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Joseph Koh

It is hard to believe that Dempsey Hill in Singapore is just five minutes from the glitzy malls of Orchard Road. Time slows down when you enter this hideaway, the site of Air, the new venture of chefs Matt Orlando and Will Goldfarb.
It is a restaurant, cooking school, research space and garden farm rolled into one – a free-form space built upon years of conversation between the chefs on the value of food in a world becoming ever more industrialised.
With Air, Orlando and Goldfarb aim to stretch guests’ imaginations as to the possibilities for using local produce, such as by employing papaya seeds and skins in a dessert and turning fish bones into noodles using a pressure cooker.
Their vision is significant in Singapore, which imports more than 90 per cent of its food. The city state’s breakneck urbanisation, achieved in just one generation, makes it easy to forget that this was once an island dotted with kampongs (traditional villages), where agriculture was a way of life.

Orlando and Goldfarb hope that, by attaching importance to the provenance of ingredients, they will encourage diners to reconsider their relationship with the land and the food it provides.
“I don’t think there’s any city in the world that has a more nuanced appreciation of how food is prepared than Singapore,” says Goldfarb. “Everyone you meet on the street has a person who makes their chicken, noodles or even pig intestine just the way they want.
“We see an opportunity to share the same appreciation for process with the people who make and grow food.”

It is often assumed that a chef’s work begins in the kitchen, but Orlando and Goldfarb are among a trailblazing group of chefs in Southeast Asia who are thinking deeply about the fundamentals of the food production process: the farm and the farmer.
Every ingredient served at Air has been sourced or grown in Singapore or Southeast Asia, whether that is morel mushrooms from Mushroom Buddies, a farm that recruits workers who are differently abled, or fruit from A Little Wild, a syntropic agroforestry farm in Johor. (Syntropic agroforestry mimics the structure and function of natural forests to create sustainable food systems, according to Australia-based Syntropia.)
Air’s own garden farm plays an important role; Goldfarb and Orlando work closely with City Sprouts, a community farming social enterprise, to cultivate local and aromatic plants for the restaurant.

Taking the food forest at Room 4 Dessert – Goldfarb’s game-changing restaurant in Bali, Indonesia – as a prototype, Air’s fledgling farm already grows almost 40 species, from star fruit and rambutan to turmeric and moringa.
While the intention is not self-sufficiency, growing fresh produce on site allows the team to immediately turn it into dishes or process raw materials for their “food library”.
“We use everything that we grow, and the way we cook at Air (like drying, fermenting and processing) means that the yield from one plant is so much more,” says Goldfarb.

The menu at Air is not fixed. It is as if Orlando writes recipes from the very start every day, depending on what fresh produce is available.
“If you want to cook responsibly, you need to be flexible and adaptable, because nature doesn’t just give you anything you want,” he says. This is where Orlando’s wizardry begins – the dishes are never formulaic, yet he always finds a way to punch up the flavours.
A focus on local produce in Southeast Asia comes with its share of challenges. Diners around the world have an expectation that certain ingredients are essential to the fine- dining experience, such as caviar and truffles, particularly when they have paid top dollar for a seat.

Bali-based chefs Eelke Plasmeijer and Ray Adriansyah champion local ingredients in ways never seen before at Locavore NXT. Not only does the restaurant restrict itself to using ingredients produced in the country, its menus are gluten-free and involve no dairy produce.
“All the ingredients we use share a heritage to Indonesia – they are either native or have been around for centuries,” says Plasmeijer.
In the early days of Locavore, a fixture on the annual Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants list, their team would be surprised to learn that ferns and roots found in their own villages had made it onto the menu.

Plasmeijer has not wavered in his belief that “Indonesian ingredients are worth putting into the spotlight, even though many of them need lots of care and technique to let them shine”. Kluwak (a fruit also known as Pangium edule), for example, needs to be boiled, soaked and then buried in ash to remove its toxins.
At the heart of Locavore NXT is its rooftop food forest. A space of more than 7,000 square metres (75,000 sq ft) it has a mushroom fruiting chamber, fermentation lab, beehives and worm farm for composting.
Where we grow, they will grow. This is the best way I can support our community
Jimmy Ophorst, chef at Pru
Diners at Locavore NXT make their way through a warren of rooms – entering a dim basement for a snack in front of the sprouting fungi, for example – and perch at a counter with the chefs in action behind it.
For a fuller experience, guests can choose to stay the night in a cabin at NXT; included is a behind-the-scenes tour of its compound and an off-the-menu breakfast in the staff canteen.
It would be easy to think that Plasmeijer and his team are chasing awards, but he says they are driven by a purpose: “We want to be the best restaurant that we can be – for our community, Bali and ultimately, the earth.”

Jimmy Ophorst of Pru, the first Michelin-star restaurant in Phuket, Thailand, also feels rooted to the land. He is in the vanguard of the country’s farm-to-table movement, which has seen a wave of hyperlocal restaurants open in the past few years, such as Haoma, Thailand’s first urban-farming fine-dining restaurant, and Aulis Phuket, Simon Rogan’s first foray into Southeast Asia.
“I feel a responsibility to Phuket because it is my home and has given me the opportunity to be where I am today,” says Ophorst, who has lived on the island for nearly 12 years. “It has always given me the possibility to shine, so I’ve got to give back with every chance I get.”
His commitment to Phuket is encapsulated by Pru’s “community-to-fork” philosophy, which does not stop at working with local farmers and producers; everything at the restaurant is an expression of Thailand’s best, from working with a Thai blacksmith to forge steak knives to serving food on ceramics custom-made by Chiang Mai’s InClay Studio.
“Where we grow, they will grow. This is the best way I can support our community,” says Ophorst.

Pru brings the community closer to its guests with a kitchen that is an extension of the dining floor, inspired by the kappo experience in Japan where a chef’s-choice meal is prepared in front of the customer. This allows guests to see the ingredients that go into each dish, such as aromatic peppercorns from Trang.
Some of these ingredients are harvested 20 minutes away at the restaurant’s 16,000-square-metre Pru Jampa farm. Now more than a decade old, the site spans a fruit orchard, poultry coop, and an experimental plot where Ophorst tinkers with new produce, such as Peruvian corn.

Chefs such as Ophorst, Plasmeijer, Orlando and Goldfarb are showing that “slow food” is viable. They have helped Southeast Asia’s micro farmers by using their produce, and shown that practising sustainability can become second nature.
At the heart of what they do is a shared belief in the restorative power of restaurants. In the short time I spend time with Orlando he says several times that “hospitality is about relationships” – that everything is connected, from the farmer to the guest.


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Food and Drinks

The farm-to-table Southeast Asian chefs on a mission to make dining more sustainable

Koji pudding at Locavore NXT, in Bali, Indonesia is a celebration of the space surrounding the restaurant, inspired by honey and flowers. Photo: Locavore NXT

Matt Orlando and Will Goldfarb (right) collaborated on Air, a new restaurant in Singapore committed to using locally grown produce. They and chefs like them in Southeast Asia hope to get diners thinking more about foods’ provenance. Photo: Air

Air, the restaurant opened by Orlando and Goldfarb in Singapore’s Dempsey Hill. Photo: Air

The Whole Papaya, a dish at Air, uses every part of the fruit, including the skin and seeds. Photo: Air

Air’s glazed kampong chicken is inspired by Singaporeans’ deep appreciation for how to prepare ingredients, says Goldfarb. Photo: Air

A lobster tail satay takes on the familiar flavour profiles of a hawker classic at Air. Photo: Air

Locavore NXT’s koji pudding is a celebration of the space surrounding the restaurant. Photo: Locavore NXT

A sunset view from the bar at Locavore NXT in Bali. Photo: Locavore NXT

Chef Jimmy Ophorst runs Pru, the first Michelin-star restaurant in Phuket, Thailand. Photo: Pru

A pink guava dessert inspired by chef Jimmy’s favourite fruit at Pru. Photo: Pru

Many ingredients served at Pru are harvested from its own farm. Photo: Pru

Michelin Guide Singapore 2024: Korean restaurant Meta earns second star, 4 earn first star

Winter bamboo shoot, a dish at Korean restaurant Meta, which earns a second star in the Michelin Guide Singapore 2024. It is one of six restaurants with two Michelin stars. Three restaurants retain their three-star status, while four earn a first star. Photo: Meta

A dish served at Meta, the only restaurant elevated to two-Michelin-star status in the Michelin Guide Singapore 2024. Five other restaurants kept their two stars, but another was demoted. Photo: Meta

Meta’s interior. Photo: Meta

Panguim’s Buah Keluak Briyani Rice and Kofta. Photo: Panguim

Chef Hafizzul Hashim of Fiz, the second restaurant in Singapore to be awarded a Michelin Green star. Photo: Fiz

A dish from Michelin Selected hawker stall Zheng Zhi Wen Ji Pig’s Organ Soup. Photo: Michelin

Chaleur’s uni, chawanmushi, and roasted kombu oil. Photo: Chaleur 

Michelin Guide Singapore 2024: 11 new Bib Gourmand awards for value meals dished out

Dry prawn mee is a signature dish from Chef Kang Noodle House, newly awarded a Big Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Singapore 2024. Photo; Michelin Guide Singapore

Soup prawn mee is a much-loved Singaporean noodle dish and is the signature offering of Jalan Sultan Prawn Mee, one of 11 new entrants to ranks of Bibs Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Singapore 2024. Photo; Michelin Guide Singapore

Hawker stalls remain a core aspect of Singapore’s dining culture. Photo: Michelin Guide Singapore

Soup prawn mee is the main offering of Jalan Sultan Prawn Mee, a recipient of Michelin’s Bib Gourmand, and is a much-loved Singaporean noodle dish. Photo: Michelin Guide Singapore

Dry minced meat noodles from Ru Ji Kitchen. Photo: Michelin Guide Singapore

Dry prawn mee, the signature dish of Chef Kang Noodle House. Photo: Michelin Guide Singapore

Penang dishes from Jason Penang Cuisine. Photo: Michelin Guide Singapore

Seekh kebab from Delhi Lahori. Photo: Michelin Guide Singapore

Thai grilled pork neck from MP Thai (Vision Exchange). Photo: MP Thai

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Samaira Kavatkar, head chef of Nine One. Photo: Nine One

Dishes at Hong Kong Indian restaurant Nine One. Its head chef, Mumbai native Samaira Kavatkar, tells the Post about introducing East Indian food to Hong Kong with her menu that doesn’t feature curry. Photo: Nine One

Samaira Kavatkar, head chef of Nine One Indian restaurant. Photo: Nine One 

Roasted bottle masala three yellow chicken at Nine One. Photo: Nine One

Nine One’s Not Curry dish is an East Indian-style lamb stew with vegetables and deep-fried dough balls. Photo: Nine One

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A selection of Hokkaido cheeses at high-end Tokyo restaurant The Blue Room.  Cheeses from Japan’s northernmost main island are growing in popularity. Photo: Lisa Cam

Chestnut Hokkaido milk pudding at a Hong Kong restaurant. Hokkaido dairy products are well renowned internationally.

Kaila Imada, English editor at Time Out Tokyo. Photo: Kaila Imada

The interior of The Blue Room at The Tokyo Edition Toranomon hotel. Photo: The Tokyo Edition Toranomon

The Blue Room’s Hokkaido cheese selection. Photo: Kaila Imada

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Na Oh’s Pyongyang-style cold noodles with beef and dongchimi broth, shaved raw beef loin. Photo: Na Oh

At Na Oh in Singapore, chef Corey Lee makes technically challenging versions of traditional “homey’  Korean dishes (above) using greens farmed on site by robots. Photo: Na Oh

A robot operates in the smart farm at the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center in Singapore. Photo: Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center

Greens harvested from the neighbouring smart farm used in the kitchens of Na Oh. Photo: Na Oh

Chef Corey Lee. Photo: Na Oh

The seasonal gyeran mari, an egg roll featuring courgette flowers. Photo: Charmaine Mok

Na Oh’s Pyongyang-style cold noodles. Photo: Na Oh

Young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice at Na Oh. Photo: Na Oh

Home-made tofu with aged soy sauce at Na Oh. Photo: Charmaine Mok

The interior of Na Oh. Photo: Na Oh

Lifestyle

Food & Drink

From Singapore to Bali and Phuket, chefs using produce grown locally or in kitchen gardens aim to get diners thinking about food they eat


At a restaurant in Singapore, the menu changes based on the produce available; in Bali and Phuket, farm-to-table chefs grow local produce. Their goal? To get guests thinking more about where food comes from.


Sustainability

Singapore

Indonesia

Thailand

The farm-to-table Southeast Asian chefs on a mission to make dining more sustainable

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}From Singapore to Bali and Phuket, chefs using produce grown locally or in kitchen gardens aim to get diners thinking about food they eat

From Singapore to Bali and Phuket, chefs using produce grown locally or in kitchen gardens aim to get diners thinking about food they eat