Singaporean Food Caterers
A Catering Company for Malaysian/Singaporean Food Lovers
Hankering for some food from Southeast Asia but not wanting to do the cooking? If you live in Toronto, help is just a phone call away.
Rempah Catering blazes with blends of Malaysian, Singaporean and Thai dishes. The culinary child of Torontonians Lily Cheung and Daryl Chow, Rempah (the Malay word for "spice blend") seeks to broaden the flavours that catered affairs tend to be missing.
Family Recipes
Dishes offered by the company include Hokkien Mee (noodles), Beef & Chicken Satay, Mini Curry Puffs, Thai Coconut Stew, Gado Gado Salad,Tamarind Fish Curry, Nonya Jelly and deep-fried bananas (Goreng Pisang). The pair say the recipes have been handed down through family lines, so you're getting grandma's goods!
Most of the food harkens to Chow's Malaysian/Singaporean lineage, the Nonya cooking prevalent on the Malay peninsula.
"Daryl and I love cooking and eating! We were initially inspired to cook for student gatherings where Singaporean and Malaysian students homesick for home cooking asked us to cook. The response that we got from these gatherings was very heartwarming and this inspired us to reach out and share our food."
One Year Old Rempah Catering
Barely a year old, the catering company is already getting high marks from its clients.
"People are usually pleasantly surprised at the rich array of tastes on display in our food. They usually associate South East Asian food with spiciness and are amazed to find that our food is not as spicy as they think. This is because the amount of spice can be fine tuned while the intensity of the flavours will always be there," says Cheung.
Reaction has broadened their sales. In fact, the two have hired three cooks to meet the demand.
"The response has been very positive," notes Chow. "We have catered for events from film festivals to house parties. We are seriously considering setting up a food cart from which we can sell Singaporean and South East Asian street food such as satay."
Chow, a linguistics major, and Cheung, a design graduate, created Rempah Catering out of their downtown apartment, investing $1,000 in a large wok, rice cooker and grill. Cheung has some restaurant blood in her – her father and grandfather used to own and run their own restos.
The two list their favourite dishes as:
- Hokkien Mee
- Beef Rendang
- Satay
Even though Toronto (and Canada for that matter) boasts a dizzying diversity of cultures, the two say they often have to explain what Nonya/Singaporean food is.
"We spend a lot of time and effort to educate our clients and to create awareness about the style, origin and ingredients of the food …[Incredibly] a large number of Canadians still think that Singapore is part of China," says Chow.
