Spice Routes & Silk Sheets: The Singapore Colonial Food History

November 3, 2025-Aaron Ong
Warm morning light spills across a colonial-style kitchen where a chef in crisp whites prepares traditional Indian dishes, evoking the culinary legacies of British Singapore. In the foreground, a wooden table is elegantly set with chapati, richly spiced curries garnished with cilantro, and porcelain teacups beside a matching teapot—symbols of Anglo-Indian fusion. Steam rises from the stove in the background, blurring the line between domestic ritual and imperial nostalgia. The scene captures the sensory crossroads of spice routes and silk sheets, where food became a vessel for cultural exchange and colonial identity.

Singapore’s food scene is a story shaped by oceans, empires, and centuries-old trade. As a photographer focused on our culinary traditions, I find inspiration not only at bustling markets and hawker centres, but in the layered history written across every dish. Singapore was once a vibrant port, a meeting point of cultures from China, India, and Europe. This melting pot set the foundation for Singapore colonial food history—an ever-evolving fusion cuisine that remains at the heart of our nation’s identity.

Black Pepper

A hand sprinkles whole black peppercorns into a steaming cast iron skillet, the rising smoke curling like incense over a rustic tabletop adorned with vintage spice jars, weathered books, and a model sailing ship. The scene evokes the tactile drama of colonial kitchens in Singapore, where global trade routes converged in aromatic rituals. The peppercorns—once currency on the spice routes—anchor the image in historical tension between culinary craft and imperial commerce, while the antique decor whispers of silk sheets, maritime lore, and the layered legacies of colonial gastronomy.

The quest for spices like black pepper, cinnamon, and cumin led Portuguese explorers, such as Vasco da Gama, into Southeast Asia. Black pepper quickly became an emblem of cross-continental flavor, influencing food from simple street stalls to celebratory banquets. As Portuguese and later Dutch, British, Indian, and Chinese traders settled—or passed through—Singapore, black pepper and other spices turned local kitchens into laboratories of cultural exchange. These influences paved the way for what would later define Eurasian cuisine.

Culinary Traditions

At the core of this legacy is the vibrant world of Eurasian food. Through centuries of mingling between Europeans—especially Portuguese, Dutch, and British—and local Malay and Chinese communities, new culinary traditions took root. These were stories told through recipes: techniques borrowed, ingredients shared, methods blended. Each dish preserves generations of adaptation and cross-pollination, making Eurasian cuisine a living representation of Singapore’s layered history.

Devil's Curry

My personal connection with this culinary fusion was sealed with my first taste of Devil’s Curry. Known locally as Curry Debal, this dish is a bold, unabashed stew. Southeast Asian spices—turmeric, galangal, black pepper—meld with the sharp tang of vinegar, a nod to European preservation. Cooked traditionally with leftover meats and sausages from festive roasts, Devil’s Curry is a celebration of resilience and creative adaptation. It’s often prepared in large batches for big family gatherings, with every bowl telling a story of survival, community, and joy through hardship.

Macanese Cuisine

Steam rises as a chef brushes crimson marinade over sizzling meat in a white enamel dish rimmed in colonial blue, surrounded by vibrant spices—red powders, halved coconut, and earthen bowls. The rustic interior, lit by sunlight through wooden shutters and anchored by a faded map, evokes the spice-scented kitchens of British Singapore. This tactile moment of preparation bridges culinary ritual and imperial memory, where chili, coconut, and cartography converge in a sensory tableau of trade, taste, and territorial ambition.

Singapore’s food evolution didn’t happen in isolation. As Portuguese traders and migrants continued through Southeast Asia, their cooking traditions merged with those in Macau, creating Macanese cuisine. Dishes like African Chicken—blending coconut milk, paprika, and a melange of spices—capture the journey of recipes across continents. These savory stews and grilled meats arrived in Singapore, their flavors further deepened by Southeast Asian spices and local twists. Meals became passports, connecting Singapore to distant Malacca, Macau, India, and Portugal.

Sugee Cake

A hand gently dusts powdered sugar over a golden almond cake, its surface studded with sliced and whole almonds, resting on a blue-and-white porcelain plate atop a vibrant textile. A lantern glows softly in the background, casting evening warmth across the scene. This quiet moment of colonial dessert-making evokes the genteel rituals of British Singapore, where European confections absorbed Eastern ingredients. The interplay of light, texture, and ceremony reflects a culinary legacy shaped by trade winds, domestic grace, and the sweet aftertaste of empire.

A Eurasian celebration is never complete without sugee cake. Made from semolina flour, butter, and ground almonds, this cake is soft, rich, and deeply aromatic. Adapted from European cake-making traditions, it uses regional ingredients like coconut and ghee. Served at weddings, birthdays, or festive holidays, sugee cake embodies the sweet side of the Eurasian story, offering a bite-sized history lesson with every piece.

Eurasian Restaurant

To truly experience Singapore’s Eurasian culinary legacy, a visit to a Eurasian restaurant is essential. Quentin’s Eurasian Restaurant, with locations at the Eurasian Community House and Changi Business Park, is one such torchbearer. Helmed by executive chef Quentin Pereira, their kitchen is known for heritage classics—Devil’s Curry, Prawn Bostador, Sugee Cake—each meticulously prepared using time-honored recipes. These restaurants are more than just places to eat; they are testing grounds and preservers of culinary heritage, sustaining the spirit of the Eurasian community for future generations.

Culinary Legacy

A hand reaches toward a steaming bowl of curry as four vibrant dishes—roasted chicken on banana leaf with lime wedges, spiced meat curries, and a golden slice of cornbread—rest on a wooden table bathed in warm, pink-hued light. The scene captures the convivial heart of colonial dining in Singapore, where Anglo-Indian flavors met Southeast Asian bounty. This moment of indulgence and intimacy reflects the culmination of spice-laden journeys, from maritime trade to shared meals, where history is tasted in every bite.

The legacy of Singapore colonial food history lives on—transcending boundaries, reimagined by families and chefs alike. Each rich stew, buttery dessert, and spicy curry is a tribute to the harmonious blend of cultures that shaped them. The Eurasian cuisine we savor in Singapore now is not simply a relic; it is a breathing, growing part of our shared narrative.

Today, as culinary boundaries blur across the world, Singapore’s fusion food stands as powerful proof of possibility. Devil’s Curry, sugee cake, and Macanese-inspired African Chicken are more than delicious—they’re postcards from the past, celebrating centuries of global trade, cultural exchange, and resilience. From bustling markets to the family table, these dishes weave together the stories of people, places, and tastes that make Singapore a true crossroads of the world. This is the heritage I strive to capture, one flavor and one photograph at a time.

To explore another iconic dish from Singapore's rich culinary history, check out how the traditional poaching technique brings Hainanese Chicken Rice to life in this fascinating exploration of heritage cooking.

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