We went, we sampled, and we loved the offerings from these Singapore-based vendors who were at The Market Hop last weekend, organised by Dream and APS Lifestyle Marketing. Try them for yourself!
Photo: Batu Lesung
The name means mortar and pestle, and that signals the care they take in producing their traditional rempah (spice mix) for sale. Made with fresh ingredients such as ginger, cumin and tumeric without perservatives and flavour enhancers, the rempahs we tried certainly pack a flavour punch. Eat it on its own (yes you can), with keropok, or even tossed with pasta, it's all delicious. The three flavours offered are Classic Curry, Panggang BBQ and Rendang Rempah.
Photo: Uncle G's Handmade
You just couldn't ignore the smell of roast meat wafting through the Dream showroom – courtesy of Uncle G's Handmade. For a guy who does this only on the weekends, we would say he has mastered the art of creating golden perfectly crisp cracking, with melt-in-the-mouth tender meat, on his pork belly roasts.
Photo: Royal Istana
This is Kueh Lapis made for royalty – Indonesia royalty that is. Based in Indonesia, the bakery supplies Kueh Lapis to the royal family there, but has also opened a distribution arm in Singapore. Royal Istana's Grand Lapis is made with pure butter only, is fragrant, moist, and has a denser texture than other versions we've tried before. Pair with vintage port to balance out the richness of the lapis. The company here does mostly corporate orders (the lapis comes in a beautiful elegant red box), but are also open to individual orders.
Photo: Mofo Chili
Honestly, we haven't tried the sample of chilli powder we got from them, but the names sure are scary already – there's Mofo Gunpowder, a chili powder you can sprinke on anything to give it a spice kick, and Mofo Final Destination and Dodge the Bullet, chili sauces that are used as dips.
Photo: The Whole Kitchen
This was probably the stall serving the healthiest food at The Market Hop, but that doesn't mean their offerings didn't taste good! We tried the Hazelnut Cacao Energy Pearls – little balls of deliciousness made with organic raw cacao, almonds, Medjool dates, Himalayan rock salt and more, coated with roasted hazelnuts. The Whole Kitchen is run by a professional chef and nutrition health coach, both Austrialian, to deliver wholesome, healthy and great-tasting food!
Photos: The Barbie Girls
We sampled some of their smoked mackerel-, trout- and salmon pate, and they were delicious! The Barbie Girls started in 2011 specialising in quality meats like lamb and beef from New Zealand and Australia (Barbie actually refers to barbeque, not so much the doll!) and has since expanded their range to include seafood from Norway and New Zealand, as well as locally-farmed happy chickens!
