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Ah Hua Kelong
Photos by: Nicole-Marie NgWong Jing Kai and Teh Chin Hua from Ah Hua Kelong

Loco for locavore: we talk to local farmers feeding the movement

We visit four farms in Singapore to find out more about locally grown produce and the struggles of being a farmer in a land-strapped country

Nicole-Marie Ng
Written by
Nicole-Marie Ng
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Growing up in Singapore, chances are, you’ve been to a local farm on a school excursion. You arrive in an air-conditioned bus, complain about the stench, pay for feed, pat some cuddly animals and leave the same way you came after an hour or two. But these farms have more to offer. An increasing number of chefs – from those running Michelin-starred restaurants to those behind casual eateries – are stocking their kitchens with produce grown in Singapore, driving the locavore movement here. We chat with four local producers to uncover their stories, struggles and the future of farming.

RECOMMENDED: The best farms in Singapore and the best sustainable restaurants in Singapore

Ah Hua Kelong
  • Restaurants
  • Seafood
  • Serangoon

What started out as a hobby turned into a business rife with hard work for Teh Chin Hua. He would regularly go to a kelong in Sembawang to fish – a practice that is now illegal – when the original owner wanted to give it up. “When I took over the farm, it was just to play,” Teh chuckles. “The owner told me that the operating cost is low, but when I took over I realised it’s actually very expensive so I had to start farming to earn money.”

Business was easier 12 years ago. Boats from Hong Kong would buy up his entire supply of tiger grouper. To increase profits, Teh bought another kelong in Pulau Ubin. But four years ago, the boats stopped coming to Singapore. That’s when 28-year-olds Wong Jing Kai and Bryan Ang stepped in. Ang met Teh on a fishing trip and decided to help him with his struggles. Like true millennials, they turned to the internet. “We wanted to bridge the gap between Singaporeans and local seafood,” explains Wong. “Normally, you'd start with restaurant deliveries but we wanted to reach out to the community first – we went door to door around our estate before becoming the first kelong to establish an online store.”

Aside from supplying to restaurants like Level33, Salted and Hung, Dehesa and Labyrinth, Ah Hua also has a couple of eateries of its own to showcase its produce. “The biggest challenge for us is the lack of appreciation for local seafood,” says Wong, “people would rather pay slightly less to get something from the market, which is not as fresh as ours because we do same-day deliveries. We really value quality – right down to the feed – and customer satisfaction.”

Jurong Frog Farm
  • Things to do
  • Lim Chu Kang

“We cannot be like a frog in the well,” 25-year-old Wong Zheng Xun says, pun fully intended. “We need to venture out, develop new products and do more outreach”. The tour development specialist has been working at Jurong Frog Farm since 2016. He’s part of a small team run by Chelsea Wan, the daughter of the farm’s founder Wan Bock Thiaw, who’s been selling frogs in Singapore since the 1970s when the farm was still in Jurong.

The farm supplies frogs to porridge joints and hipper hangouts like The Guild. But despite frog meat’s stature as a local favourite, the farm ranks low on the pecking order. “Our land lease expires in 2021 and we need to bid for a new plot,” shares Wong. “But we’re not given priority because frogs aren’t seen as an essential part of the food pyramid, unlike poultry and vegetables.”

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Hay Dairies
  • Things to do
  • Lim Chu Kang

The expiry of the land lease is a common challenge cited by farmers in Kranji Countryside. Over at Hay Dairies, Singapore’s only goat farm, they face similar issues. “Building a new farm takes three to four years and requires at least five to eight million dollars,” shares John Hay, the second-generation owner of the farm that’s been around since 1988. “With a 20 year lease, that only leaves us with 16 years to recoup our investment.”

As such, farms are trying to diversify their products and increase awareness of the area as a whole. “The farming community is tight-knit,” says Wong. “There’s mushrooms at Kin Yan Agrotech, blue pea flower nasi lemak at Bollywood Veggies and so much more to explore here that’s different from what you can find in the city.”

Citizen Farm
  • Things to do
  • Markets and fairs
  • Tanglin

“We want to make something really awesome instead of focusing on farming for commodities,” says Christopher Leow, the general manager of Edible Garden City. “We focus on specialty products like kale and microgreens that people can order through our subscription box programme to make a salad purely out of local produce.”

But quality isn’t something most people associate with locally farmed vegetables – with many preferring imports from Europe or Japan. Edible Garden City plans on changing that by using better quality inputs and compost made in-house with the help of black soldier flies.

“We need to change mindsets because people still think that farming is about food scarcity, making it a numbers game,” says Leow. “Farmers need to be able to focus on quality instead of scale. When that happens, wastage is reduced because people see the value in the product and use it more carefully.”

Where to go locavore in Singapore

  • Restaurants
  • Singaporean
  • City Hall

Chef Han Li Guang’s revamped menu shines a spotlight on local produce with dishes like an exquisite clam tart is made using clams from Ah Hua Kelong, layered with house-made XO sambal and Chinese spinach in a tart of deep-fried wonton skin.

Scaled by Ah Hua Kelong

Scaled by Ah Hua Kelong

Along the boho stretch of Haji Lane lies Scaled by Ah Hua Kelong, a farm-to-table concept that showcases all the different types of seafood the fish farm produces. Think curry mussels with mantou ($16), clams tossed in sake ($14) and pan-seared seabass ($22) served with pickled mussels and roasted pepper purée.

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The Guild
  • Restaurants
  • Gastropubs
  • Chinatown

The Guild is equal parts beer hall as it is a creative eatery that blends American comfort food with locally sourced ingredients. Try the oysters from Pulau Ubin, mushrooms from Kin Yan Agrotech and frog legs from Jurong Frog Farm prepared in ways you’ve never seen before.



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