Christmas (December)

A festival celebrated by all Christians in Singapore. The Eurasian community, which is of mixed European-Asian heritage, celebrates Christmas with signature home-cooked dishes.

o    Feng

Definitely an acquired taste, this uniquely Eurasian dish makes its appearance during Christmas. Feng is a rich stew made of pig innards (intestines, heart, stomach, liver; kidney lungs and so on), ground spices and plenty of garlic, shallots and ginger.

Get this: in its original form, the dish included the pig’s head and all its parts! But that involved too much work, so that practice ended.

o    Devil Curry

How did this dish get its name? Probably because it’s hot, and because of its fiery red colour! It is believed to have originated with the Eurasians of Malacca in Malaysia, and then brought to Singapore.

It is prepared using the traditional Christmas meal leftovers. So it includes ham, sausages, roast turkey, and roast pork, as well as cabbage, carrots, onions and tomatoes.

o    Sugee Cake

Crumbly and bursting with flavour; sugee cake is made with plenty of chopped almonds, semolina, butter; eggs, and a touch of brandy.

It is becoming increasingly difficult to find good sugee cake in Singapore, because it is labour-intensive to prepare well, and uses costly ingredients. If you can find it, and it’s well-done, you’ll always remember it.