A Fat Fuku and Takayama Sort of Joy At the World Gourmet Summit
Chef Annette Tan is a food writer with an illustrious career. Her work as a writer has meant she was able to delve into food and history and culture in a way that has helped her explore her own recipes and work. As the author of Savour Chinatown: Stories & Recipes From An Iconic Neighbourhood, which celebrates Chinatown’s rich historical and culinary legacy through the stories of the enclave’s original hawkers and restaurateurs, and the editor of cookbooks including Heritage Feasts: A Collection of Singapore Family Recipes, Ms Tan knowledge of food is one that others may envy. It’s this knowledge that she’s channelled into her private dining endeavour Fat Fuku, and it’s this knowledge that has helped her with her recent collaboration with Takayama, where Chef Taro Takayama and her have worked on a menu that is sure to ignite your senses for an exclusive dining event as a part of the World Gourmet Summit.
“The food made today is pretty much an amalgamation of both styles of food that we do,” muses Chef Tan, with Chef Takayama. “It combines both Japanese and Peranakan ingredients. It’ll be cleaner than the average Peranakan meal you would have tried but also more robust than a regular Japanese meal.”
One may think that Japanese and Peranakan cuisine, combined, might be too out there, but there are similarities in both cultures. “My cuisine is heavily inspired by my hometown of Osaka, where the cuisine is famously known for its use of fresh ingredients and seasonal produce and also known for having a strong sense of community,” says Chef Takayama. “Another inspiration for me is my family. My grandmother is the first person who taught me how to cook; at an early age, she would ask me to accompany her in the kitchen and allow me to experiment with cooking dishes with her. Growing up, my parents used to take me to the fish market every morning to buy fresh ingredients that grew my appreciation and knowledge about fish and produce.” The statement he makes is one that many a Peranakan can relate to, and thus, with both of them working together, the menu that sprung out was one that showed not just their respect for each other’s cuisine and themselves, but also the love they have for their history.
For both Chef Tan and Chef Takayama, the collaboration of Japanese and Peranakan cuisine was one that took a lot of communication and work. “We put our heads together and thought about the things we liked to eat from each other’s cuisine, and from there, we tried to create something that’s cohesive,” Chef Tan explained. This can be seen from the dishes like the Chanwanmushi, which is delicate and incorporates lobster and tempura, with a clearer mee siam stock drizzled over the chanwanmushi, and accompanied by sambal.
It’s definitely a unique collaboration, agreed upon by diners. Upon the announcement of the event, bookings sold out fast, with more event days opened to accommodate the rising demand. It’s a definite win for both chefs, and more wins are sure to come! They will be featuring this new menu again on the 29
th September and 4
th October, with more to come!
Note: In light of the new measures set by the government for the number of pax per table to be scaled back to two, the World Gourmet Summit will be reaching out to all parties affected by this, and will update should there be more details. Please do go to their Facebook or their Instagram for any updates.
