singapore Archives - Online Baking and Cooking Classes - The Bailiwick Academy https://blog.thebailiwickacademy.com/tag/singapore/ Helping people to be financially stable thru our online baking and cooking classes. Fri, 31 Mar 2023 11:13:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.2 https://blog.thebailiwickacademy.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/cropped-TBA_logo2-64x64.png singapore Archives - Online Baking and Cooking Classes - The Bailiwick Academy https://blog.thebailiwickacademy.com/tag/singapore/ 32 32 Chef Him Uy De Baron: The Bailiwick Academy Spotlight https://blog.thebailiwickacademy.com/chef-him-uy-de-baron/ https://blog.thebailiwickacademy.com/chef-him-uy-de-baron/#comments Fri, 31 Mar 2023 11:13:36 +0000 https://blog.thebailiwickacademy.com/?p=6733 I may be a mom (or a tita as Pinoys like to say), but I’m kind of updated on the terms people use nowadays. For example, the term “I’m Him!”…

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I may be a mom (or a tita as Pinoys like to say), but I’m kind of updated on the terms people use nowadays. For example, the term “I’m Him!” or “You is Him” means that the person being referred to is a dominant figure in their field. And in the culinary arts, you can use the same term for the chef we will feature today: Chef Him Uy De Baron.

He has been hailed as one of the biggest names in the culinary world. Why, you ask? Well, that’s one of the many things you’ll learn about Chef Him in this blog. Keep reading to learn more about this fantastic chef who is part of The Bailiwick Academy!

Who is Chef Him Uy De Baron?

chef him uy de baron the bailiwick academy

Did you know that Chef Him Uy De Baron has been a chef for over TWENTY YEARS? He started in 2001 and hasn’t slowed down at all. That makes it hard for me to list his many accomplishments, but let’s put some of the more notable ones.

  • Chef Him graduated with a Le Cordon Bleu Diplome de Cuisine from Le Cordon Bleu Sydney Culinary Arts Institute.
  • He was an executive chef of a catering company called Chef Cuisine.
  • Because of his kitchen prowess, he has gone into consulting for companies such as Rustan’s and ABS-CBN.
  • He has had multiple restaurants, all with different cuisines, such as Nomama (Japanese), I Am Kim (Korean), Ping-Pong Diplomacy (Chinese/American), and Cocina Peruvia (Peruvian).
  • Speaking of ABS-CBN, Chef Him and his team were in charge of the multimedia conglomerate’s food and beverage division.
  • Chef Him has been featured countless times in different major media publications such as Philippine Star and Esquire.

Aside from those, he is seen as influential in and out of the industry. For example, he was tapped back in 2014 by a friend to support people in Tacloban after Typhoon Haiyan.

chef him uy de baron the bailiwick academy

Chef Him also collaborated with Family Mart back in 2015 to make healthy, low-calorie, and vitamin-packed dishes; with Slappy Cakes back in 2016 where he created DIY skillets where diners can choose their meat, sauce and carbs of choice; and recently with Beyond Meat, an L.A.-based brand that makes plant-based meat alternatives for those seeking such options.

See how accomplished he is?

Chef Him: Thankful For Food

Chef Him admits that he wouldn’t be where he is now if it wasn’t for food. You see, years ago, he didn’t know what to do with his life. That was until he encountered food, at least. In fact, he now associates food with plenty of milestones in his life.

For example, according to this Filipino food blog, Chef Him’s love for cooking delicious food was influenced by his mom. He grew up with his mom manning the kitchen, especially for special occasions. He credits those memories as having influenced his own cooking.

And as a chef, you can bet that he has plenty more unforgettable memories, and that’s all because of food.

What is his cooking style?

chef him uy de baron the bailiwick academy

As mentioned earlier, Chef Him can make delicious dishes, whether Filipino, Thai, Japanese, Korean, Peruvian, or even street-style hawker fare. You can describe Chef Him as a cooking chameleon. 

And it’s not just that he’s great with different cuisines. Chef Him is also known for creating vibrant flavors and his meticulous attention to detail just to make sumptuous meals. And if you’re wondering about how he developed his unique cooking style, he credits it to his curiosity back when he was still a child.

Every time he ate something, he would always wonder about the ingredients in the food. He would then attempt to replicate it when cooking. And, of course, the more he tasted as he grew older, the more his palate became sensitive–and the more attempts he made to put delicious tastes together.

That’s why even if he has learned to make different cuisines, Chef Him is not necessarily striving for authenticity. For Him, what’s more important is to borrow and combine different techniques and flavors of different cuisines that work well. For example, he has already tried developing a ramen recipe that wasn’t traditional at all: think of it as getting the best of Southeast Asian flavors and textures and mixing it in with Japanese fundamentals.

His various restaurants are also examples of this philosophy that he has.

Chef Him During The Pandemic: Heartbroken

Despite all the successes Chef Him had, one major setback he experienced was back in 2020. He had been contacted by ABS-CBN, and Chef Him had been gearing for big things to start the year. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic hit, which also meant a long lockdown in the country. 

That meant all that they were planning had to be stopped. And pretty soon, he and his team lost their job running the food scene in ABS-CBN.

https://www.facebook.com/Chef.Him/posts/10213767790787730

How Him Bounced Back

Chef Him is a lot of things, but he is not one to sit on laurels and mope. One of the things he believes in is to always adapt to the times. And he realized that people were getting tired of always cooking the same thing or ordering out during the pandemic.

So Chef Him thought to teach his recipes to people looking for more enjoyment out of their food. And The Bailiwick Academy became one of his avenues to teach people how to make flavorful dishes! 

How is Chef Him Uy De Baron as a teacher?

chef him

Joining TBA isn’t exactly Chef Him’s first foray into teaching. After returning from Australia in 2001, he started teaching at a culinary school and appeared in other schools. He calls himself an accidental teacher, but in this field, he finds fulfillment by nurturing students and sharing what he knows. Chef Him actually feels mightily rewarded when he sees his students using what he has taught. 

Now, one impression of Chef Him the first time you see him is that he’s a very strict taskmaster.

But you’d be surprised how much fun he is to be with–check out this behind-the-scenes video during a recent shoot of one of his lessons.

One thing you can be sure about Chef Him is that if there’s anything he’s serious about, it’s developing the skills of his students–and making sure that he has recipes that will really tickle your taste buds. He’s a really hands-on instructor, too!

And based on some testimonies from his students at TBA, he’s been very successful. Check out what Adam had to say:

Maria agrees:

And so does Marilyn!

In other words, those who go under Chef Him’s tutelage can be sure that they will really level up their cooking skills. 

What’s next for Chef Him Uy De Baron?

Chef Him always believes in new opportunities in the food and beverage industry. That’s why he’s always looking for new ways to spread his culinary skill. Chef Him is a risk-taker too. 

As he said in an interview with Esquire

“If I think of putting everything in a business perspective, I might not have opened the restaurants I have opened. For me, if I feel that it is a really great idea, I go, ‘screw it, lets do it!’ “

You never know, you might hear of him opening a new restaurant soon!

Oh, and of course, new Chef Him classes are already lined up at The Bailiwick Academy! Just wait for us to release them. In the meantime, check out his classes that are already available:

Celebration Trays – great for leveling up your party fare.

Taste of Thai – experience one of the most popular cuisines in the world from the comfort of your home.

Flavors of India – taste a whole new palette of flavors and textures and demystify Indian cooking.

Dampa Seafood Feast – enjoy delicious seafood bursting with flavors that is Chef Him’s signature touch!

Hawker-Style Specials – have a different kind of street food experience with Singapore’s flavors.

Make sure to sign up at The Bailiwick Academy to access Chef Him’s delicious recipes today!

Final Thoughts

I’m going to leave you with what Chef Him thinks is important to truly become a great chef. The first is skill. You can’t become a great chef overnight–you really have to practice constantly and have the determination to have skill.

The second is to develop your taste. You can go to school to become a great chef, but taste is not something you can learn. It’s personal, something accumulated through the years.

And as a person becomes more experienced in cooking, they have to go from simply enjoying the taste of food to actually understanding how it was created. By honing their technique and experimenting with ingredients, a chef can develop a unique and personal style that sets them apart in the culinary world.

Such powerful and inspiring thoughts, agree?

Make sure to enroll in Chef Him Uy De Baron’s classes to get more nuggets of wisdom like these!

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Keep coming back to The Bailiwick Academy blog for more kitchen tips, tricks, and much more!

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What is THE Hawker Food to Try When in Singapore? https://blog.thebailiwickacademy.com/what-is-the-hawker-food-to-try-when-in-singapore/ https://blog.thebailiwickacademy.com/what-is-the-hawker-food-to-try-when-in-singapore/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2022 06:42:32 +0000 https://blog.thebailiwickacademy.com/?p=5728 Singapore is known for having a bunch of what are called hawkers centres. And in those hawkers centres are a variety of different food that are must-tries. But what is…

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Singapore is known for having a bunch of what are called hawkers centres. And in those hawkers centres are a variety of different food that are must-tries. But what is THE hawker food to try when you do get to go to Singapore?

That’s what we’ll take a look at in today’s blog. That way, when you’re in front of a Singapore hawker, you’ll know what to get or look for!

Let’s get to it, shall we?

What is hawker food?

hawker food the bailiwick academy

Hawker food is called hawker food because they’re sold by hawkers that are in hawkers centres. Each hawker stall in these centres usually carry their own cuisine, whether Indian, Malaysian, Chinese, and so on.  

How did hawker centres come to be? Well, we have to go back and take a look at history.

According to National Geographic, hawker culture has roots way back in the 1800s. The hawkers at the time would sell their delicious and affordable meals wherever they could. That also meant there were plenty of chances their food would not be clean or safe to consume.

Years later, the Singapore government, with the desire to get things organized and for people to eat only hygienic food, made the move to bring the hawkers under one roof

And that’s how these food centres or hawker centres came to be. That’s actually a good thing, since now people know where to go if they’re looking for a particular food, right?

Thank you Singapore government!

Where in Singapore do you try hawker food?

You won’t run out of options in Singapore for hawker food stalls. This is not a definitive list by any chance, but these are some you can check out when you’re in their particular areas:

  • Chong Boon Market
  • Lau Pa Sat
  • Makansutra 
  • Seah Im
  • Maxwell Food Centre
  • Albert Food Centre
  • Amoy Food Centre
  • Bedok Interchange Hawker Centre
  • Changi Village
  • Ci Yuan Hawker Centre
  • Dunman Food Centre
  • East Coast Lagoon Food Village
  • Golden Mile Food Centre
  • Pasir Ris Hawker Centre
  • Newton Food Centre

Oh, fun fact? What you might find say, in Lau Pa Sat, is not necessarily in Changi. That makes hawker centre hopping so much fun because the hawker stands have variety!

How much is hawker food in Singapore?

singapore dollar the bailiwick academy

Hawker food has always had the reputation of being affordable meals, but how much do they cost? Are they really affordable?

Well, according to ValueChampion, hawker food meals typically cost less than 5 Singapore dollars. It just gets more expensive if there are more ingredients involved.

5 Singapore dollars as of this writing is around Php200. Expensive for street food? Compare that to prices at Singapore restaurants.

For example, if you get chicken rice at any of the hawker stands in Singapore, you’ll get it at around 3.5 Singapore Dollars or Php145. But if you get it at a restaurant, the price becomes around 7 Singapore Dollars or almost Php300!

And seeing as Singapore is ranked as the second-most expensive place in the world, we bet you’d appreciate the savings, yes?

Why is hawker food popular in Singapore?

Well, for one thing, you can’t beat the variety. Whether you’re looking for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even snacks, there’s something for you in any hawker center. They come in different cuisines too!

And don’t look down on the taste of street food. At one point, a hawker stall earned the prestigious Michelin Star! That means it’s really, REALLY good.

The lower price is also always a good thing, plus the open-air factor of each food court allows for a different feel of community dining. Think of it as something experiential.

But for a deeper reason, it’s really pride. You see, hawker stalls represent family recipes that have been perfected for generations. Imagine, that one recipe puts one family after another through life! 

That’s why hawker culture in Singapore is still going strong. It’s unlikely to lessen, much less disappear. After all, even millennials are putting up their own stalls. That’s the start of their family hawker culture.

Oh, and it’s also worth noting that the whole hawker culture of Singapore has been declared as an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. Isn’t that something to be proud of, indeed?

So what is THE hawker food to try when in Singapore?

Now we get to the big question: what is the most popular hawker food in Singapore?

Well, we can’t really answer that definitively. But you know what we can answer?

The must-try hawker foods in Singapore!

Well, ten of them at least. Check out our list!

Hainanese chicken rice

what is the hawker food hainanese chicken the bailiwick academy

Hainanese chicken rice is one of those dishes that you’ll see in all hawker centres. It’s arguably one of the most popular dishes associated with Singapore culture. It’s also their national dish

It was created by Hainanese immigrants from Southern China. It involves a poached chicken served with the skin attached, with rice seasoned with chicken oil made from the chicken fat and also cooked in the poaching liquid. It’s served with three sauces for added deliciousness.

Char Kway Teow

noodles the bailiwick academy what is the hawker food

This is a stir-fried rice noodle dish. That’s just what the name means, actually, but in Chinese. Aside from the noodles, it’s filled with garlic, soy sauce, chili paste, whole prawns, clams, chives, Chinese sausage, and bean sprouts. 

It has a unique flavor thanks to the combination of the ingredients plus how it’s cooked. 

Char Kway Teow is popular with people who are looking for cheap ways to get filled up, but it’s not necessarily healthy! It has high saturated fat content thanks to it being stir-fried in pork fat and pork lard.

But hey, you only live once, right?

Shaved ice desserts

shaved ice the bailiwick academy

Hawkers make this dessert by combining a tall mound of shaved ice with various flavors like rose or pandan. You can also garnish it with red beans, peanuts, seaweed jelly, condensed milk, sprinkles, and more!

What makes it different from other shaved ice desserts are the flavors – you’ll only usually see those in Singapore and other Southeast Asian countries.

Oh, and do take note that this is the only sweet on this list, so that means you should get one!

Chili crab

chili crab Singapore the bailiwick academy hawker food

If you like crabs, and you like spicy food, then Singapore has combined both into one iconic dish. This hawker food is actually listed as number 35 of the World’s Most Delicious Foods, so you should really try it if you’re in Singapore!

What makes it special? Well, it has a trademark spicy and sweet sauce that gets absorbed by the crab. It mixes very well with the crab itself – and tastes even better when you eat the whole thing with rice!

Oh and if you want to try it but you don’t like spicy food so much, don’t worry. The sauce is well-balanced, so you won’t experience any burning tongues.

Satay

satay the bailiwick academy

We’ve talked about satay before in our blog about Thai cuisine. There’s nothing different about this one – satay is still skewered meat. But the satay served in Singapore is usually with the Malaysian flavor or taste.

Also, aside from the meat, the skewer can include cucumbers, onions, and pressed rice cakes. Don’t forget the thick and sweet peanut sauce for added yummines!

Roti Pratha

roti pratha the bailiwick academy

It’s another food item we’ve talked about before in our sandwich spreads blog post! Roti Pratha is a flatbread with flaky layers that’s a perfect accompaniment for flavorful saucy dishes – or, as we mentioned in the blog, condensed milk. It’s definitely a great snack or an accompaniment to main dishes.

Mee Goreng

mee goreng

Mee or Mie Goreng is an Indonesian noodle dish. Think of it as the equivalent of Filipino pancit canton, but this version has a sticky, savory sweet sauce. Hawkers traditionally make Mee Goreng using stir-fried yellow wheat noodles, shallots, onion, and garlic, as well as soy sauce seasoning, eggs, vegetables, and their meat of choice.

Imagine biting into chewy egg noodles covered in the aforementioned sauce and tasting meat, shrimp, and so much more. Now that’s a different kind of street noodle!

Nasi Lemak

nasi lemak

Nasi Lemak is a Malaysian dish. It’s made of rice cooked in coconut milk and is served with anchovies, cucumbers, peanuts, and boiled eggs. There’s also sambal, a spicy chili paste for an added kick.

According to Taste Atlas, it was first invented as a breakfast dish, but soon became the Malaysian national dish that can be eaten anytime.

Fish cakes

tod man pla fish cakes the bailiwick academy hawker food

Another name for this is Tod Man Pla. Sounds complicated, but they’re just Thai fish cakes. They’re made with fresh fish and Thai spices and are best eaten with sticky rice or a salad. There’s also an option for sauce.

Char siew

pork barbecued pork the bailiwick academy

Char siew or char siu is simply a Cantonese style of barbecued pork. Eat it with rice or noodles and enjoy the sweet and salty taste!

One last tip: don’t bother wondering “Is hawker food healthy?” when you’re in Singapore. After all, you’re on a vacation! 

Is there any other way to try hawker food if I’m not in Singapore?

If this post got you craving authentic hawker food, then you might already be Googling “hawker near me” or “nearby hawker food.”

But what if you’re not in Singapore?

Well, you don’t have to travel far. The Bailiwick Academy has the answer for you!

Check out Chef Him Uy De Baron’s latest class: Hawker-Style Specials!

Just follow Chef Him’s delicious recipes and you’ll be able to make hawker foods (some are from the list) right from your home, namely:

  • Nasi Lemak with Malaysian Style-Chicken Curry
  • Roti Paratha
  • Indonesian Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce
  • Prawn Mee Goreng

Serve it all as a meal, and you’ll feel like you’ve traveled to Singapore via your taste buds!

So what are you waiting for? Sign up at The Bailiwick Academy, enroll in his course, and get started cooking!

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Keep coming back to The Bailiwick Academy blog for more kitchen tips, tricks, and much more!

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