Here's where to treat mum this Mother's Day, Lifestyle News
So whether your mum's a brunch-and-bubbles kind of girl or the elegant steak-and-quiet conversation type, here's where you might take her for that special meal to say thank you for putting up with you. Verandah Rooftop Rotisserie @ Momentus Hotel Alexandra
Spoil Mum at this breezy rooftop spot with views from an infinity pool and a sensational menu.
The Mother's Day Brunch Buffet on May 11 ($108 per adult) comes with a Premium Sea Treasures Platter laden with rock lobster, live mud crab, and king prawns slathered in golden pumpkin crab roe sauce. There's also everything from Balinese grilled cuttlefish to truffle rotisserie chicken at the live stations.
For a hands-on experience, join the Pistachio Strawberry Tart Masterclass where you can make a dessert for mum with mum. Bonus: She gets a complimentary glass of bubbly. Butcher's Block
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Chef de Cuisine Jordan Keao's five-course Mother's Day Lunch menu ($138 per person) blends wood-fire cooking with his Hawaiian heritage.
That translates to fresh-from-the-grill seafood and meat dishes like wagyu pipikaula — Blackmore rump and chuck roll cured in aged garlic shoyu before it is dry-aged for 25 days and served with beef fat fried rice. There's also Big Eye ahi tuna poke and succulent Little Joe tenderloin paired with English pea puree and chimichurri.
Dessert is a twist on haupia, a coconut pudding with gula Melaka ice cream and fermented Ichigo strawberries. If you're dialling up the pampering, opt for the wine pairing ($98) and raise a toast to the most special lady in your life... even if, just for today, that's not your wife. The Masses
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Chef Dylan Ong's casual bistro has been serving easy-on-the-pocket Franco-Asian comfort food for years.
For Mother's Day, he's running a Mum-dines-free promotion when you book the Farm-Style Communal Brunch for four adults ($68.80 per person).
What's on the 10-dish sharing menu? Scrumptious dishes like hay-smoked hamachi crudo, crispy chicken leg, cold cuts, roasted veggies, a haricot vert salad, black truffle scrambled eggs, and his signature caviar sour cream dip with house-made chips, among other things. The Dining Room @ Sheraton Towers
With a spread that includes lemak chilli api ribeye, dry-fried bak kut teh, curry chicken chee cheong fun, and Grandma's pandan kaya cake, Mum's response to The Dining Room's Mother's Day Lunch Buffet ($108 per adult) could go various ways.
She might say, "What a great idea! I'm going to cook this next week" or compare the pandan cake to her mother's. Whichever way it goes, it's her day and the proper response would be an enthusiastic, loving smile.
The spread is inspired by dishes cooked by the mothers and grandmothers of the culinary team members, so expect familiar flavours that will warm the heart. The Black Pearl
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This rooftop Chinese restaurant helmed by executive chef Dee Chan, formerly from Mott32, is the new darling of Chinese restaurants in Singapore.
For Mother's Day, Chan has created a six-course modern Cantonese spread that starts with a trio of appetisers featuring baby abalone, black truffle crystal dumplings, and aged black vinegar jellyfish head with black and white fungus.
Also expect a red grouper in a black garlic sauce, Iberico char siew, and longevity noodle soup with seafood.
The Mother's Day Dinner menu ($128 per person) is available throughout May. Xiang Xiang Hunan Cuisine
It feels like Hunan food is the latest "it" cuisine in town, and if Mum is a fan, then Mother's Day is an excuse to indulge her love of spice with new dishes at Xiang Xiang Hunan Cuisine.
Head to the Parkway Parade outlet for new offerings like stir-fried spicy squid tentacles, sizzling pot chicken, and slow-braised luffa.
Alas, Mum doesn't eat free or get a discount when you dine here on Mother's Day, but she does get a free tote featuring Xiang Xiang's adorable ambassador Xiang Du Du. Lest you forget, the real gift is spending precious time together, ok?
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This article was first published in Wonderwall.sg.
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Straits Times
28-06-2025
- Straits Times
Mod-Sin 2.0 – restaurants for the modern Singaporean
SINGAPORE – Waves of flavours and food brands from abroad wash on Singapore shores every day. People now talk about hotpot rather than steamboat. Speciality coffee goes head to head with kopi. Mala has infiltrated every corner of the food scene. Some chefs have been working to remind diners of the flavours of Singapore, going beyond takes on this or that local dish for occasions like National Day. A new crop of restaurants is putting Singapore flavours front and centre. Seeking to take Mod-Sin cuisine to a new level are Belimbing by chef Marcus Leow; Choon Hoy Parlor by chef Dylan Ong, with a new menu after relocating from Beach Road; and Gilmore & Damian D'Silva by chef Damian D'Silva, slated to open at the National Gallery Singapore in mid-October. It was Singaporean chef Willin Low who coined the term Mod-Sin 20 years ago when he opened his restaurant, Wild Rocket, at Mount Emily. He used it to describe his food, rooted in familiar flavours but done in ways to pique the interest of modern Singaporean diners. So, the flavours of laksa feature in a pesto tossed with spaghetti; thinly sliced cuttlefish takes the place of kway teow in his char kway teow; and thin strips of pork belly are marinated with prawn paste before being deep-fried for his take on har cheong kai. The 53-year-old chef, who now runs pasta restaurant Pastaro at Chancery Court and Roketto in Niseko, Hokkaido, says: 'People were describing our food as modern European, which it wasn't; and fusion, which is a term I abhor. That's because from the 1990s, some chefs in the West were labelling their cuisine as fusion when they threw in random Asian ingredients that didn't work. 'I remember Mod Oz was used for culturally diverse modern Australian cuisine and I thought that was a great idea for what we were doing for Singapore cuisine. I thought it was appropriate because I think of myself as a modern Singaporean, and the food is a reflection of my identity.' He says Mod-Sin is a celebration of traditional Singaporean flavours, adding that the idea is not to replace the original dish, but to 'enjoy its spirit innovatively'. 'It's about retaining the spirit of the dish while redefining its process, form or even ingredients,' he says. 'A Singaporean couple, who lived in Hong Kong for many years, came to Wild Rocket for dinner. After the meal, the husband said that none of the dishes looked like Singaporean food, but when they ate it, they knew they were home. That, to me, is what good Mod-Sin should be.' He cites the food at Mustard Seed in Serangoon Garden as a good example of what Mod-Sin cuisine is. The restaurant, run by chefs Gan Ming Kiat, Wu Shin Yin and Desmond Shen, serves multi-course meals built around Singapore flavours, executed with Japanese and other techniques. 'At times, someone will try to coin a different term to describe the same thing,' chef Low says. 'As long as we are all trying to celebrate Singapore flavours in a good way, that – to me – is the evolution of Mod-Sin. It's here to stay.' Here are three restaurants that understand the assignment. Reimagining familiar flavours: Belimbing Where: 269A Beach Road Open: Noon to 3.30pm (Thursdays to Sundays), 6 to 10.30pm (Wednesdays to Sundays), closed on Mondays and Tuesdays Info: Call 8869-7243 or go to Belimbing's Braised Angus Oxtail, one of its hot starters. PHOTO: BELIMBING Can rojak be rojak if it has seared kailan stems, frizzled kailan leaves, Japanese firefly squid and pickled strawberries? Yes, in the hands of chef Marcus Leow. The 33-year-old, who worked at The Naked Finn, Magic Square, Whitegrass and Iggy's, is taking creative licence with familiar flavours. He says: 'Mod-Sin is about retaining a lot of the flavours and ingredients that make us Singapore, but finding new ways to take the flavour in a different direction. The food evokes something Singaporean, but tastes different as well.' Belimbing serves four-course set meals at dinner time featuring dishes such as Wok-fried Nasi Ulam and Seared Red Grouper. PHOTO: BELIMBING Inspired by rojak, the sweet, sour, salty and spicy salad, he created Grilled Firefly Squid. The dish looks nothing like rojak, usually a melange of vegetables and fruit tossed with shrimp paste. But take a forkful, and the haegor caramel, made with slow-cooked prawn shells and belacan; the shaved frozen ginger flower; and the sprinkling of powdered dried cuttlefish on top registers in the brain as rojak, but much more inten se. Similarly, the Clam Custard, featuring tuatua clams from New Zealand, is meant to evoke the steamed egg the chef, and many Singaporeans, grew up eating. He peps it up with assam pedas flavours and white pepper. His 45-seat restaurant, part of The Lo & Behold Group , opened on April 15 and has been packed since. It serves a four-course menu priced at $88 for dinner, and a two-course lunch priced at $58. There is a small a la carte selection available for lunch too. Chef Marcus Leow takes creative licence with familiar flavours at Belimbing. PHOTO: BELIMBING Ingredients he uses for the current menu include pink guava, housemade cincalok or fermented krill, and herbs such as sawtooth coriander, ulam raja and laksa leaves. The chef, whose parents are Peranakan, is eyeing buah keluak, that bitter Indonesian nut; century eggs; and the humble bayam or sharp spinach as ingredients for new dishes. He wants to use them in unexpected ways. 'I think it's important to be innovative,' he says. 'All the restaurants I've worked in were big on innovation. I try to do that as well. Hopefully, guests can see that we are doing something different, but rooted in something very Singaporean.' The 90-10 rule: Choon Hoy Parlor Where: 01-84A, Arcade @ Capitol Singapore, 15 Stamford Road Open: 11.30am to 3pm, 5.30 to 9.30pm daily Info: Call 6266-0061 or go to Choon Hoy Parlor's Oriental Charcuterie Board. PHOTO: CHOON HOY PARLOR Fans of Choon Hoy Parlor, chef Dylan Ong's Singapore soul food restaurant, will know that he has moved it from Beach Road to Capitol Singapore. Along with the move comes a menu revamp – about half the offerings are new. He is digging his heels in when it comes to offering the flavour of Singapore. The new location, right smack in the middle of the culture and civic district and thick with tourists, offers him a chance to showcase the city's soul food. Among the new offerings are Mocha Prime Pork Rib ($25.90), Chye Ber ($16.90) and Oriental Charcuterie Board ($25.90) – takes on familiar dishes, but with a twist. The pork rib is his version of the popular zi char dish of coffee pork ribs. He cooks prime rib sous vide for 16 hours in a sauce made with coffee from local supplier Coffee Hock, infused with dark Valrhona chocolate, then grills it. The pork rib is served with a sabayon made with white coffee, inspired by Vietnam's egg coffee, with crushed pistachios and cacao nibs sprinkled on top. 'We wanted to make the coffee stand out even more,' he says. The pork rib is Chef Dylan's version of the popular zi char dish of coffee pork ribs. PHOTO: CHOON HOY PARLOR His Chye Ber is an almost forgotten dish in Singapore, although it is popular in Malaysia – cuts of meat cooked with mustard greens, tamarind and tomato. The charcuterie board pays homage to the rich tradition of cured meats in Asia, with strips of waxed duck, duck liver sausage and pork lup cheong. These are served with decidedly local accompaniments – housemade achar, housemade labneh with furu or preserved beancurd worked into it, braised peanuts and strips of crisp tempeh and slices of youtiao. The 38-year-old says: 'We make sure that 90 per cent of the flavours are true, and then the remaining 10 per cent is the X factor, touches you won't find elsewhere. 'I ask myself how I can connect with my diners. It's to preserve the character of the dish. The last 10 per cent should not destroy the dish. In our first year in Beach Road, we tried to tinker with the recipes. But I realised, why try to bring in a foreign flavour? Why not add layers of complexity without doing that?' Choon Hoy Parlor has moved from Beach Road to Capitol Singapore. PHOTOS: CHOON HOY PARLOR He has more plans. In about three months, he wants to start a Kway Png Club, or chicken rice club, on weekends. The chicken is likely to be from France, and diners can order the set meal on weekends with regular chicken rice or chicken rice balls, and either poached chicken or chicken steamboat with a platter of raw chicken they poach themselves at the table. In the new year, it will be his take on Teochew porridge, a weekend set with traditional pickles and dishes that have all but disappeared – fish steamed in seawater, tiny clams marinated and served raw, and whitebait omelette. What drives him is the thought of Singapore losing its identity. Choon Hoy Parlor chef-owner Dylan Ong wants to start a Kway Png Club, or chicken rice club, on weekends in about three months. PHOTO: CHOON HOY PARLOR The father of three children aged four to eight says: 'We have so many things coming through, we mix this and that to the point where we forget who we are. I don't want my kids to think that mala is a Singapore flavour. 'Singaporeans take for granted a lot of our culture. We think hawkers will always be there. But one day, the auntie and uncle will be gone. No Singaporean wants to work in restaurants, what more hawker centres. Then whoever cooks the food, we have to accept that flavour.' What's old is new again: Gilmore & Damian D'Silva Where: 01-02/03 National Gallery Singapore, 1 St Andrew's Road Open: In mid-October For decades, chef Damian D'Silva has been a champion of heritage food, turning out in his restaurants Eurasian, Peranakan, Chinese, Indian and Malay dishes. The 68-year-old was born to a Eurasian father and Eurasian-Peranakan mother, and learnt cooking techniques from both sides of the family, and especially from his paternal grandfather, Mr Gilmore D'Silva. Born to a Eurasian father and Eurasian-Peranakan mother, chef Damian D'Silva learnt cooking techniques from both sides of the family, and especially from his paternal grandfather, Mr Gilmore D'Silva. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH The name of his new restaurant, a 70-to-80-seater, pays homage to his grandfather. The National Gallery Singapore location is especially meaningful because from 1939 to 1969, the late Mr D'Silva was caretaker of the Supreme Court, which is what the building used to house. The home cooking, and roaming around Singapore eating with his grandfather, gave chef D'Silva a firm grounding in Singapore flavours. For the restaurant, he is digging deep into the past, resurrecting 200-year-old recipes. He knows that Singapore – and taste buds – have changed since that time. 'If the flavours are too overwhelming and strong, 20 per cent of diners will accept it, but 80 per cent won't,' he says. 'Balance is important.' The restaurant's menu will be made up of 70 per cent Eurasian dishes and 30 per cent Chinese ones, he says. Some dishes include sayur beremi or purslane and prawns cooked with rempah titek, a spice paste of chilli, shallots, candlenuts and belacan; prawn stock and coconut milk. He is getting the sayur beremi from his long-time Geylang Serai supplier. He says: 'If you don't know how to cook it, it will be bitter.' Another is threadfin fish head and pig brain braised with vegetables. It was served at weddings because of the symbolism – the brain to beget smart children and the fish head to spawn many kids. 'You won't see the brain,' he promises. 'When diners have a spoonful of the sauce, they'll be blown away.' So far, so vintage. The Mod-Sin part of it comes with the plating and accompaniments to the se and other dishes. He is developing several kerabu or salads that can be eaten on their own or paired seamlessly with the dishes. One of these is tomato stuffed with a housemade, ricotta-like cheese, and topped with sesame oil and lemon basil. He says that progress is good, especially when chefs are able to help diners understand the original taste of the dish. 'I've been doing the same thing for so long,' he says of the new direction. 'I want to surprise diners. They'll be able to taste the difference between the old Damian and the new Damian.' Tan Hsueh Yun is senior food correspondent at The Straits Times. She covers all aspects of the food and beverage scene in Singapore. Check out ST's Food Guide for the latest foodie recommendations in Singapore.
AsiaOne
18-06-2025
- AsiaOne
Lilo & Stitch actor David Hekili Kenui Bell dies aged 46, Entertainment News
Lilo + Stitch star David Hekili Kenui Bell has died aged 46. The actor, who played Big Hawaiian Dude in the 2025 live-action remake of the movie, Lilo & Stitch has died, his sister, Jalene Kanani Bell, confirmed on Sunday (June 15). She wrote on her Facebook account: "It is with a heavy heart that I share that my sweet, generous, talented, funny, brilliant and handsome little brother David H. K. Bell will spend today in the company of our Heavenly Father. I've been waiting for the words and mindset to properly express the joy of a human, and Prince of a Man he was, but fate pushed my hand this morning by a pre-scheduled Father's Day newsletter honoring the men in our lives. "I met my little brother at the age of 18, on my high school graduation day, it was the most amazing surprise which I had been asking for years, that our mom's made happen for us, and that gift has lasted a lifetime. "While I didn't grow up with a father, David gave me all the unconditional love I could possibly ask for and I believe that all his family and friends received the same from him. He was always so proud of me, his nieces and his grandnephew, constantly engaged and always coming up with fun activities to get-together. We looked forward to going to Tahiti and the Lindsey reunion together to create more family connections." Jalene also shared how just two weeks ago, David bought the "best seats in the house" for his family to watch him in Lilo & Stitch at the cinema. She added: "David loved being an actor, doing voiceovers, spending time with Brutus travelling as an ambassador for Kona Brew. The film industry and entertainment were so exciting to him, and I loved that he enjoyed the arts. He went to Punahou and Kalani while our dad spoke Hawaiian so his ability to deliver lines with English understanding, Indigenous knowledge and Pidgen to da Max… made him a diamond in the rough. "You can hear him over the PA system on arrival at Kona Airport where he loved working to create an awesome and safe customer experience. "He was and will remain a bright and shining star. He recently made it onto the big screen with an iconic Lilo & Stitch moment. "He planned ahead and purchased the best seats in the house for us all to go together to opening night in Kapolei just two short weeks ago. That's one trait we didn't share, planning ahead. We talked about and were so energised by the fans dressed in Lilo & Stitch gear head to toe, T-shirts, one zees, hats, masks, and the merch galore flying off the shelf as we stood in line for popcorn. "I said we should get shave ice after the movie and reenact the screen but then realised the store was already closed. To celebrate him and try to ease our grief we went to get shave ice and my grandson's emotions were on point. "To Aunty Gerry and the Kenui 'Ohana you raised an amazing human who became the most loving and supportive man in my life, and I am eternally grateful. I share this grief with our older sister Kehau Bell, and my younger sister, Lara Leimana, who while not a Bell, loved and adored him as her own. "He enjoyed social media and I'll be resharing some of my favourite posts he made, and some I am just seeing for the first time that I missed, because they are so funny and heartwarming. "Hug your loved ones today... our last time together after returning home from the movie was just sitting on my living room couch telling stories about life, having a seltzer and doing a little genealogy. Blessed by this and all the big and small moments, I will keep our memories alive." [[nid:719186]]
Straits Times
18-06-2025
- Straits Times
Actor David Hekili Kenui Bell, who appeared in movie Lilo & Stitch, dies at 46
Actor David Hekili Kenui Bell appeared in two scenes of the Lilo & Stitch (2025) live-action remake. PHOTO: DISNEYSTUDIOS/INSTAGRAM NEW YORK - In Disney's latest live-action remake Lilo & Stitch (2025), David Hekili Kenui Bell has a short but memorable role in which he is so bewildered to see aliens that he lets his shaved ice plop to the ground. The appearance was the Hawaiian actor's first in a feature film. Bell, who had played minor roles in a few productions, died on June 12. He was 46. His sister, Jalene Bell, confirmed his death on social media on June 15 and in a family statement that did not provide a cause of death. He was credited simply as Big Hawaiian Dude on his IMDb page, but on TikTok he referred to himself as the Shave Ice Guy. Lilo & Stitch, which is based on the 2002 animated film of the same name, opened in cinemas in May and became one of the most profitable recent films as it raked in more than US$800 million (S$1 billion) in box office sales. Bell's role was part of a running gag in the franchise. In those moments, a sunburned character who is relaxing somewhere drops his ice cream when the aliens arrive. In one of two movie scenes where he appeared, the aliens startle him while he sits at the beach in a sleeveless shirt, with a towel on one shoulder and sunglasses atop his head. Predictably, he drops his shaved ice. 'These damn aliens owe me a shave ice,' he captioned the scene on TikTok. In the original Lilo & Stitch, the man dropping the ice cream is bald and is often not wearing a shirt. Bell had also appeared in two episodes of a Magnum P.I. (2018 to 2024) action series remake in 2018 and 2019, as well as in one episode of a Hawaii Five-0 (2010 to 2020) cop drama remake in 2014, according to IMDb. He was also involved in the upcoming action comedy film The Wrecking Crew, about two half-brothers (Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista) solving their father's murder in Hawaii, his page on the site said. Bell appeared in the One Life, Right? commercials for the Kona Brewing Company. The ads won a 2025 Pele Award, according to his sister and the organisation's website. The Pele Awards honour excellence in advertising and design in Hawaii. Outside of acting, Bell worked at the Kona International Airport near Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, according to the social media statement from his sister. To celebrate her brother's life and express their grief, she said that she and her grandson went to get shaved ice. 'David loved being an actor', doing voice-overs and travelling as part of his work, she added. 'The film industry and entertainment was so exciting to him.' NYTIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
