The Clifford Pier enlists the historical smarts of chef Shermay Lee to put together a menu of traditional dishes for the celebratory month of August. Mining the cookbooks of three Singaporean culinary foremothers, ex-Methodist Girls School principal Ellice Handy, Leong Yee Soo and Lee Chin Koon – incidentally, her grandaunt and grandmother – for inspiration, she's put together and trained The Clifford Pier's culinary team on the making of seven dishes steeped in Peranakan, Cantonese and Indian heritage on this limited edition menu.
Among the dishes on offer are Handy's rendition of the hardly-seen fried rice dish called the fish kedgeree ($26), served with a refreshing Nonya achar, tomato chutney and Lee's Cilicuka chilli paste, as well as Mrs Leong's red fish curry ($23), served with discs of papadum and achar. Leong's chicken curry ($23) is also an illuminating option, as her recipe calls for blended cashews and almonds mixed into her tumeric and coconut stew. The menu also includes DIY Peranakan popiah ($26/two), which allows you to get hands-on wrapping your own egg-skinned burritos.