KF Seetoh: Singapore’s shepherd of street food

Some call him the Guru of Grub; others, the Makankaki Master, but KF Seetoh, by any name, is Singapore’s most recognized and celebrated expert on one of the country’s greatest and most beloved national treasures: food. Not just any food, but hawker food – the food of the street; the soul of Singapore.

Makanguru

Since 1996 Seetoh has dedicated his life to writing, photographing and understanding the street food of Singapore, heading to every place where queues for food form. “Back then there was no guide to the food here,” Seetoh explained as we shared some carrot cake at Makansutra’s own Glutton’s Bay food center beside the Esplanade. So he was inspired to compile information about the food and the hawkers. The hardest thing was identifying the places to try. “It took a lot of talking to people on the street, to taxi drivers and to people cooking food,” he said with a broad smile. The result: Makansutra, Seetoh’s undisputed go-to guide for all things hawker in this land of the food obsessed. Over the years, Makansutra has sold countless copies, guiding locals and foreigners alike to hawker food that is good, great and “die, die, must try.”

Today, Seetoh and Makansutra collectively is a Singapore food institution, with books, television programs, websites and an app. His makan-team consists of 30 full-time employees plus a cadre of volunteers who are profoundly passionate about food. It’s uncontested that Seetoh’s contributions to food knowledge and accessibility is unparalleled in Singapore. He has promoted the nation’s cuisines into the world-renowned phenomenon that it is today. Many say that this accomplishment alone puts him in a special, iconic place. “Anyone who’s anyone in the world of Singapore food knows Seetoh,” says irreverent food rogue, Anthony Bourdain. The New York times has written about him. Martha Stuart insists that he be her guide whenever she visits and has had him cook laksa live on her TV show. The list goes on and on.

It’s an impressive thing when someone works hard to reach the pinnacle of success and then decides to take it to an even higher level. And for Seetoh – who believes that street food feeds not just the stomach but the soul – the mission of making the cuisine of Singapore accessible to all is just a start. “I could just keep doing what I do,” he explained in his usual, affable manner. “But my life’s work still lies ahead of me, and I won’t die comfortably until it’s done.”

Fractured Food

“Street food is a global phenomenon,” Seetoh explains over our crunchy prawn paste chicken wings. “It’s an age-old, earthy profession that has sustained people since the beginning of modern society.” Indeed, the majority of people in developing countries today still depend on food prepared by individual cooks in simple outdoor or rustic kitchens. In Singapore more than 80% of the local population eat at least one meal a day in a hawker center, food court or kopitiam; in Bangkok and Hanoi that number is even greater. But that tradition is changing and, to some degree, dying.  “As societies modernize and the hawker legends get older there are fewer people to pass the street food heritage on to,” Seetoh explains. “Working a food stall is tough, solitary labor; hardly the favored path in today’s youthful, social network-driven society.”

Combine that with the nature of the street food world – a “fractured society” as Seetoh sees it – and what you have is a fading, fragmented industry composed of individuals working alone and selling their talent for a couple of bucks a plate. “Aside from possibly expanding the number of stalls, there’s little growth opportunity for hawkers and no sense of belonging to something greater than just their own thing.” And that’s where Seetoh comes in.

The World Street Food Congress

Recognizing the benefits of collaboration, Seetoh has masterminded The World Street Food Congress, the first forum designed to connect the splintered street food world. The WSFC aims to form a globally-unified body where new ideas, synergies and opportunities can be created over street food. The three principle objectives are to preserve the culture and craft of local street cuisine, to create a unified “industry” of street food with consistent professionalism, and to develop new opportunities through collaboration among street food cultures globally.

But even KF Seetoh can’t assemble a global forum alone, so he’s formed a World Street Food Council, comprised of a collection of the best minds in different food-related disciplines around the world to join forces as vanguards of the industry.  We’re talking chefs, writers, F&B developers, food & lifestyle celebrities and innovative social thinkers who will spirit the cause of a unified street food world in ways that have never before been imagined. A few names which may ring familiar: Anthony Bourdain, James Oseland (Editor-in-Chief of Saveur Magazine and Top Chef judge), Brett Burmeister (started the food truck culture in the US), and some of the very best chefs and restauranteurs from around the globe.  “Enthusiasm about WSFC has spread like wildfire and this is just the first year of it -- we're just getting warmed up,” Seetoh says. “Everyone that I talk to about it wants to play a part.” 

The WSFC Kickoff

To attract the world’s attention to the World Street Food Congress, Seetoh will host The World Street Food Congress 2013: From Street Market to World Market. From 31 May to 9 June in Singapore’s F1 Pit Building & Paddock. The event will consist of a 2-day Dialog conference alongside a 10-day street food jamboree featuring some of the world’s best street food masters serving up their cultural specialties. This isn't just about local food of Singapore, or even Asia; chefs from the US and Europe will also be here to cook up a storm. The event will also present the first World Street Food Awards to acknowledge and recognize the best street food cooks and their food. 

“Street food is not just about stuffing your stomach,” Seetoh explained as we dove into a plate of glistening mee goring puti. “With street food, you may eat the food, but you digest the culture.” It’s that basic philosophy that renders KF Seetoh more a food culturalist than food critic. “Behind every hawker’s plate of noodles or bowl of soup is a story – usually an ancient one – and knowing that story preserves the heritage and makes the food taste better.”  And through WSFC Seetoh will help the soft-spoken world of street food cooks have an organized place to tell those stories through their food – well into the future and all around the world. And in the course of doing so, new street foods will emerge and new stories will need to be told. Which is a valuable thing because, as KF Seetoh would say, “if you don’t eat the culture with every bite, you’ll always be left hungry.”

For more information about World Street Food Congress go to www.wsfcongress.com

Foodwalkers note: This piece, in slightly different form, was previously published in Singapore American Newspaper, March 2013

Red Star: it’s not just about Dim Sum

For many people in Asia the two words, “Red” and “Star” evoke memories of Communist China and Chairman Mao standing in salute  as his motorcade rolled along Tiananmen Square. But for me, the words mean something entirely different: good food.

I’ve been going to Red Star Restaurant for traditional Cantonese dim sum since I first moved to Singapore. Dozens of Chinese ladies push trolleys around the massive room, each with different dim sum delights. It’s crowded and noisy and confusing, and sometimes you have to be kiasu and cut the pushcart ladies off at the pass to get the items you desire before diners at other tables take them all. “Wah, if you think it’s good for dim sum, you need to have dinner there. That’s where you get the really great stuff, lah!” Andrew told me with a slap on the back. So naturally I was one of the first to sign up for the recent Makanforum at the place where all who love old school Chinese food flock whenever they can.

A word about Red Star. It’s not a place one would accidentally wander into. It’s on the 7^th floor of an old HDB housing estate wedged between Chinatown and Robertson Quay. The lift is small and slow and aside from the restaurant’s old neon sign several stories above the street, there’s no way to know that this non-descript building holds some of Singapore’s best – and most recognized – Cantonese cooking from days of old. It’s not until the lift doors open to a long queue of hungry Asians that you realize you’ve arrived somewhere special.

Inside, the dining room is enormous. The décor is classic Chinese restaurant circa forever: red carpet, red and gold walls, red ceiling. Hanging Chinese lanterns adorn the place and a small stage for ceremonies sits along one wall. Scattered throughout are round tables and if you come on a typical day most of them will be filled with Chinese families from newborns to octogenarians; all in varying states of enjoyment over the vast selection of food that has been served here for decades. The room will be loud with the undefinable sounds of families and friends doing what the people in Singapore do better than nearly any society anywhere: sharing food.

Grand Master Chef and Heavenly King, Sin Leong.

In the massive kitchen, a fleet of young chefs work intently on piles of food for the evening’s feast. One wall is lined with burners of jet fire roaring up beneath red-glowing woks sizzling with fragrant food. At the far end of the kitchen stands a large, antique dishwasher – perhaps Singapore’s first. Nearby is a Chinese alter, red wood and columns, with incense burning in front of a faded photograph of the granddaddy who started it all: Chef Luo Chen, who serves as a reminder to current cooks to carry on his legacy of exceptional dining. 

Makanguru KF Seetoh introducing the Heavenly
Kings, Chef Sin Leong & Chef Hooi Kok Wai,.

Walking toward me between long, stainless counters of the kitchen was the Grandmaster Chef and Heavenly King himself, Sin Leong, greeting and embracing me as if a long lost friend. Chef Leong is one of Singapore’s greatest Cantonese chefs – which is why the Chinese government bestowed upon him and 3 other masters in Singapore the honor and title of China’s Heavenly Kings of food – and they weren’t even in China. Seetoh was on hand to kickoff the dinner and introduce the 2 remaining Heavenly Kings who still grace the kitchens of Singapore, Chef Sin Leong and Chef Hooi Kok Wai.

Classic New Years dish, Yu Sheng -- required for any Lo Hei Celebration

The meal served under Chef Leong’s watchful eye was classic. It began with a traditional Chinese New Year Yu Sheng. This is a complex, Teochew-style raw fish salad consisting of up to twenty five ingredients and capped with thin slices of raw fish. The contemporary version of this dish was created in 1964 in Singapore's Lai Wah Restaurant by Chef’s Leong’s friend and fellow Heavenly King, the late Chef Than Mui Kai. Traditionally mackerel was used but increasingly – including this night – salmon was the fish of choice. Each ingredient represents a specific wish: raw fish for abundance; carrot for luck; chopped peanuts for gold, silver and eternal youth; daikon for a flourishing career; cinnamon for a sweet life – the list goes on. Combined as a salad, the ingredients form the basis of the Lo Hei celebration, done only during the Lunar New Year in virtually every Chinese household, restaurant or group gathering across Singapore.

Lo Hei celebration

We grabbed chopstickfuls of the salad from the communal platter and tossed it in the air seven times, representing the seventh day of the Chinese new year. Everyone at the table participated, lest one risk missing out on the prosperity that would surely ensue. Afterwards, the mess across the table was pulled together and served as the start to a lavish Chinese meal.

Stewed Shark Fin with Pig’s Tail in Claypot came first. The shark was smooth and silky, set off nicely with the pink porkiness of the small tails. The opaque, viscous sauce held the dish’s components together.

A platter of Steamed Fish Head in Bean Sauce followed, and we eagerly scooped out such tantalizing parts as the cheeks, collar and, of course, eyeballs.

Poached chicken - so good all that was left was the head.

Next came Pan-Fried Prawns in Special Sauce, quickly followed by a Poached Chicken with Ham & Broccoli in a thick beige ginger sauce. The chicken was moist and flavorful, complimented by the ginger and a satisfying crunch of perfectly cooked broccoli. Nary a morsel was left.

The dish that followed was the highlight of the meal for me, but one I did not expect to relish: Claypot Pork Liver with Ginger and Spring Onion. The key to this hot dish was to eat it quickly to ensure that the luscious liver remained medium rare and slightly pink in the middle. The dark sauce was rich and not livery at all, indicating the short amount of cooking time of the offal. Offset by the green freshness of the spinrg onions against a backdrop of steamed rice, the liver was surprisingly mild and delicious, although might have been even better if sliced thinner. 

Even New York niece Alison ate some of this, her family's  most feared of all “parts,” displaying a perhaps genetically-programmed Foodwalker fearlessness! She finished her bite, sipped an excellent apricot block shiraz, and announced to me that it didn’t suck. I was as proud as an uncle could be.

What followed was at first hard to discern, much less describe. The Crispy Duck with Glutinous Rice stuffing appeared  as an unidentifiable mass of deep fried yam batter wrapped around a stomach-sized stuffed duck. Inside, the duck and rice mingled delicately, if not a little dense, and delivered a earthy, waterfowl flavor with a savory, starchy rice emphasis. A bit less yam batter might have improved the dish and better-controlled the degree of cooking within. Still, nothing was left at the table.

The food at Red Star is old school and excellent and whether you’re looking for dim sum or dinner it’s hard to go wrong here. Combine that with the history of the restaurant, it’s local ambience and, of course, Heavenly King Sin Leong, and you have a recipe for great dining at one of Singapore’s most authentic Cantonese establishments.

Red Star Restaurant

Blk 54 Chin Swee Road

#07-23

Singapore 160054