Chef Damian D’Silva cooks from the heart and he wants heritage cuisine to live on his new all-day dining restaurant Rempapa that highlights the best of ethnic cuisine
Last year, when Options interviewed chef Damian D’Silva for our National Day issue, he commented that there has been too much emphasis on hawker food in Singapore and
too little understanding of our heritage cuisine. D’Silva has always been championing heritage cuisine and he hopes to pass on a legacy of dishes from the vari- ous heritage cuisines so that they can be remembered forever.
To that end, the Masterchef Singapore judge has opened Rempapa, a multicultural dining space that serves a variety of flavours drawn from the Chinese, Perana- kan, Eurasian, Indian and Malay kitchens. The name of his restaurant is derived from the words “rempah”, which is Malay for “spice paste” — the aromatic seasoning that all ethnicities in Singapore use as a base in their cooking, and “papa”, which honours D’Silva’s grandfather.
When D’Silva was just 11, his grand-father taught him recipes that he would diligently learn. D’Silva jokes: “‘Child labour’ was very prevalent in the sixties. I don’t mean that in a bad way but it was more an acceptance. It also taught me discipline and time management (if you wanted to play with your friends, quickly accomplish your chores so that you can be free to do whatever you want).”
He adds that if it wasn’t for what he did growing up, he would have never have been able to remember the techniques, recipes, ingredients and names of the dishes that he is so familiar with today. “In all honesty, I embrace what I had gone through in my youth and I would, without any second thoughts, do it all over again,” he says.
Located on the ground level of PLQ Residences, Rempapa is an all-day dining concept offering breakfast/brunch, lunch, afternoon tea, bar snacks, drinks, and dinner. Today, we are here to sample dishes from its extensive menu.
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For a start, we savour the Fried Nyonya Fish Cake ($18), a dish that is seldom found on Peranakan menus these days as cooking it is a tedious process. First, a combination of chillies, belacan, shallots and other ingredients are ground to a paste. Next, spotted mackerel is deboned, with the flesh made into a fish paste, before it is mixed into the spice blend. The finished product is steamed before being deep-fried. It is so good that one journalist of Peranakan heritage said the dish re- minded her of her mother’s cooking.
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Next, we have the Sri Lankan Chicken Curry and Tomato Chutney with String Hoppers ($16). This is the chef’s take on the Indian street food of putu mayam. Here, delicate pieces of hoppers (bowl-shaped pancakes) are served with chicken curry, and the thick chutney cuts through the richness of the curry.
The Lamb Leg Rendang ($38) is just bursting with spices such as shallots, dried chillies, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, galangal, and candlenuts. A masala spice blend is added to the mixture before fresh coconut milk is poured in. The result is tender pieces of lamb that melt in your mouth as you eat it with the thick, rich broth.
Rempapa’s dishes also draws inspiration from the nostalgia of the chef’s team with familiar local favourites such as Stir-Fried Chee Cheong Fun ($13), and Slow-cooked Belly Pork with Ah Seng Sauce ($23).
REMPAPA
2 Paya Lebar Road, #01-01/02/03
Park Place Residences at PLQ, Singapore 409053
Contact:
Tel: (65) 9459 1603
Email: papa@rempapa.sg Reservation: www.sevenrooms.com/reservations/ rempapa
Opening Hours:
Mondays to Fridays
Breakfast: 10.30am to 12pm
Lunch: 12pm to 3.30pm Afternoon Tea & Bar Snacks: 3.30pm to 6pm Dinner & Bar Snacks: 6 pm to 10.30 pm
Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays
Brunch: 9.30 am to 3.30 pm Afternoon Tea & Bar Snacks: 3.30pm to 6pm Dinner & Bar Snacks: 6 pm to 10.30 pm
