Imagine your dinner - a starter little amuse bouche salad of Sambal Timun, gently spicy and done with a generous sprinkling of that dried sambal laced with pounded Thai cured shrimps. Then, a starter plate of Prawn Rojak, layered exquisitely with fruits, vegetables, crunchy sliced dough fritter and tubers of the season, topped with a freshly baked shrimp- plated like a fragile tower. A bak kut teh soup follows, to neutralize that shrimp paste aftertaste of the rojak, topped with thinly sliced Korubuta Sukiyaki pork with a spoon of soft stewed preserved vegetables.

Then the server plies you the entrée – the main course of roasted then softly stewed oxtail, elegantly drenched in a thick lemon grass infused buah keluak sauce with garlic potato mash. Or you may choose the straightforward Ayam Buah Keluak with steamed jasmine rice and the server delights you with a “ excellent choice, this is a very traditional rendition well loved by the Peranakans.”

The server now suggests a gracious offer- a second tasting portion main at half the rack prices. He recommends the crispy angel hair pasta smothered with an unctuous seafood stock topped with lobster tail or slices of fresh threadfin fish. and with what little space left for desserts, he suggests a black rice gula melaka pudding with a heaven dollop of home made coconut ice cream, flecked with a pinch of sea salt or crispy shallots to calm the heavy accent of the rich coconut ice cream. He them proceeds to offer you post dinner beverage of Kopikao or Tehsi Tarek with a little square of Kueh Lapis.

call it crispy angel hair pasta with threadfin or barramundi- it's still Cantonese Sang Meen.

Okay, to the uninitiated, that was some creative meal. But to the makan battle weary, you will say  “aiya, its all hawker food la. From the Nonya cucumber Sambal Timun, Pulot Hitam with coconut ice cream to the Sang Meen crispy noodle.” Even the thick local kopitiam coffee and the pulled evaporated milk tea was a nice touch, you say.

This is perhaps, what I think a Singapore cultured restaurant around the world should offer on any given day. Every few years, this conversation about churning out true blue chefs touting Singapore food surfaces and recently the cycle has returned led by a comment by Prof Tommy Koh, one of my favourite food ambassadors. He suggested that a culinary school be set up to teach all these culinary treasures we have hidden in our hawker centres. He laments about the falling standards of old fashioned hawker food which have gone the franchise and central kitchen route with non native cooks.

So will it happen. At the surface level, I’ll have to say no, so as long as local perception believes that it’s way sexier to be a banker, internet entrepreneur or animation graphics whizz, fund manager or a dynamic property agent dynamo.  But then, if you peel away at the layers that blind you from how satisfying being a restaurateur can be, then you’ll see why top chefs talk about “passion”, when they cook. They know it’s about feelings, about pleasing the diner and satisfying a primal need. They can do it in style or just pleasure the palate with no frills. I once consulted for a top restaurant company in China. They count three Michelin star chefs in their portfolio. I created a distinctly Singapore style menu and recipes with old and new renditions and it was all good and exciting, till they realized there were no avenues to hire holistically trained Singapore chefs. That idea went out the window.

how about some Laksa Risoto with sashimi clams, oceanic prawn and japanese fishcakes with daun kesom flecks

I have come across a few Singapore restaurants, or more like cafes, around the world. The Kiasu Restaurant in London is a Michelin star rated café but the boss has European and non native Singapore cooks helming his kitchen. He too, has no avenues to recruit true blue Singapore trained street food chefs. Financially, it is totally rewarding, believe me. We have consulted of major food courts here and in the region. Fact 1- a fried noodle hawker can average $100,000.00 a month at one of our food courts, and at his Orchard Road branch, he can double his takings. Fact 2- his cost hovers at around 65% with 30 going to food cost, 20 for rentals and overheads and 15 for manpower. So a cool average of  $50,000.00 a month, pads his bank account.

Doubtful figures you say, then go pester the taxman on just how much revenue they receive each year from well greased hawker and food court operations. I think the figure says “yum yum”.