseeable future.

"Unfortunately, I think many heritage foods will go extinct in Singapore. Making them takes too much work, and people don't make enough money selling those dishes. Therefore, it's not attractive to young people. I think that there is a severe danger to hawker food here."

"If it's not the whole dish, it's elements, like chai tow kway (fried carrot cake), right? Many stalls don't hand-make the actual steamed rice cake like they used to, getting their supplies from the factory instead. So even if you can get that dish, the technique that goes into it and the craftsmanship have changed. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but I think it does change the dish's essence."

While dishes may be changing, the perception of Singapore food, in general, is still pretty muddied and not well understood by anyone except locals in Singapore.

"Honestly, when we talk about Thai food, people have an idea of what Thai food is. The flavours you expect are spicy, sour, and sometimes sweet."

"But with Singapore, how do you define the flavours? There are many flavours because we have many cultures that make sense of our food. So I think it's hard to translate distilled that into one cuisine. But I think that's the beauty of Singaporean food."

The only question is where to begin. Singapore's dining scene for such a tiny place is massive and incredibly diverse. Some chefs set up private dining spaces in their homes while plenty of the city's restaurants are Michelin-rated too.

So, why should a traveller try hawker cuisine instead of heading to a restaurant? And where do they even begin? For Sarah, that exploration starts with a simple act.

"All you need to do is go to any hawker centre. You will see people from all ethnicities. There is food from all cultures. Strangers sit together when tables have no space. It's the easiest way to understand Singapore immediately."

"I do think that people should go to our top restaurants. We have a magnificent restaurant scene here, but they should not overlook what else we have here."

Eat hawker food like a pro like Sarah Huang Benjamin:

If it's your first time in Singapore, here are some great ways to get in touch with what's good in the hood. And, of course, also to learn about the local hawker culture (including hitting up some of the best hawker centres in town):

Try old-school hawker snacks at Chinatown

Singapore's Chinatown is brimming with all sorts of culinary gems. Get the perfect introduction to local flavours with a walk around the neighbourhood, and sample all kinds of traditional snacks fast disappearing from society.

Go on a local food journey along Geylang Serai

If you'd had to pick one area in Singapore for a foodie pilgrimage, Geylang Serai would be a solid choice. Embark on the ultimate hawker centre journey here and try dishes like gado-gado (an Indonesian salad), a putu piring (a rice flour snack), and prata (a flatbread dish).

Join a popiah-making class

Popiah (spring roll) is one of those dishes that are so fun to eat because it is petite and tasty. There's also a strong DIY element to the dish, which you can try with a popiah-making class that'll see you learning under the tutelage of experienced masters.

Taste the best of Singapore's Chinese hawker food

Chinese cuisine is a massive part of Singapore's world-class hawker scene. You can join a tour that'll take you to some of the best spots around Chinatown hosted by the fictional tour guide Hawker Weng – a "street hawker" from the 1950s.

Savour Peranakan cuisine at Katong

Katong is a bastion of Peranakan cuisine and culture in Singapore, a topic close to Sarah Huang Benjamin's heart (just check out her YouTube page). Unsurprisingly, the area has some of the community's best food. Tuck into delicious Peranakan fare and walk among colourful shophouses as you travel back in time to one of the city's hippest spots.

Visit a hawker centre in the heartlands

A trip to the heartlands is to see the real, authentic Singapore. Join a tour that takes you to the ultra-local town of Ang Mo Kio, where you can see the retro hobby of bird-singing before a visit to a wet market and hawker centre, something Sarah Huang Benjamin would approve of.

Savour a delectable riverside meal at the bustling Boat Quay

If you want to learn about Singapore’s heritage and eat local, Boat Quay is a must-visit.

This lively riverside spot has plenty of dining options from Hainanese chicken rice and laksa to fresh seafood platters of chilli crab and prawns.

With its waterfront views and energy, Boat Quay is the place to soak up the colonial past while eating.

For a hassle-free experience, book a Singapore Colonial District walking tour with a riverside lunch to explore the area before eating by the river.