Helm X Seroja for one night only
Singapore Tourism Board (STB) brings Filipino foodies “Serve It, Singapore!” — a slew of one-of-a-kind dining experiences straight from the culinary capital of Singapore all throughout this year.
In 2022, more than 380,000 Filipinos traveled to Singapore. With tourism well on its way back, STB has cooked up many more exciting activities and food choices under Serve It, Singapore! to inspire more Filipinos to book flights to the Lion City.
John Conceicao, STB executive director for Southeast Asia, said, “STB is excited to launch our exciting 2023 lineup of Singaporean gastronomic experiences that reimagine and reinvent Singapore’s diverse culinary landscape in new and unexpected ways. From chef collaborations between the finest Singaporean and Filipino culinary minds, to takeovers that showcase Singapore’s bar and cocktail scene, our lineup of activities offers something for everyone. We’re delighted to share these unique food stories to surely whet the appetites of Filipino foodies and we look forward to welcoming them to Singapore to bite into more.”
The first collaboration brought to Manila was a one-night-only dinner whipped up by chefs Josh Boutwood and Kevin Wong of Seroja Singapore at Josh’s new restaurant Helm at Ayala Triangle Gardens.
We are all familiar with Josh and his wonderful food at his restaurants Helm, Savage, Ember, and The Test Kitchen, so here’s a background on Kevin: Born in Malaysia, Kevin called a street named Jalan Seroja his childhood home. There, he would relish the opportunity to taste his grandmother’s cooking. Kevin’s culinary career spans 14 years, working for Michelin-starred restaurants in France, San Francisco and Singapore, and most recently as the head chef of Meta Restaurant Singapore. He was awarded the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia Award in Arts 2022, and is among the 100 World’s Best Chefs by the Best Chef Awards. At Seroja, he combines his international culinary experience with his affinity for the flavors of his country.
The duo prepared four wonderful appetizers: prawn sambal tartlet, leek floss; razor clams, petai (bitter bean) croustade; fish and chips; and buckwheat and onion tart, raw beef, horseradish. This was followed by a mussel and lemongrass chawanmushi, a take on the Japanese classic that was excellent!
Then came two of my favorites: Kevin’s blue-fin tuna with tamarind and caviar and Josh’s sea bass with sunchoke and kombu, or Japanese kelp. Josh followed this up with his egg with barley and kale while Kevin made his scallop with podi (South Indian powder mix) and kesum (Vietnamese coriander).
Josh’s hit in his new tasting menu — Duck, Soursop (guyabano), Black Pepper —was included in this menu and was well loved. The two chefs made a Malaysian beef percik with lauk pauk, or side dish. They made three side dishes for this beef dish: sweet potato with sorghum and sambal; daikon or radish with beef tendons; and rice with dry-aged beef.
Two desserts of kurma with pine nuts, coconut and Josh’s Chocolate, Chocolate, Chocolate (his homage to the Kinder egg) was perfect to end the four-hands dinner.
I can’t wait for the other chefs from Singapore to collaborate with our very own chefs! Watch out for more of these collaborations!
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Check out www.stb.gov.sg or www.visitsingapore.com.
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