What is “Modern Singaporean” or “Modern Malaysian” cuisine?
What is "Modern Singaporean" or "Modern Malaysian" cuisine?
Posted by The Straits Times on Aug 14, 2017, the first piece looks at the growing phenomenon of Modern Singapore cuisine (also known as “Mod Sin”) and what it represents about the island-state, its national identity and growth trajectory.
Coined by chef Willin Low, a local restauranteur and chef, Mod Sin is associated not just with his cuisine but his identity. To him, “Mod Sin is about Singaporean chefs trying to find our identity and our voice.” There are many ways of defining Mod Sin, and one such is through its diversity and ability to assimilate different flavors from different cultures, “regardless of race, language or religion”. Another is the “shiok feeling” that “ties all of Singapore food together… be it eating a good plate of char kway trow or roti prats drowned in curry”. A key distinction made, however, is the difference between modernization and globalization, where Mod Sin is distanced from purely following Western techniques and touted as unique, with “techniques that come from [Singapore]”
The second piece, posted on AsiaTatler (a lifestyle site) on Aug 11, 2018 approaches the same idea of “Modern Malaysian Food” and asks what it is about. Featuring Chef Raymond Tham, it exhorts the evolving nature of “Modern Malaysian” cuisine, branding it as a mix between “classic flavors… that suit a more contemporary palate”, while “tak[ing] influence from other cultures… and using modern cooking techniques” Another idea that distinguishes “Modern Malaysian” cuisine is how it draws upon wide-ranging geographical and multi-cultural heritage (“flavours from Malaysia’s four regions”), as well as unique ingredients and flavors.
The commonality between the two pieces seems to be the intersection between a) modernity and tradition and b) local heritage and globalization. After posting two earlier pieces on “traditional” hawker food, it is interesting to look at “modern cuisine” and review notions of modernity and how they are constructed. What also strikes me is the growing trend and popularity of “modern traditional food”, with Kekou Noodles (traditional u-mian replaced by instant noodles), Mala Hotpot, Cheese Raclette Western Food being all the rage. It is also interesting to see how food is so closely tied into identity, and the idea of “uniqueness” comes into question too considering how the chefs all studied overseas (and hence are influenced by non-local traditions) and are attempting to borrow from old ways, retaining that flavor while inventing new techniques.
Sources:
https://my.asiatatler.com/dining/ask-a-chef-raymond-tham-what-is-modern-malaysian-food