Colonial hangover

AFTER THE BRITISH, and before the first French chefs arrived on our shores, we had the Hainanese. They were the bridge between us and 'western' food, dominating the F&B scene with pork chops and Chicken Maryland, while creating a few culinary legends of their own. Who can forget Ngiam Tong Boon, who created the Singapore Sling at Raffles Hotel's Long Bar in 1915, or Steven Low, the chef who elevated Hainanese chicken rice from street food to 5-star hotel status at the Mandarin Orchard Singapore?

How the Hainanese "invaded" the kitchens of hotels and coffee houses was no coincidence. From the mid-19th century, there was a widespread migration of Chinese to South-east Asia, with most immigrants coming from Canton (now Guangzhou) in southern China. The Hokkien arrived in Singapore first, followed by the Teochews and Cantonese. By the time the Hainanese got her…