Everything you need to know about Time Out's Balik Kampong Heritage Dinner

Damian D'Silva

Current role
Executive chef of Folklore, a restaurant that champions Singapore's heritage food – especially the time-honoured Peranakan and Eurasian dishes D'Silva grew up with.

He's also a judge on MasterChef Singapore.

Also cooked at
Soul Kitchen, D's Joint, Big D's Grill and Immigrants.

Cooking style in a nutshell
Nostalgic, homey dishes that are bold, spicy and in your face.

Why he's awesome
This 62-year-old takes no shortcuts when it comes to preparing his dishes. Everything's made from scratch with love and tireless dedication. Expect soul food that speaks to the heart.

His dishes

Beef rendang parmentier

A dry, spicy beef curry layered with sweet yams, potatoes and pickled chillis.

Chef Damian D'Silva is also preparing a main dish of nasi pulut tekan (traditional peranakan compressed coconut milk rice), garam assam fish and sambal belimbing with prawns. Plus a stunning egg pudding drizzled with gula Melaka to look forward to.

Han Li Guang

Current role
Chef-owner of one-Michelin-starred Labyrinth, a modern-Singaporean restaurant that showcases produce from our local farms and fishermen.

Cooking style in a nutshell
Familiar Singaporean dishes like chicken rice and bak kut teh completely reimagined and executed with finesse. His cooking is sophisticated yet comforting.

Why he's awesome

Chef Han is a powerhouse of never-ending ideas and infinite creativity. There's no one else that cooks like him in Singapore – combining the true essence of local cuisine from the provenance of the ingredients with quintessentially local flavours.

His dish

Charcoal-grilled otak-otak

Traditionally made with ground fish paste, otak-otak has been totally reimagined without losing its rustic appeal. Otak-otak rempah is slathered on a whole local silver perch fish and wrapped in banana leaf. To balance the smokiness and spiciness of the otak-otak, it's served with a sweet and tangy broth topped with fish fat for texture and ulam raja flower petals.

Haikal Johari

Current role
Executive chef at one-Michelin-starred Alma by Juan Amador, a Spanish restaurant with Asian influences.

Cooking style in a nutshell
Deceptively simple, complex yet refined.

Why he's awesome

His dish

Lamb gulai

An interpretation of a Malay lamb curry made with four parts of the lamb: shoulder, belly, loin and sweetbreads.  The sweetbreads are battered and fried, the loin and belly are grilled and the shoulder dehydrated to form a crisp for texture.

Pang Kok Keong

Current role
Chef-owner of Antoinette, an elegant French pâtisserie and Pang's Hakka Delights, a takeaway shop that sells Hakka dishes and kuehs.

Cooking style in a nutshell
A master of French pastry and desserts who has spent 20 years honing his craft.

Why he's awesome

Having led Les Amis pastry team, chef Pang is no stranger to the world of sweets. But that doesn't mean that he can't whip up a mean savoury course too. The multi-talented chef has collected numerous local and international awards and is the city's leading patissier.

His dishes

Charcoal abacus seeds in foie gras sauce

Showcasing his Hakka heritage, chef Pang is presenting the cuisine's iconic dish, abacus seeds, with a French twist. Served with a medley of mushrooms and coated in foie gras and white wine sauce.

The dessert is also preparing a pandan dessert with pandan sponge, foam, ice cream and cake paired with salted gula Melaka cream and a coconut crumble.